The Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the European University of Lefke (EUL) organized a conference on ‘Nutrigenetics for Longevity: Genetic Processes of Personalized Nutrition.

Dr. Dietitian Ayşe Okan Shared Insights with Students

Dr. Dietitian Ayşe Okan participated as a speaker at the conference, where the potential of genetically based personalized nutrition approaches in enhancing individuals’ quality of life and preventing chronic diseases was emphasized.

In her presentation, Dr. Okan discussed the field of nutritional genomics, which examines the interactions between genetic structure and nutrition. She highlighted how this discipline explores the impact of our genetic code on achieving a long and healthy life.

Okan’s presentation covered topics such as the definitions of genomics and epigenetics, the interaction between nutrition and genes—including nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics perspectives—the significance of genetically based nutrition and its practical applications, the role of genetic testing in preventing chronic diseases, and the contributions of personalized diets aligned with genetic structure to metabolism, the immune system, and longevity.

She also provided students with insights on identifying individual risks for chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease through genetic testing and developing appropriate nutritional plans. Additionally, she explained how to optimize personal health through gene-environment interactions, epigenetic regulations, and metabolic pathways.

Concluding her presentation with the message, “We cannot change our genetic inheritance, but we can learn how to guide it,” Okan responded to questions from the participants.