There is a lot of emphasis on personalized nutrition, but perhaps we should focus on taking personal responsibility for our health.
“Personalized nutrition (PN) is Rooted In the concept that one size does not fit all, and who does not fit He wants To think they are special? The idea of personal nourishment is inherently attractive to our selfishness; That’s why simple messages that acknowledge individuality resonate so deeply with us, and why these messages are so popular in marketing and sales. This focus is on uniqueness stimulate Creating personalized foods, along with the suggestion that “3D printing of food seems to be a good candidate for food customization.”
Now, there are definitely some legitimate differences between people. some He owns Peanut allergy ends if they eat peanuts, others He owns Celiac disease and need to avoid gluten, and some are genetically lactose intolerant. There is an enzyme mutation common in some parts of Asia protects Against alcoholism because people with the altered enzyme do not metabolize alcohol efficiently, so toxic metabolites accumulate. I posted a great video about fast caffeine metabolism versus slow caffeine metabolism and the difference in health benefits actually extends For athletic performance. Caffeine is considered an ergogenic — i.e., performance enhancing — but only in people with fast metabolisms, getting more than a minute out of a 10-kilometre (about 6-mile) cycle, while people with slower metabolisms either got no benefit or were actually slowed by caffeine, which adds two minutes to their cycling time, depending on what types of genes they have that encode the enzyme that breaks it down. You can see these results below and at 1:24 in my video How useful is personalized nutrition?.
But for most people, in most situations, we are We are More similar than different.
While there is a specific minority of people who require a more personalized approach to nutrition, there is currently insufficient evidence to support truly personalized nutrition for most people. However, a surprising number of direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies have done so SpreadAnd provide personalized nutritional advice. For example, there are companies that sell nutritional supplements that claim to help consumers improve micronutrient status based on a few genetic variants, although most variants He explains Just a few percent difference in levels between people.
Personal nutrition He is Part of a broader push toward personalized medicine, also known as Precision medicine. there He is “Immense cultural appeal” for personal control over diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease, stimulating demand and aggressive marketing. But unlike monogenic diseases — rare genetic diseases caused by a defect in a single gene, such as hemophilia or sickle cell anemia — most diseases Cause Through a complex interaction between multiple genes and environmental factors, which constitutes a “major challenge to achieving personalized medicine.”
Take something like adult status, for example. Researchers have Found At least 40 locations on our chromosomes are linked to human height, which is strongly inherited. Parental genes account for about 80% of the difference in height between people, yet dozens of identified genes explain only about 5% of the difference in height between individuals.
Researchers finds These genetic links are made using genome-wide association studies, where all chromosomes are examined to look for statistical associations between diseases and any particular stretches of DNA. This is interesting, but so are the companies that market genetic susceptibility tests Reinterpretation These data seem to predict individual risk. But all you actually get is modest genetic associations with a small increase in disease risk with little predictive power compared to the more important contributions of things we already know, like lifestyle behaviors. Currently, practicing Use A person’s DNA for predicting disease “has been judged to provide little or no useful information.”
For example, suppose a person’s genetic analysis He says They are at slightly higher risk for some serious conditions than others in their ancestral group. This person is advised to exercise, keep their weight low, not drink too much alcohol, and eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It’s sound advice, but we should live this way regardless of the genetic risks we face. We know—at least we should know—these simple, basic strategies to reduce the risk of common chronic diseases. “The problem, of course, is that very few individuals live this way. In fact, to be more precise, almost no one lives this way.” This is not just an exaggeration, this is nationwide polling displays Almost everyone in the United States consumes a diet that falls short of even the poor recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines.
In fact, “almost no one in the United States does.” eater Healthy diet.” Such findings remind us that when it comes to public health, “concern about personalizing our prevention strategies based on genetic risk information borders on the absurd.”
Doctor’s note
Here’s the video I mentioned about fast and slow metabolizers of caffeine and the difference in health benefits that extend to athletic performance: Friday Favorites: Do the health benefits of coffee apply to everyone?.
For more information on lifestyle approaches, see the related posts below.
