functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...
functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...
functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...
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AAPI’S NUTRITION GUIDE TO OPTIMAL HEALTH: USING PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS<br />
despite following a gluten free diet. Thus, it is<br />
important we address these issues earlier with<br />
better, more comprehensive testing <strong>and</strong> a greater<br />
underst<strong>and</strong>ing of some of the changes occurring at<br />
an earlier phase of an individual’s health<br />
trajectory.<br />
Large data sets of <strong>genomics</strong>, metabolomics,<br />
transcriptomics, proteomics, <strong>and</strong> nutrient biomarker<br />
data that crossover ethnicities <strong>and</strong> geographic<br />
regions are needed to account for natural<br />
differences in genotype prevalence <strong>and</strong><br />
environmental influence in order to continue to see<br />
scientific progress in <strong>nutritional</strong> <strong>genomics</strong> research.<br />
Genome wide association studies (GWAS) that<br />
cross over continents have been conducted <strong>and</strong><br />
more are in progress to account for this need.<br />
Additionally, researchers such as Jim Kaput are<br />
pushing for more international research nodes to<br />
participate in <strong>and</strong> harmonize research protocols to<br />
allow for ease of data sharing. The Human<br />
Variome Project (HVP) is a worldwide effort to<br />
identify all gene variations in the human genome<br />
associated with phenotypic variability <strong>and</strong> human<br />
disease risk. Kaput et al., 2010, proposed a<br />
collaboration between the HVP <strong>and</strong> the <strong>nutritional</strong><br />
<strong>genomics</strong> research community to harmonize <strong>and</strong><br />
systematize their research efforts to ensure crossbenefit<br />
of novel data <strong>and</strong> results [42]. Advances<br />
in systems biology <strong>and</strong> <strong>genomics</strong> research are<br />
increasing the feasibility to assess the mechanistic<br />
effects of micronutrients on metabolism.<br />
As a result, a central repository of micronutrient<br />
data has been developed for scientific researchers<br />
to submit <strong>and</strong> access data, that will aid in further<br />
harmonizing <strong>and</strong> advancing <strong>nutritional</strong> <strong>genomics</strong><br />
research efforts [43]. The micronutrient project<br />
ensures the environmental impact of nutrition is<br />
accounted for consistently on an international level.<br />
In the near future, data access will change in<br />
order to meet the growing needs of <strong>nutritional</strong><br />
genetics <strong>and</strong> systems biology research <strong>and</strong> may<br />
19<br />
be partially fueled by the wants <strong>and</strong> needs of<br />
individuals with chronic disease desiring the<br />
opportunity to get closer to an underst<strong>and</strong>ing of<br />
the root cause of their health issues. Enterprises,<br />
such as Patients Like Me<br />
(www.patientslikeme.com), the Personal Genome<br />
Project (www.personalgenomes.org) , <strong>and</strong><br />
m<strong>and</strong>atory data collection in clinical practice, will<br />
become part of the health routine <strong>and</strong> experience<br />
for the researcher <strong>and</strong> the patient.<br />
Is systems biology, of which <strong>nutritional</strong> <strong>genomics</strong> is<br />
a part, forming a scientific bridge between Western<br />
<strong>medicine</strong>/nutrition <strong>and</strong> Ancient Eastern traditions?<br />
While it is early to formulate this opinion from the<br />
scientific literature, there is some evidence to<br />
suggest this is the precise direction we are<br />
heading. In Chinese <strong>medicine</strong>, rheumatoid arthritis<br />
(RA) fits into the Bi-syndrome grouping, meaning<br />
blockage or obstruction. The Bi-syndromes are<br />
caused by pathogenic factors categorized as heat,<br />
cold, dampness <strong>and</strong> wind; <strong>and</strong> are identified by<br />
patient inquiry, palpation, pulse <strong>and</strong> the tongue’s<br />
appearance. Since RA therapy in Western<br />
<strong>medicine</strong> can lack effectiveness with lots of<br />
individual variation present; it can be frustrating for<br />
the medical practitioner <strong>and</strong> the patient. Differences<br />
have been identified between RA Cold <strong>and</strong> Heat<br />
patients that can be defined through unique<br />
symptomatology (to Western <strong>medicine</strong>), gene<br />
expression <strong>and</strong> metabolic profiling. Heat patients<br />
with RA tend to exhibit more apoptosis, while Cold<br />
patients seem to exhibit a better response to<br />
biomedical combination therapy., This information<br />
will hopefully lead to more personalized therapy<br />
[44]. Additionally, common RA symptoms<br />
evaluated through Western medical practice (joint<br />
pain, swelling, <strong>and</strong> stiffness) do not contribute to<br />
a greater underst<strong>and</strong>ing of significant variation<br />
amongst patients. In order to categorize RA<br />
patients with traditional Chinese <strong>medicine</strong> Bisyndromes,<br />
significant symptoms include the<br />
following: panting, shortness of breath <strong>and</strong> aversion<br />
to cold to define the Cold syndrome; <strong>and</strong><br />
2012