This morning, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will visit the the offices of ThinkitDrinkit, a national manufacturer and distributor of nutritional supplements for beverages that the firm calls “customized personal nutrition.” The firm’s website indicates that it’s powders have not yet hit the market.
Located in the seasonally wreath-bedecked Colt Gateway building – look up at the blue onion domes – ThinkitDrinkit got state aid from the Small Business Express and Subsidized Training and Employment programs earlier in the year and has created 20 jobs. Here’s some of the company’s PR:
“Nutrigenomics is the science of understanding how nutrients from foods and supplements interact with our genes and identifying the ways this impacts individual health. One size does not fit all, and each individual’s genes affect the way their body responds to nutrient, exercise and other lifestyle factors (1). Nutrigenomics allows for people to access personalized diets and supplements designed to address specific identified genetic needs, such as dietary needs or restrictions, for individuals or groups to achieve health and prevent disease (4).
Overcoming the boundaries between food and medicine, nutrigenomics is the foundation for a novel strategy to optimize gene expression through customized nutrition.
Why Customize with ThinkitDrinkit?
- Scientific evidence supports the health benefits of identifying functional food ingredients.
- Different genetic backgrounds and genetic markers are associated with increased risk for chronic diseases, metabolic dysfunction or other illnesses (2).
- In the US & other countries the quality and quantity of available food has changed; agriculture techniques and methods, transportation and presentation of basic foods have impacted the nutritional value and depleted macronutrient content. For example, in vegetables, recent studies have shown median declines in nutrient ratios of 5%-40%+ in minerals, vitamins and protein contents in food (4).
- Consumption of nutritionally deficient foods can lead to increased energy intake; contributing to obesity and obesity related disorders (4).
- Current nutritional guidelines are generic advice for the entire population or age groups, which fail to recognize biochemical individuality and ignore new biomedical research in their recommendation.
- Characterizations of proteome (the proteins expressed by the genome), metabolome (the metabolic entities present in a cell, tissue, organ, organism, and species that are produced during different states of health and disease), epigenome (DNA modifications that alter genome function but do not change DNA sequence) and other gene expression modifications have been achieved through genome sequencing (1). This can be used to prevent diseases while optimizing health and performance – rather than the conventional model which simply diagnoses and reacts to diseases once they have emerged. By integrating nutrigenomic understanding, we provide lifestyle and nutrient recommendations that are tailored to the individual – not the population.