The future of nutrition lies in our genes. Since the recent completion of the mapping of the human genome, a new area of science, called nutrigenomics, has emerged.

As humans, our DNA is 99.9% identical. The 0.1% that is different is due to mutations in the genome, know as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs.

Every person has different SNPs and the SNPs that you have alter the way your body interacts with environmental factors such as stress, food and drugs, and this can tell us about your susceptibility to diseases.

There is a common misconception that there is nothing you can do about your genes. But the fact is that your genes interact with your environment and once you know your areas of susceptibility, you can make a huge difference to your risk of disease.

Recently in the news was the breast cancer gene and the radical decision of many who discovered they had it to have a double mastectomy. Having the breast cancer gene does not mean that you are genetically coded to definitely get breast cancer. It means that you are susceptible. There is so much that you can do with diet to reduce your risk of getting breast cancer and nutritional therapy is an option that should be given serious consideration; especially as double mastectomy doesn’t guarantee that you won’t get breast cancer.

Genetic testing to inform nutrition is a specialist area, and is a service that I will be offering soon.