University of Queensland researchers have examined taste and smell genes to help determine whether specific foods cause or are linked to disease. People who like the taste and smell of onions are more likely to have lower blood pressure and risk of type 2 diabetes, they have found. The findings are published in the journal BMC Medicine.
Dr. Daniel Hwang, of UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience, said his research team has established a new genetic framework to help scientists better understand how diet drives chronic disease.
"Determining if a specific food causes, or is linked to a disease, is a significant challenge in nutrition epidemiology," Dr. Hwang said. "We have built a framework guided by taste and smell genes to help scientists better understand how diet contributes to chronic disease. Taste and smell are two major biological drivers influencing a person's food choices and diet. By focusing on taste and smell genes, we created a new way for researchers to examine how diet influences disease. The aim is to help researchers cut through the complexity of distinguishing causation from correlation."
Despite extensive observational evidence linking diet to chronic disease, strong causal evidence for specific foods, dietary patterns or nutrients remains limited, Dr. Hwang said.
