Effects of Diet and Nutrients on Epigenetic and Genetic Expressions

Most experts of genetics are not quite aware of the facts that epigenetics could be the primary step in gene function or dysfunction. This mechanism of genome and epigenome is important because genetic or epigenetic damage could be the first event in the mechanism of development of most of the noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The risk of development of NCDs vary depending upon susceptibility of epigenome as well as genome and the damaging effects of environmental precursors because they have identifiable Mendelian subsets. The heritability of the variant phenotypes may be dependent on the supplementation of nutrients, for their expression. Genes are important in determining enzymes, receptors, cofactors, structural components involved in regulation of blood pressure, the metabolism of lipids, lipoproteins, and inflammatory and coagulation factors that are involved in determining individual risk for NCDs. The interaction of specific nutrient, with the genetic code possessed by all nucleated cells can be recognized. Recently, polymorphisms of the human delta-5 fatty acid desaturase gene (FADS1) and delta-6 (FADS2) desaturase genes have been described to be associated with the level of several long- chain ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in serum phospholipids. Increased consumption of refined starches, sugar, trans fat, omega-6 fat, and saturated fat causes increased generation of superoxide anion in the tissues, which are damaging to genome and epigenome. However, a low ω-6: ω-3 ratio of foods with antioxidants, micronutrients, minerals, vitamins, coenzyme Q10 may inhibit the generation of superoxide and suppress the pro-inflammatory transcription factors; NF-kB as well as AP-1, and Egr-1 which may inhibit phenotypic expressions. The phenotypic expressions and polymorphisms may be silenced by targeting simple sequence differences known as single nucleotide polymorphisms by nutrients and slowly absorbed foods with low ω-6/ω-3 fatty acids ratio.