What are your favorite dishes? Preferences at the table are written in the genes, according to one of the first large-scale studies of diet-related genes. University of Colorado researchers have discovered nearly 500 genes that appear to directly influence the foods we eat in a study presented at Nutrition, the conference that opens today in Boston. The findings represent an important step toward using a person’s genetics to develop personalized nutritional strategies that help improve health or prevent disease.”
Discovered genes at the base of our tastes at the table
Some genes we have identified are related to sensory pathways – including those for taste, smell and texture – and may also increase the sense of contentment in the brain,” explains research team leader Joanne Cole. “Because some of these genes may have clear pathways to influence food preference, they could potentially be used to create sensory genetic profiles to fine-tune personalized dietary recommendations.”
For the study, the researchers used the UK biobank, which contains data on 500,000 people. The analysis revealed around 300 genes directly associated with the consumption of specific foods and nearly 200 genes linked to dietary patterns that cluster various foods, such as overall fish intake or fruit consumption.
They could lead to personalized diets based on DNA
“The study showed that dietary styles tend to have more indirect genetic effects, meaning they correlate with many other factors,” Cole says. Cole is currently studying newly identified diet-related genes to better understand their function, while also working to identify even more genes that directly influence food preferences. An example of a possible clinical application of the discovery would be to modify our preferences at the table to improve diet: “if we know that a gene for an olfactory receptor in the nose increases a person’s taste for fruit”, then we could modulate the activity of that receptor to make fruit consumption more attractive for that person”.
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