Research summary
Health problems associated with diet are increasing in Canada and around the world. But current dietary recommendations don’t consider individual metabolism differences. For example, methyl nutrients (such as vitamins and amino acids) transit a complex network of pathways that differ from person to person and lead to differences in metabolic health. As Canada Research Chair in Precision Nutrition, Dr. Clara Cho hopes to develop dietary recommendations that take these differences into account.
Cho and her research team are using an emerging approach called “precision nutrition,” which considers metabolic complexity due to methylation reactions that program DNA, gut microbiome and genetics. Ultimately, they hope their findings will reduce the risk of metabolic diseases by ensuring that dietary recommendations consider metabolic variation.