Ever since nutrigenomics has been made public, many industries have devised a product custom-made for certain individual or group of individuals based on their genetic constitution. For instance, based on DNA profiling of an individual, a diet plan will be devised specifically for him or her for an optimal health or for prevention of potential diseases.
Pharmaceutical companies are custom-formulating supplements and vitamins to make up for what lacks on someone's nutrition based on that individual genes, and to maintain good health. Through nutrigenomics, pharmaceutical scientists are finding a way to formulate medicines so that a certain group of individuals needing them will respond well and quickly, thereby accelerating and assuring quick recovery.
For many decades, scientists have conducted studies on nutrition and human body separately. In the recent years, however, scientists have conducted a study on the relationship between the foods people eat and how their genes respond to such food on a molecular level. This study of science is called nutrigenomics.
Scientists, through nutri-genomics seek to prevent genetic diseases from occurring in an individual. Large-scale food corporations are spending fortunes on nutri-genomics, and on development of enhanced or fortified products to deliver personalized diets. Nutri-genomics is also used to develop pet foods and animal feed stocks for similar reasons.
The advantages of this study are not confined to diet, medicines and supplements alone, although they are the primary applications of such study. Multi-national corporations specializing in skin care and beauty products are using this branch of science to come up with breakthrough products that would help delay the ageing process of an individual based on his or her DNA profile.
Besides the ageing, companies manufacturing skin care products are investing on development of new products for smoother, softer and younger-looking skin customized for specific people or group of people based on their genes. In 2007, a survey was conducted on the age brackets of people buying products and seeking personalized nutrition based on their DNA, the results were not very significant.
These were the people who belong to the middle and upper class, have a family history of chronic disease or weight management problems, people who are concerned about ageing and having age-related diseases, and people who have strong commitment to maintaining good health.
Because it is still new, the advantages of nutri-genomics are still limited in the current time. The benefits include a growth in concern on one's health and the chance to have a personalized nutrition optimized for good health, discovering genetic vulnerabilities which can be a strong motivating factor to encourage people to make the necessary dietary and lifestyle changes, and the high chances of heeding the advice that they have paid for. Profiling and Analyzing one's DNA may cost between $300 and $3,000.
Admittedly, scientists have yet to spend several years of studying and researching before people can benefit fully what nutrigenomics can do to them. Among its long term advantages are extending life expectancy, avoidance of diseases or their amelioration, intake of unnecessary vitamins and supplements, and continuation of eating foods which have no effect at all to one's health.
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