People can stick to a certain diet, change their food preferences, or have no dietary restrictions at all. These preferences can be based on religious affiliation, wanting a change, or simply just a personal preference. Having said that, research is being conducted to determine if your genes can influence diet preferences.
A study was conducted consisting of 5,300 strict vegetarians compared to 329,000 non-vegetarians who were the control group. It was found that 31 genes could be potentially affecting diet choices. Then, most of these genes are associated with metabolizing fat and/or brain function. Dr. Nabeel Yaseen a professor at Northwestern's School of Medicine believes that people who prefer a vegetarian diet have a genetic advantage allowing them to synthesize lipids in plants and other foods just as well if they were to eat meat. People have a driving factor for food and drink preferences based on how their body processes it and the feeling they get afterwards. This creates food likes and dislikes.
About 3% to 4% of Americans are vegetarian. Studies like the one being described not only can provide information about genetic preferences, but better food options and guidance for those who do have dietary restrictions.
This was very interesting, learning that genetic code can change the way your diet is will solve a lot of problems for certain people. This study will open a world of genetics and diet that we havent even thought about yet.
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