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Nutrigenomics is the study of the effects of food and food constituents on gene expression, and how genetic variations affect the nutritional environment. It focuses on understanding the interaction between nutrients and other dietary bioactives with the genome at the molecular level, to understand how specific nutrients or dietary regimes may affect human health.
Genetic determinants of food consumption and food liking are likely to be distinct, although it has not been well studied. Here, the authors identify genetic variants associated with food-liking, finding that different food-liking traits correlate with different brain areas and other food consumption traits.
Researchers are adopting the tools of bioinformatics and pharmaceuticals to study and interpret the ever-growing body of data on the interplay between diet and genes.
The pioneers of nutrition research determined the energy content of food and also helped to overturn misconceptions about various diseases that plagued humankind.
Diet-related illnesses are some of the biggest killers today. Can we tailor our food intake to prevent these diseases? Large international projects are underway to find out.