Good nutrition is essential for good health. Knowing that you are eating the best diet for you and taking the right supplements is important for everyone. The science of nutritional genomics, which studies the genome-wide influences of nutrition, has far-reaching potential in the prevention of disease. It is apparent that our genes affect our health and our lifestyle and what we eat and take as supplements affect the expression of those genes. As genetic information about individuals becomes available, such data are likely to redefine the current concept of preventative medicine. Specific foods influence our metabolic pathways and can affect the long-term risk for disease. We can harness this information with a series of blood and urines tests to determine an individuals risk for disease and the diet and lifestyle that can reduce those risks. By harnessing this information we can influence health promotion and disease prevention on a global scale.
Under certain circumstances and in some individuals, diet can be a serious risk factor for a number of diseases. Common dietary chemicals can act on the human genome, either directly or indirectly, to alter gene expression and structure. The degree to which diet influences the balance between health and disease may depend on a person’s genetic makeup. Some diet-modulated genes(and their normal common variants) are likely to play a role in the onset, incidence and progression and or severity of chronic disease such as MTHFR. Dietary intervention based on knowledge of nutritional requirement, nutritional status, and genotype (ie, personalized nutrition) can be used to prevent, mitigate, or cure chronic disease.