Interplay between nutrigenomics and diabetes: a mini review

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder resulting mainly from either the inability of the pancreas to secrete a hormone (insulin) that is responsible for mopping the level of blood sugar, or situation arising from the constellation of insulin insensitivity, resistant and excessive secretion of a hormone called glucagon.1 As previously reported, DM remains a world health challenge with an estimated increase in incidence ranging from 171 million in 2010 to 366 million in 2030.2 Both the number of cases and its prevalence has been indicated to be on a rapid increase over the years, and as a consequence, DM is considered a silent killer.2,3 In an attempt to reduce the menace of diabetes mellitus, several approached has been tested and adopted for the prevention and treatment, including nutritional therapy. However, a key challenge that demands attention is genetic variability. Therefore, an approach which recognizes the interplay between nutritional therapy and genetic factor has become very necessary. This necessity brings nutrigenomics to the forefront. Hence, nutrigenomics offers personalized nutritional advice, develops specialized diet/nutrient for a populations or for individuals, and in general, it is regarded as personalized nutrition for the treatment and prevention of several disease conditions including DM.3 A Nutrigenomic approach finds huge application to the questions of human health and disease, and it is key to understanding the intricacies of interplay between basic metabolic activities and external determinant in disease processes.4 It has been demonstrated that, nutrigenomics is critical for the advancement of more targeted strategies in the treatment and prevention of diseases.4