Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Who knew food would go so well with a side of GENETICS?

According to a new study that started in Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, researchers discovered that certain gene variants in the brain play a role in a person's food choice and dietary habits. This study was the first to use a group of healthy people of 818 men and women of European ancestry. The study focused on how the brain genes affect food intake and dietary preferences by first gathering information about their diet using a questionnaire. There have been previous studies that has identified genes connected to behaviors seen in eating disorders, but it was unclear how these genes could affect eating behaviors in healthy people. Researchers found that higher chocolate intake and larger waist size have been associated with certain forms of oxytocin receptor gene. They also found that vegetable and fiber intake are linked to an obesity-associated gene. These findings could help minimize the risks for common diseases by altering diet-based prevention and therapy to specific needs of an individual.
WOW! No wonder I eat a lot of food that aren't good for me. I actually learned a lot by reading this article. Food is an essential part of our lives and honestly, I can't think about a life without Wendy's, Chipotle, Wawa, candy, chips, etc. At least now, I can blame my bad eating habits on my genes (not really). This article opened my eyes to why we eat what our bodies intuitively tell us to eat. I would like to keep up-to-date on their future studies with groups of different characteristics and ethnicities to see how significant these findings really are. I like how the research was revolved around healthy people and how people should feel empowered using a personalized diet plan that could help improve their health. This study will help individuals understand their eating habits a little better and encourage them to monitor their diet. Although this study will continue to evolve, I still think that a small reason for bad eating habits come from the commercialization and advertisement of
food.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010958/

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