Today, we explore a fascinating topic, namely the interaction of genes and nutrition. Everyone can do something about their diet. For a start, we have a genetic predisposition which determines what diet really suits us and keeps us slim and healthy.
But we now know that it goes the other way too, with nutrition affecting the genes. Namely, whether genes activate themselves or stay inactive. This is a fascinating story, and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University in the USA have made a great discovery. Take, for example, a patient with a chronic lung condition in whom a particular gene is inactive and this inactivity means that fewer toxins are excreted from the body. Now we have this sensational discovery: substances found in broccoli can activate this gene and thus promote the excretion of the toxins that are the root cause of this disease.
There are many more examples where diet influences the activity of genes. Healthy eating is different for each individual because of his or her genes.
