ABSTRACT
Nutrient-induced gene expression alterations can have a range of implications, including changes in metabolism and disease susceptibility. Several nutrients and therapeutic dietary ingredients have been studied for their effects on the epigenetic processes of DNA methylation and other histone modifications. Because a person’s epigenetic model is set from early gestation and is transformed and customized by environmental effects, epigenetic mechanisms play a crucial role in the development of obesity and diabetes mellitus. As a result, epigenetic regulation has been identified as a major factor in the ageing process, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. Furthermore, both ageing and cancer show large changes in genome-wide DNA methylation, suggesting that nutrition may influence the ageing process and cancer progression through epigenetic mechanisms. As a result, various dietary components are emerging as important biological age moderators, and epigenetic clock models are assisting in unraveling the complex interplay between nutrition and the most common diseases. Folate and related B-vitamins are intriguing epigenetic age regulators because they are 90essential cofactors in 1-carbon metabolism, the main metabolic pathway for generating methyl groups for DNA methylation. More long-term study and randomized nutritional interventions are needed to advance the area.
