Your Genes May Influence What You Like To Eat

In a new study called “Your Genes May Influence What You Like to Eat”, researchers are discovering that the diet you choose may be hereditary and linked to certain genes. The article states that there is a small probability that genes are passed down that will influence the food you may like to eat.  Based on the sample size of the study, it was determined that 5% of a person’s diet is hereditary. Researchers acknowledge the sample size was too small for this to be an accurate representation of the population but it does account for something. The article corresponds to this genetic link to diabetes and how it is required for a person to shift their diet after being diagnosed with the disease, so if they can find a gene that codes for diabetes, then there might be a gene that codes for someone’s diet. 

I think this article might be slightly far-fetched and mainly used for clickbait purposes. The sample size of the experiment was acknowledged to be too small to get accurate data and I feel like your diet is more of an environmental factor rather than hereditary. I think tastebud receptors are genetic, but I don’t think this ties into a vegetarian, Mediterranean, or paleo-based diet that people develop. If they can find a gene that codes for a person’s diet, then this can significantly change the nutrition field and help people with diabetes and obesity to further prevent diseases such as heart failure and cancer.

UK Company Launches Online Platform to Match Workout and Diet With Genetic Profile

London-based genomics company DNAFit has launched Elevate, an online training platform that incorporates users’ genetic information to create personalized workout plans.

Elevate, which DNAFit developed with the input of Olympic track and field athlete Greg Rutherford, is based on the company’s saliva-based genetic test kit. It screens for 45 specific gene variants, which may be linked to each individual body’s ability to respond to training and nutrition, such as those identified as being linked to obesity.

The $126 (99 British pounds) test then algorithmically calculates a score for each user to determine their endurance response, and this figure is then plugged into the Elevate online platform people can access on their smartphone, tablet or laptop. Users add their weight and other vital statistics and the days they are able to train, and the app guides them through the workout with a training schedule and videos of how to perform exercises.

“The ‘best way to train’ has long been a topic of hot debate, but it is now clear that the answer to this is an individual journey that requires the consideration of a person’s lifestyle demands and biological profile,” DNAFit founder Avi Lasarow said in a statement. “Whether you’re looking to shape up, build muscle or just want to eat a little healthier, your genetics hold valuable information about the best way to do this.”

While there still isn’t a lot of firm data to support claims that specific dietary and workout plans can be optimized for each individual based on their genetics, (geneticist Dr. Eric Topol recently told MobiHealthNews that the consumer genomics landscape is still in its early days) researchers are working to figure that out.

A recent study at the University of Central Lancashire, published in the journal Biology of Sport, suggest that those who train to their possible genetic “strengths” improved their athletic performance up to three times more than those who were using a regular training program.
Geneticist Dr Keith Grimaldi, one of the authors of the study and an advisor to DNAFit, said Elevate could be a valuable tool that takes the guesswork out of trying out different training and nutritional plans.

“We know quite a lot about some genes that do affect your biochemistry and physiology. So, we add this factor into the picture,” Grimaldi said in a statement. “If you don’t know your genes, you’ll just have to guess the right training and diet regimes by trial and error, and we want to reduce this with an extra layer of personal information from the genetic point of view.”

Genetics in Nutrition

Genetically, everyone is different. Everyone has their own unique set of genes that make up who they are, so there is no way to set dietary guidelines that are optimal for everyone. There is a basic understanding of what kinds of food have been categorized as “good” and “bad” but if genetics can pinpoint the exact kinds of food that optimize a person’s health many preventative measures can be taken. Researchers from the University of Toronto lead a study that proves that personalizes dietary advice based on person's genetic makeup improves eating habits compared to the current “one-size-fits-all” dietary recommendations. The science behind this study if known as nutrigenomics, a field of research that aims to understand why some people respond differently than others to the same foods. Nutrigenomics can be applied to personalized nutrition which helps tailors dietary recommendations based on a person's DNA.

The researches created a study that involves 138 healthy young adults. Their intake of caffeine, sodium, vitamin C and sugar were recorded and then the subjects were randomized into two different study groups. One group was given DNA based dietary advice and the other was given standard dietary advice for the same dietary components with no genetic information. Their dietary habits were assessed after three and twelve months and researchers found that those who were given the DNA based guidelines showed significant improvement in their diets over the other subjects. Specifically, subjects who were informed that they carried a version of a gene linked to salt intake and high blood pressure were especially motivated to reduce their sodium intake, compared to the group that received standard advice for sodium intake. Ahmed El-Sohemy, an Associate Professor in Nutritional Sciences at U of T and Canada Research Chair in Nutrigenomics states, “We found that people who receive DNA-based advice improve their diet to a greater extent than those who receive the standard dietary advice. They're also the ones who need to change it the most.”

Previous studies had focused on disease risk prevention rather than metabolic genes that affect specific components of the diet. This study concentrates on the impact of dietary advice based on diet-related genes which encourages more notable and effective change. It was found that these personalized dietary guidelines not only increased compliance but also supports the long-term health of patients.

This article was especially fascinating to me, a student who strives for the medical field and is also taking a nutrition course. I truly support everything this study brings to the table because I definitely agree that there is no way that there is a dietary guideline that works for everyone. Sure, there are guidelines that are beneficial to most healthy people. With genetic testing I strongly believe that nutrition will become a lot more important to individuals and will definitely motivate those who are ignorant to the damage they bring to their body from eating unhealthy.

