Sunday, May 4, 2003

A picture named eat.right.genotype.gif Eat Right for Your Genotype

New York Times by Bruce Grierson::

A trip to the diet doc, circa 2013. You prick your finger, draw a little blood and send it, along with a $100 fee, to a consumer genomics lab in California. There, it's passed through a mass spectrometer, where its proteins are analyzed. It is cross-referenced with your DNA profile. A few days later, you get an e-mail message with your recommended diet for the next four weeks.

The promise of genomics continues to fascinate. It is, however, dependent on databases full of your most personal information: your genotype. Will people trade off potential violations of their privacy for the ability to live healthier lives?

Also, what should one do until 2013? Since the vast majority (80%) of people will benefit eating a "normal" diet, I believe a common sense approach will win the day. I recommend a diet that consists of lots of fruits and vegetables, low-fat protein and the right types of fat, e.g. olive oil.

If you want further information on this common sense approach, I highly recommend two books: Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy (Willett) and The Omega Diet (Simopoulos).

Eat right. Live Better.

-Tim
9:32:43 AM    comment []