CHICAGO (Reuters Health) - A merging of genomics, nutrition and medicine may mean that ``you are what you eat'' becomes ``you eat what you are,'' as consumers of the future tailor their grocery lists to their DNA.

We are entering ``a new nutritional paradigm--the genetic era of nutrition,'' said nutritional science consultant Dr. Nancy Fogg-Johnson of Life Sciences Alliance in Pleasanton, California. She outlined the coming age of nutrigenomics in a speech presented here Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The recent publication of the human genome--humankind's genetic ``blueprint''--has triggered an explosion in research into how drugs might be individualized to capitalize on each patient's unique genetic code.

But Fogg-Johnson believes the line between food and drug is blurring in the era of the genome. Consumers already make ''dietary choices based on genetics,'' she pointed out--everything from a switch from milk to soy for the lactose-intolerant, to cholesterol-lowering spreads like Benecol and Take Control for those with a propensity to heart and blood vessel disease.

The next step, she said, is for industry to provide consumers with quick, cheap methods of assessing their gene profiles so that they can use them to make informed decisions about what they eat.

As an example, Fogg-Johnson noted that individuals with just one mutation in a specific gene might need a higher-than-average intake of folate-rich foods, such as fortified breads, so that they could fully protect themselves from heart disease. Having a copy of one's genetic profile would alert consumers to these types of important aberrations.

Nutrigenomics could become a central concern throughout the life span, she added. Children could be tested for their DNA in infancy, to make sure their diets put them on the road to lifelong health.

In fact, Fogg-Johnson envisages the day when shoppers routinely hand over a copy of their DNA sequence during every trip to the druggist or grocery store. Food production and delivery could also be tailored in a ``crop-to-fork'' way, with specific products aimed at groups of consumers sharing the same genetic makeup.

Of course, obstacles remain. Privacy issues over who owns an individual's gene sequence will need to be addressed, and much needs to be done to streamline technologies so that genetic testing becomes more accessible and affordable.

But already, the ``scientific continuums of nutrition and genomics have absolutely merged,'' Fogg-Johnson said, noting that a few small US companies now offer consumers genetic profiling. ``The technology to accomplish this in an economically feasible, consumer-relevant way is becoming a reality,'' she stated.

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