Vitamin D influences genes

              Research has found that vitamin D influences about 200 genes. Vitamin D is from the exposure of the sun. One billion of people in the world do not have enough amount of vitamin D from the sun. It is also found that vitamin D increases a person’s susceptibility to autoimmune conditions such as diabetes type 1. Vitamin D interacts with our DNA because vitamin D receptor is a protein that is only activated by vitamin D. It attached to DNA and influences which proteins are created from our genetic code. Along the length of the genome, 2,776 binding sites found for vitamin D receptor.  At least 229 genes are effects by vitamin D. Research has also found that light skin and hair color evolved in populations moving to areas with less sun. Lacking vitamin D negatively affects bone development in pregnant mothers which is fatal to the mother and the baby. Vitamin D is not naturally found in foods, unlike other vitamins that can be found in food. One must sit in the sun for at least 15 minutes per day to receive accurate vitamin D. There are two type of vitamin D: Vitamin D₂  and D₃ which are both found sunlight. 

                Vitamin D deficiency can kill you quicker. The type of cancers that vitamin D deficiency causes are breast, prostate and column. Copenhagen City heart study has found that “genes with low vitamin D had a mortality rate that is 30% higher and 40% higher cancer-related death”. Low vitamin D also has a higher chance of brain damage after cardiac arrest.

Link 1:http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20141119/low-levels-of-vitamin-d-may-raise-early-death-risk-study

Related link: http://www.medicaldaily.com/vitamin-d-deficiency-can-kill-you-quicker-why-sunshine-vitamin-essential-your-health-311254

DNA Used to Personalize Diets

     The days of a one size diet are coming to an end.  Everyone has heard of all the fad diets such as the South Beach and Atkin diets.  Previous results not only depended on discipline and dedication, but also a person's genetic makeup. Current research has developed DNA based counseling to see where a person's diet can be improved.  The researchers found that people who received DNA based diet counseling greatly improved their dietary results over a 3 to 12 month period.

     University of Stanford is currently holding research for these type of diets based on personal DNA evaluation.  People are broken up into either very low fat or very low carbohydrate diets. The study will make available a strong support and guidance program by a team of qualified health care professionals.  High nutritional values will be strongly be emphasized according to the research.  The goal is to find a connection between the proper diet matching certain genes.  In the future we may have our nutritional needs mapped out at an early age to avoid obesity all together.



http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/626446/?sc=rsmn
http://nutrition.stanford.edu/projects/DietbyGenotype-Study.html

Some Gene Mutations May Be Treatable With Diet

According to an article in Medical News Today, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, determined that homocystinuria, which is an inherited metabolic disorder and caused by defective human cystathionine beta synthase gene, can be treated with vitamin B6, which we can get from various food sources. Consequently, the study "clarified the function of 84 DNA sequence variants in this gene, which will help physicians more effectively treat patients based on their particular genotypes" and also make it possible for "future studies examining other human genes that similarly cross over between humans and yeast". I found this article interesting because if we can treat an inherited disease by just eating right food, instead of taking different kinds of medicines every day or receiving a surgery, that will be much more convenient and wonderful.

Gene Exchange Encouraged By Antibiotics In Swine Feed

The study by Heather Allen and her colleagues at the USDA National Animal Disease Center (NaDC) in Ames, Iowa, adds to the sum of knowledge about what happens to the microorganisms that populate animal digestive tracts when they are exposed to low, persistent levels of antibiotics. The researchers studied how two in-feed antibiotic formulations affect prophages, segments of DNA found in bacteria that can encode antibiotic resistance genes and other genes that bacteria may use.

Prophages can cut themselves out of the larger chromosome of bacterial DNA in a process called induction, then replicate and package themselves as viruses. These viruses explode the cell from the inside then move on to infect other organisms and deliver their genes.

Allen, who is lead author on the study, says when pigs were fed antibiotics, the actual numbers of antibiotic resistance genes carried by the phages remained steady, but the microorganisms still reacted to the presence of antibiotics. Prophages underwent a significant increase in induction when exposed to antibiotics, indicating that medicating the animals led to increased movement of prophage genes among gut bacteria.

"Induction of the prophages is showing us that antibiotics are stimulating gene transfer," says Allen. "This is significant because phages have previously been shown to carry bacterial fitness genes such as antibiotic resistance genes."

Studies that explore the impacts of in-feed antibiotics most often focus on the bacterial residents of the gut, according to Allen, but phages and other viruses move a significant amount of genetic information around the community. This makes changes in prophage induction an important collateral effect of antibiotic treatment, she says. Resistance genes are the unit of currency among microbes experiencing the duress of an antibiotic, so following the movement of genes is arguably more important than following certain changes in bacterial communities. And if bacteria in humans acquire resistance genes from animals, there can be serious health consequences.

"What's important is the transfer of a gene that could get into the wrong place at the wrong time," says Allen. "Increased gene transfer is a critical event in the evolution of gut bacteria."

Mineral Deficiency May Not Be A Result Of A Poor Diet

According to research done by  Dr. Dominik Müller from the Department of Pediatric Nephrology and published recently in the American Journal of Human Genetics showed that magnesium deficiency can be as a result of changes made by a gene that regulates how magnesium is processed within the body and not a result of a poor diet. His team showed that an altered gene called (Cnnm2) is responsible for changing the structure and function of protein sequence; more specifically it affects how the protein anchors itself to the membrane of the kidney cells and therefore inhibits the absorption of magnesium into the bloodstream.

     Magnesium deficiency causes fatigue, impared contracting of muscles, muscle weakness, nervous system problems, fast heart rythems, and decreased enzymatic activity because magnesium is a co-factor for over 300 enzymatic reactions within the body. With this finding, research can be done to correct this genetic problem and possibly open the door to other altered genes that may have an impact on how our body metabolizes nutrients.