As physicians of health care, we need to obtain a more in depth medical history of the patient and avoid the “One size fits all” health model. Looking at the genetics of our patients can help us influence which modifications to make to their ‘environment’ so that the patients have more favorable phenotype displays. For example, a mediterranean based diet may benefit A allele women, which contains higher intakes PUFAs to increase their HDLs and decrease their chances of CVD, but women with G/G allele should receive differing diet advice for a similar outcome.(Costa et al) Another example of genetics variances demanding a diet modification is PKU, one of the first genetic conditions to be identified, which has a diet tailored to their low protein needs.(Murgia et al) To achieve the best outcomes as a physician, we need to modernize our health care strategy, such as taking cheap and accurate genetic testing, to more individualized health plans to have the highest efficacy per patient.
Murgia C, Adamski MM. Translation of Nutritional Genomics into Nutrition Practice: The Next Step. Nutrients. 2017;9(4):366. doi:10.3390/nu9040366.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409705/
Costa V, Casamassimi A. Nutritional genomics era: opportunities toward a genome-tailored nutritional regimen. J Nutr Biochem. 2010 Jun;21(6):457-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2009.10.012. Epub 2010 Mar 16.