Are You Ready for Nutrigenomics?
November 17, 2008 by ruth
Filed under Food & Nutrition
Nutrignomics is a nutritional approach that takes your genetic makeup, and hence your predisposition to certain chronic diseases, into consideration. If a meal plan can be designed based on your genetic profile, would you be willing to stick to the plan? A study says that most people are not yet ready to embrace the concept.
Based on these interviews with experts and an extensive literature study, Ronteltap developed different future scenarios to put to the general public. A representative random sample generated a number of conditions that consumers would require before accepting nutrigenomics. The most important is freedom of choice: the guarantee that it would not be compulsory to register a genetic profile. The consumer also believes that the products being developed should provide proven (health) benefits and that their use should not disrupt the routine of daily life. The general public also wants to see clear scientific agreement about the usefulness of the possibilities provided by nutrigenomics.
Personally, I’d be curious to see my genetic profile in the first place and see what kind of meals would match it. Like many others, though, I hope it would not present too many restrictions, and would rather know what foods I can eat to reduce the risks of chronic diseases, rather than getting a list of foods I must avoid.
I’ve found in my dieting that low carb works best for me. I can shed pounds pretty quickly when using this kind of diet. I didn’t go through any sort of genetic profiling but it works for me.
You can check my progress over at http://www.paunchiness.com
This sorta reminds me of the blood type diet. I’d be willing to give it a shot. I’d never be able to remain completely faithful to it if my profile said I could never eat beef again, but I’d certainly remain conscious of my optimum food choices.
Paunchiness: Low Carb diet may help reach your weight goals, but Nutrigenomics is more than just weight management. There is more to health and nutrition than just weight.
Lee: Exactly my thoughts, too. One might not be able to stick to it 100% but knowing the goals or ideals will already help, I’m sure.
I wouldn’t worry about customized nutritional dietary plans tailored to your own genome for atleast 15 years. still too many genes with unknown functions to uncover.
I wonder…what would insurance companies do with such information? could you get insured if anazlyzing your genes revealed that you would develop heart disease later on in life or had a mutation that would lead to cancer? kinda scary!