Abstract
We are exposed to a complex mixture of food compounds in the womb and eat a composite mixture of foods throughout life. Our taste changes as we grow and mature, and we become influenced by external factors such as holidays and advertising by the food industry. Intricate biochemical processes extract energy and other useful components, enabling us to grow and live and keep our bodies and minds functioning effectively. There are, however, many food compounds that have biological effects within our bodies, and diet and disease are intimately associated. To address the fractured nature of nutrigenomic research, leading centres in nutritional research from across Europe have put together a Network of Excellence, the European Nutrigenomics Organisation (NuGO): linking genomics, nutrition and health research. Led by Dr Ben van Ommen of the Dutch Centre for Human Nutrigenomics, NuGO has been awarded €17.3 million over a period of 6 years. The project has been over a year, in preparation and currently has 22 partners from 10 EU member states. © 2004 British Nutrition Foundation.