Our diet changes our genes, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Nature Microbiology.
Diet is often at the heart of health problems and studies follow one another that a balanced diet could reduce the risk of chronic diseases (diabetes, obesity) and limit cardiovascular illnessesand protect us from some cancers. 30% is the number of cancers that would be favored by a poor diet, including 10% by alcohol consumption. “In 2014, the theoretical life expectancy of a woman is 85 years and that of being in good health 64 years. In 2014, women therefore lived an average of 21 years in poor health. However, a good diet would make it possible to gain 10 years of healthy life ”explains Anthony Fardet, doctor in human nutrition, researcher at INRA.
Nutrients interact with genes
This new study reveals that the nutrients would be able after digestion to interact with the cells and modify the genes.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the Francis Crick Institute in London (United Kingdom) used yeast which has the same specificities as the human body.
Scientists found that by modifying yeast cells, genes were expressed in different ways.
“The basic premise is to consider that genes control the way nutrients are assimilated but the opposite is true, the way they are assimilated also modifies the behavior of our genes”, explains Dr. Markus Ralser who led these work, cited by Metronews.
This discovery could make it possible to develop new research on the links between diet and health.
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