Chapters authored
Nutrigenomics: An Interface of Gene-Diet-Disease Interaction
Healthy diet and proper nutrition are basic necessity of life and play a key role in preventing diseases. Nutrigenomics (NG) is an emerging approach in nutritional research which deals with the gene-diet interactions. The concept of nutrigenomics is not new and it is commonly associated with “inborn errors of metabolism”, the rare genetic (inherited) disorders in which the body cannot properly turn food into energy. These disorders are related to insufficient availability of metabolic enzymes or cofactors due to alteration of gene. Usually cure of these diseases lies in restricted diet. Presently non communicable diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular diseases, obesity, diabetes and cancers are outnumbering the other health ailments among the different human populations of world. The main reason behind the occurrence of these NCDs is the abruptly changing life style and food habits after industrial revolution. With the advent of industrial revolution and economical concerns, the life style of people across the world has changed so much so that it resulted in approximately millions of death cases due to these NCDs. Study related to NG is one step forward in nutritional research involving the techniques of nutrition, molecular biology, genomics, bioinformatics, molecular medicine and epidemiology together to understand the role of food as an epigenetic factor which unravel its role in the occurrence of these diseases. Hence, under the prevailing scenario of world health, it has become an urgency to boost NG research to find cure for dreaded diseases caused due to lack of healthy food and improper nutrition. Thus, such type of research findings ensures the effective benefit of genomic revolution for mankind near future.
Part of the book: Mineral Deficiencies