Abstract

Nutraceuticals 2020: Nutrigenetics and Nutrigenomics as useful tools to reach personalized nutritional care

Author(s): Maria Noel Zerbino

The main function of the diet is to provide the necessary nutrients to meet the nutritional needs of people. Since long, there is evidence that there is a relationship between diet and health, and from these arose the concept of functional foods. In general, functional foods are those that not only fulfil a nutritional function but also contain biologically active components that offer health benefits and reduce the risk of suffering diseases. An important key to know the effect that functional foods have on nutrition is to determine how the body responds to the stimulation of these. In other words, the components of the diet can alter genomic expression. However, not all people respond in the same way. Performing epidemiological studies without genetic knowledge may result in erroneous scientific conclusions and misinformed nutritional recommendations.