Perspectives in Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics

Abstract

Introduction The efficacy and safety of nutritional intervention is dependent on a thorough understanding of (1) which nutrients may be deficient or in excess in a population, (2) the pathologies induced by specific nutritional imbalances at the genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolic levels, and (3) appropriate diagnostic tools to monitor outcomes at the population and genetic subgroup level. The emerging sciences of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics which address these issues are expected to contribute substantially to the elimination of malnutrition and to the optimizing of health outcomes to a greater extent than would otherwise be possible by using conventional approaches alone.