Nutrigenomics, also known as genomic feeding, is “a branch of genomics that aims to provide molecular knowledge about the components of the diet that contribute to health, by altering expression and/or structures, according to the genetic constitution individual”. This is explained by the doctor in Pharmacy and diploma in Nutrition Adela Emilia Gómez Ayala, who believes that “in the future, genetic information may be used in the screening of populations or risk groups to determine individual susceptibility to highly prevalent disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer, in order to allow primary and secondary prevention measures to be applied.
In short, nutrigenomics consists of the analysis of genetic variants associated with different aspects of nutrition. This offers us information of great value, such as the risk of suffering from deficits or intolerances and pathologies such as diabetes, cholesterol or obesity, among others. It is explained by Keyvan Torabi, doctor in Cellular Biology and co-founder of ADN Instituto, in Sant Cugat (Barcelona), which offers among its services the so-called Nutrigenetic Tests, which cost €199 and allow people to “know how genes respond to food and sport to adapt diet and physical activity and thus achieve greater well-being. These analyzes are also intended to offer the individual the possibility of “avoiding the development of intolerances, vitamin deficiencies or pathologies for which there is a genetic predisposition.”
Torabi recalls that this type of analysis is designed, in fact, for healthy people “who want to know their genetic predisposition to suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies to intolerances, information on nutrient absorption, response to fats and even if there is a certain predilection. due to sugar or how the bitter taste is perceived, to give some examples. These tests also give information about tolerance to alcohol, whether it is metabolized quickly or slowly, and about the risks of suffering from metabolic pathologies such as diabetes, overweight or cholesterol.” So, with all this information in hand and always, if possible, with the support of a nutritionist (something that ADN Instituto recommends), you can adapt your diet and lifestyle to be healthier and feel better.
The process is simple, it is carried out using a saliva sample that can be sent directly to the center, “since it remains stable for weeks.” From there, results are obtained that give rise to a report that takes between 4 and 6 weeks and is, in short, “a tool that can help the patient improve their health,” says Torabi.
The professor of Physiology and professor emeritus at the University of Granada, Emilio Martínez de la Victoria, considers, however, that nutrigenomics “would not be suitable, a priori, for healthy patients, since it is a science that is still in its infancy.” incipient and although it can help guide what foods can be consumed, in no case is it yet in a position to prescribe them. Although it is likely that we will hear a lot about genomic nutrition in the coming years, since according to Martínez de la Victoria it is one of the topics most discussed at international conferences, “healthy people do not need to take a test to know what they have to do.” eat, and even more so taking into account that there are still numerous uncertainties and that each laboratory offers different results depending on which genes are taken into account in the study.
This means that of the numerous genetic variants that are known, not all have sufficient scientific support. However, given that each laboratory designs and develops its own tests, in many cases we can find analyzes that yield results that lack scientific evidence. Furthermore, according to Professor Martínez de la Victoria, who was also director of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology for 9 years, it must be taken into account that “this type of test offers information on isolated genes, and what is interesting is analyze how these act as a whole, something that is being worked on but which at the moment is still in an incipient state.
Tarebi explains that the ADN Institute works only with genetic variants that have sufficient scientific support, while there are some laboratories “that are a little scary, because when working with aspects that have little scientific validation they end up providing information even on aspects linked to character and behavior.” Thus, if we talk about the propensity to have vitamin deficiencies, only A, B6, B9, B12, C and D have sufficient validation, while in the case of minerals “only absorption is studied.” iron and high calcium levels. Other aspects such as gluten intolerance or celiac disease are also assessed, which also have proven scientific evidence.
It is very likely that in the coming years this list will expand, since nutrigenomics is advancing very quickly given its potential to improve both individual and public health. One of the great world authorities on the subject, Professor José María Ordovás, professor at Tufts University in Boston, defines nutrigenomics as “a new, exciting and promising science that aims to understand in an individualized way which is the best fuel for the operation of our engine, or in more scientific terms, what is the optimal diet for our particular metabolism. The expert places “in the near future” the moment when “we will be able to design personalized diets according to genes” and assures that “the results from the point of view of public health and the individual can be spectacular.”
Gómez Ayala agrees with him, recalling that “although a higher degree of evidence of causality is required to generate results from epidemiological studies that can subsequently be translated into public recommendations, in the coming years nutritional genomics will increase this level of evidence and nutrition personalized will be possible and successful.
For his part, Professor Martínez de la Victoria speaks of an “explosion” that will take place in the coming decades and will give rise to a future in which there is “personalized nutrition and even personalized gastronomy: each person will eat only the what you should eat.” Regarding the ethical dilemmas of nutrigenomics, the professor considers that it still poses the same challenges as other aspects of genomics. “It is also known that there are genes related to cancer, for example with breast cancer, that provide information about the exact risk of suffering from it. Is it good to know in advance? Well, there will be those who prefer not to know and those who do want to, since “It is information that allows us to take measures that can even lead to a preventive mastectomy depending on the percentage of risk. It is something very personal.” Torabi, for his part, considers that at the moment nutrigenomics does not pose this type of dilemma, since “being a tool recommended above all for healthy patients, it is unlikely that decisive results will be found that could change their life. For now these analysis should be taken for what they are: instruments to improve habits and diet in a personalized way.