However, the science behind healthy eating is not always so clear cut. A rapidly developing medical discipline, nutritional genomics (or nutrigenomics) studies the relationship between diet and genetic variations that affect the way people respond to certain nutrients. It has come to attention in recent years due to its potential in preventing and treating chronic diseases through minor yet significant changes in dietary habits.
Some well-known conditions studied by nutrigenomics include lactose intolerance, where the body's ability to create the enzyme lactase leads to an inability to process dairy products, and phenylketonuria, where the body's inability to break down phenylalanine leads to a buildup of phenylpyruvic acid, which can have serious effects on long-term mental health.
On a larger scale, nutrigenomics can be incorporated into long-term healthcare management by comparing the diet/gene reactions in key populations. Insights gained can be useful in the fight against disease and malnutrition.