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Global Translational Medicine Precision medicine via personalized nutrition

enabling rapid assessment of biofluids at the patient’s tryptophan metabolite pathways are common and closely
bedside. This approach could improve diagnosis, treatment, linked to disease states and outcomes.
and prognosis, paving the way for more personalized To summarize, system flexibility plays a crucial
medicine. 31,58 role in health, disease, and potentially aging. However,
In this context, PN and PF are emerging branches of interindividual variations arise from multiple factors and
nutrition science that leverage omics technologies (e.g., have diverse consequences. Systems flexibility integrates
genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) to analyze all interacting systems, each influenced by genetic
individual responses to foods or specific dietary patterns. components and environmental (exposomal) factors.
Their goal is to identify the most effective diet or lifestyle Therefore, it is essential to not only observe and quantify
interventions for preventing or treating specific diseases. individual parameters but also assess and intervene at
Metabolomics plays a fundamental role in nearly every the systemic level. Metabolomics examines shifts in an
aspect of PN and PF. It enables the comprehensive organism’s metabolic state due to factors such as drug
identification of thousands of compounds in foods, the treatment, environmental influences, nutrition, genetic
detection of food byproducts in human biofluids or variations, toxins, and diseases. This is achieved by
tissues, the assessment of nutrient deficiencies or excesses, globally or comprehensively identifying and quantifying
the monitoring of biochemical responses to dietary metabolites within biological systems.
interventions, and the evaluation of both short-term Given the strong association between nutrition and
and long-term dietary habits. In addition, it aids in the most chronic diseases, nutritional metabolomics holds
development of targeted nutritional therapies. As a result, significant promise for elucidating the relationships
metabolomics is crucial to advancing nutritional science among disease, nutritional status, nutrient intake, and
and making the implementation of PN and PF a reality. diet. This approach involves examining the metabolic
In general, metabolic homeostasis is altered in critically effects of specific diets to enhance overall health and
ill patients. Maintaining homeostasis under continuously advance personalized health care. Recently, nutritional
changing conditions is called phenotypic flexibility or metabolomics research has focused on investigating
systems flexibility. Under conditions of continuous energy metabolic pathways and biomarkers associated with
overload, maintaining homeostasis has an adaptive cost. nutrition and their interactions with various diseases,
Adipose tissue stores excess energy. Nevertheless, when considering both individual and population levels. The goal
storage surpasses normal physiological limits, insulin is to pave the way for personalized health care in the future.
resistance occurs, leading to complications such as ectopic Integrating metabolomic profiling with transcriptional
adipose deposition in and around vital organs. This also and genomic analyses provides valuable insights into
causes elevated plasma glucose levels, which contribute to nutrient deficiency and supply mechanisms, highlighting
oxidative damage in the microvasculature and sustained their impact on cellular homeostasis during critical illness
low-grade inflammation caused by macrophage infiltration and recovery.
in adipose tissue.
Given metabolism’s central role in nutrition,
A lack of phenotypic flexibility can lead to the metabolomics is emerging as a vital analytical tool in
development of pathologies or suboptimal health. However, human nutritional research. As a result, nutritionists
pathology does not always emerge during the disease process are increasingly incorporating metabolomics into their
or within the organ that loses flexibility. For instance, the study designs. However, despite its growing significance,
inability of peripheral adipose tissue to effectively absorb the potential of nutritional metabolomics, also known
glucose or convert it into fatty acids can result in the as nutrimetabolomics, to shape health policies has
accumulation of lipids in the liver. This can also lead to yet to be fully realized. 59,60 Achieving this requires
insulin resistance in other organs, such as skeletal muscle collaboration within the research community to leverage
and the liver. Factors that can trigger insulin resistance the opportunities that nutritional metabolomics presents.
include poor nutrition, such as overnutrition or, in some The application of metabolomics across multiple fields of
cases, micronutrient deficiencies, and underlying diseases. nutritional and food science research greatly enhances our
In these situations, macronutrients and micronutrients understanding of chemical compounds in food. When
act as key environmental factors influencing metabolite combined with other omics technologies, metabolomics
production through their effects on genetic regulation. and its analytical tools play a crucial role in assessing
In critically ill patients, where a comprehensive profile of diet-related health changes. This makes it an essential
circulating metabolites is analyzed, metabolomic studies component in the development of evidence-based dietary
consistently reveal that alterations in fatty acids, lipids, and guidelines. 54,57,61-63

Volume 4 Issue 3 (2025) 70 doi: 10.36922/GTM025080017