Precision nutrition aims at targeted and tailored delivery of nutrients, foods, food groups, or dietary regimens for improved and sustainable health and wellbeing, disease prevention, and the alleviation of therapy side-effects. Essential and non-essential micronutrients are vitamins and minerals required in smaller amounts for various cellular and molecular functions, contributing to human health. Those are often used as enzyme co-factors, cellular regulators, and signal transducers. Either consumed through food or nutraceuticals, essential micronutrients such as zinc, vitamin D, selenium, and vitamin B9 have crucial functions within an organism. Furthermore, essential fatty acids either taken from food or delivered metabolically, have a prominent cardioprotective, immunomodulatory, and health-promoting role, usually delivered through their nutrigenomic impact.

The micronutrients and fatty acids are contained within various foods and food groups and certain genes, such as those coding for the zinc-transporter proteins or fatty acid desaturases, might influence the physiological response to it. It is also important to consider their interactions with macronutrients, particularly dietary fats, as well as non-nutrient bioactives such as polyphenols and carotenoids, given their concomitant consumption with micronutrients might confer beneficial health effects. Advanced approaches consider the role of micronutrients on gut permeability and microbiota profiling, given the consumption of specific foods or practicing of a dietary regimen. More research is needed on the specific role of micronutrients and fatty acids in obesity and metabolic syndrome as well as across different life stages including pregnancy and breastfeeding.

This Research Topic is aimed at reflecting the advances in the research on the role of micronutrients and fatty acids in health and disease, with a focus on its role in individuals and population subgroups. Of special importance is the research on interactions between the micronutrients and lifestyle habits such as fat intake, as well as the nutrigenetic interactions and effects of the micronutrients and fatty acids on the individual physiological hallmarks, such as microbiota profiles.

We encourage Original Research and Review submissions on the following topics:
1. Micronutrients and fat intake (particularly omega-3 and saturated fats) – implications in obesity
2. Zinc deficiency and fat intake (particularly omega-3 and saturated fats) in dyslipidemic subjects
3. Activity of desaturase enzymes and interaction with micronutrients – population-specific aspects
4. Vitamin D as a biomarker in cardiometabolic health: Variants in genes associated with vitamin D metabolism and obesity
5. Zinc as a biomarker in cardiometabolic health: Variants in zinc transporter proteins
6. Selenium and cancer: Variants in selenoproteins’ genes
7. Further insights in nutrigenomics of polyphenols as the second generation of prebiotics and their interaction with polyunsaturated fatty acids
8. Micronutrients and polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism during pregnancy and lactation: A Nutrigenetics perspective
9. Micronutrient and polyunsaturated fatty acids in gut health, immune competence and infectious diseases
10. The interaction of vitamins, micronutrients and fibre with genetic polymorphisms in cardiometabolic health

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Frontiers in Nutrition

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