functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...

AAPI’S NUTRITION GUIDE TO OPTIMAL HEALTH: USING PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS
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Nutritional
Genomics Research
And Practice
Colleen Fogarty
Draper, MS, RD,
LDN
Nutritional Genomics is the scientific study of the
impact of gene polymorphisms on the body’s
propensity for disease and functional imbalances
and nutritional requirements; and the impact of
food, nutrients and related, holistic aspects of
human lifestyle on gene expression; which also
effects gene regulation, transcription, early phase
protein production and intermediary markers of
metabolism expressed by the metabolome. As this
informative area of science progresses, the
nutritional genomics term will increasingly
encompass nutritional systems biology, including all
of the ‚omics‛ sciences as they relate to nutrition,
lifestyle, life experiences, and other related aspects
of the environment that contribute to an
individual’s wellbeing. This exciting science has
tantalized many of us for the last decade providing
mechanistic insights which help us better
understand impactful nutrition therapies and helps
scientists do better research. Although this area
of science is still maturing, it is important for the
practitioner to start the education process now, to
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be prepared for a future in which holistic practice
is synonymous with nutritional genomics.
The evolution of nutritional genomics research
offers some clues to the root cause understanding
necessary to use nutrition therapies in practice to
heal, instead of simply treating disease symptoms
or prevention of worsening disease. It also holds
the potential to fuel the research in practice
necessary to design evidence-based intervention
strategies. Thus, Western/conventional nutrition
practice can be evolved to prevent and heal
chronic heath issues rather than treat symptoms
(e.g., neurodevelopmental disorders are a
phenotypic translation of a nutritional catastrophe).
However, in order to promote healing in practice
to achieve positive health, we must first agree on
a definition of health; particularly since Western
medicine is focused on defining disease and this
focus has permeated in scientific research efforts
and funding. In 1948, the World Health
Organization (WHO) ratified a definition of health
as the following, ‚Health is a state of complete
physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity‛[1].
2012