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Food and Health - All in the Genes or What you Eat?

In her recent Science Alive seminar, Professor Helen Roche asked the secondary pupils in the audience whether they believed that being healthy was due to the food they ate or their genes.

She commented that the 50:50 show of hands was probably an accurate reflection of the situation. Our health is dependent both on our food intake and our genetic make-up.

DNA is the instruction manual for every cell in our bodies; the code for life passed from parent to child. Your heritance may include being at increased risk for particular diseases like cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes.

The way in which our genome interacts with the environment is important. Professor Roche asked if pupils believed it possible to re-programme their genetic predisposition by the food they eat. They were unsure but her research shows that this is possible.

Charles Darwin’s theory on evolution could also accurately be described as ‘survival of the fattest’. Genes are programmed to be thrifty. The search for food by our cavemen ancestors was a survival mechanism. Today, there is an abundance of food in the first world. We eat for pleasure rather than survival and, as a result, obesity is now prevalent in our society.

The weight gain that was once typical of people in their 40s and 50s is being seen now in the teens and 20s. Professor Roche told pupils that the solution to this metabolic syndrome was not to stop eating fatty foods but rather to change the type of fat being consumed. Fat is a valuable source of energy but by swopping to fish oils and olive oils, we can lower our risk of disease.

She outlined her research as part of Lipgene; a European study of diet & genes involving 16,000 people. These people are placed on various dietary regimes for a twelve week period in order to measure the effect of diet on biomarkers of health.

One particular diet containing monounsaturated fats reduced insulin resistance, the most important biomarker of of type 2 diabetes. A particular region of the genome called A SNP is also associated with lower risk for the disease. By reducing the amount of saturated fat in the diet, metabolic and genetic factors then favour reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.

Professor Roche believes that this work opens the possibilities for individuals to profile their genes, assess their inherent risk of getting particular diseases and being offered tailored therapy (physiotherapy, nutrition) accordingly.

Podcast - 'Food & Health: All in the genes or what you eat'