Functional foods for genome health - is there a role for dairy foods?

The link between genome damage and adverse health outcomes is compelling. There is increasing evidence indicating that genome instability, in the absence of overt exposure of genotoxins, is itself a sensitive marker of nutritional deficiency. We have shown that an above-average intake of micronutrients; that are found in dairy foods (i.e. calcium, vitamin E, retinol, folate and nicotinic acid) is associated with a reduced genome damage rate measured using the micronucleus assay. Genome health nutrigenomics is an emerging and important new field of nutritional science because it is increasingly evident that an optimal concentration of micronutrients for the prevention of genome damage is dependent on genetic polymorphisms that alter the function of genes involved directly or indirectly in DNA repair and metabolism. With regards to the latter, we have shown that the common methylenetetrahyrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism, its co-factor riboflavin, and folate have a significant effect on genome instability. The development of functional dairy foods that are specifically designed to improve genome health maintenance in humans with specific genetic backgrounds may provide an important contribution to a new optimum genome health strategy based on the diagnosis and individualised nutritional treatment of genome instability (i.e. genome health clinics) and open new markets for the dairy industry.