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Nutritional and lifestyle changes remain at the core of healthy aging and disease prevention. Accumulating evidence underscores the impact of genetic, metabolic, and host gut microbial factors on individual responses to nutrients, paving the way for the stratification of nutritional guidelines. However, technological advances that incorporate biological, nutritional, lifestyle, and health data at an unprecedented scale and depth conceptualize a future where preventative dietary interventions will exceed stratification and will be highly individualized. We herein discuss how genetic information combined with longitudinal metabolomic, immune, behavioral, and gut microbial parameters, and bioclinical variables could define a digital replica of oneself, a “virtual digital twin,” which could serve to guide nutrition in a personalized manner. Such a model may revolutionize the management of obesity and its comorbidities, and provide a pillar for healthy aging.

Lipid Profile of Healthy Women During Normal PregnancyThe four basic lipid indexes (Chol, Trig, HDL-C and LDL-C) increase during pregnancy, following different rates of increase. Among the four analytes triglycerides show the largest increase and HDL-C the smallest. All analyte values are raised during the 40 weeks of pregnancy, except HDL-C which is stabilized during the second trimester. After delivery the values decrease, except LDL-C which remains steady (for some weeks) before starting to fall following the others. In this study the relations between the four lipid indexes and some predisposing factors (age, gestational age, nationality, body mass index, profession, smoking and diabetes during pregnancy) were investigated. The sample consisted of 413 pregnant women, mainly Greeks and Albanians. After regression analysis it was proved that the only common predisposing factor was the gestational age. Triglycerides and total cholesterol are also influenced by the women's age. The lipid indexes showed no important difference between the pregnant women in the first trimester and the non-pregnant women. On the contrary, there was a statistical difference between the pregnant women in the second and third trimester and between them and the women in the first trimester. The percentages of increase between first and second trimester were: Chol: 38%, Trig: 115%, HDL-C: 30%, LDL-C: 33%. The percentages of increase between first and third trimester were: Chol: 65%, Trig: 208%, HDL-C: 26%, LDLC: 64%.

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Choline has been identified as an essential nutrient with crucial role in many vital biological functions. Recent studies have demonstrated that heart dysfunction can develop in the setting of choline deprivation even in the absence of underlying heart disease. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are responsible for extracellular matrix degradation, and the dysregulation of MMP-2 and MMP-9 has been involved in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of MMPs and their inhibitors (TIMPs), in the pathogenesis of choline deficiency-induced cardiomyopathy, and the way they are affected by carnitine supplementation. Male Wistar Albino adult rats were divided into four groups and received standard or choline-deficient diet with or without L-carnitine in drinking water (0.15% w/v) for 1 month. Heart tissue immunohistochemistry for MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 was performed. Choline deficiency was associated with suppressed immunohistochemical expression of MMP-2 and an increased expression of TIMP-2 compared to control, while it had no impact on TIMP-1. MMP-9 expression was decreased without, however, reaching statistical significance. Carnitine did not affect MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 or TIMP-2 expression. The pattern of TIMP and MMP modulation observed in a choline deficiency setting appears to promote fibrosis. Carnitine, although shown to suppress fibrosis, does not seem to affect MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1 or TIMP-2 expression. Further studies will be required to identify the mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of carnitine.