Nutrition in the 'omics' era

Consumers throughout the world are increasingly questioning the quality and safety of their diets and how the foods they eat are influencing their health. Much of this interest stems from mounting evidence that bioactive food components cannot only influence one's ability to achieve one's genetic potential, but can also have a significant influence on the quality of life as measured by both physical and cognitive performance, and modify the risk and/or severity of a variety of disease conditions. During the past century, a wealth of evidence has pointed to dietary habits as a determinant of premature death, including that associated with heart disease, stroke, diabetes, liver disease, atherosclerosis and cancer, although considerable variability in response is evident. Several factors may account for these discrepancies including individual variability due to genetic and epigenetic regulation of cellular proteins and associated small-molecular-weight compounds. This interrelationship between the food components and the 'omics' (genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) will be briefly reviewed as a factor contributing to the variability among studies. Expanded knowledge about these omics interrelationships will not only define the molecular target for food components but will also assist in identifying those individuals who are likely to respond maximally.