Files and links (2)
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Nutrition, Genes and Modern Disease: A Current Dilemma or a Legacy of our Past
Journal of Diabetes & Metabolism, Vol.5(7), pp.1-5
2014
Abstract
Contemporary humans are genetically adapted to the environment that their ancestors survived in and that consequently selected their genetic makeup. Since the agricultural revolution some 10,000 years ago, the lifestyles and dietary requirements of modern humans have changed dramatically. It is suggested that these changes have occurred too recently on an evolutionary time scale for the modern human genome to adapt. Therefore, our ancestral genome is ill-suited for our current modern consumption and existence, and thus contributes to diseases associated with contemporary lifestyles, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. It is therefore suggested that a diet similar to our ancestors could circumvent many of our modern illnesses and serve as a reference for better nutrition, health, and longevity. Although this model should certainly be commended for its simplistic dietary practices that no doubt improve health and well-being; its premise is cemented in the thrifty genome hypothesis and the fact that humans are modern hunters and gatherers whose genome is ill-suited for modern diets. This is a disjointed view of modern humans and our ability to evolve under different eco regions and nutritional pressures through post-genomic and post-transcriptional changes in our genome. Accordingly, a major challenge associated with nutritional research is to understand how these changes in our genome reflect on our nutrition habits and lifestyles to ameliorate many of our modern lifestyle diseases.
Details
- Title
- Nutrition, Genes and Modern Disease: A Current Dilemma or a Legacy of our Past
- Authors
- Stephen Myers (Author)Sheridan Williamson (Author)
- Publication details
- Journal of Diabetes & Metabolism, Vol.5(7), pp.1-5
- Publisher
- Longdom Group SA
- Date published
- 2014
- DOI
- 10.4172/2155-6156.1000393
- ISSN
- 2155-6156
- Copyright note
- © 2014 Myers S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99656598602621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
31 File views/ downloads
46 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Endocrinology & Metabolism
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites