The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) plans to set up a novel National Health Research Institute that will promote public health by simply tweaking people's food habits.

It aims to minimize or replace medication with right kind of foods by dipping into the vast traditional Indian knowledge systems, Prof. Samir K Brahmachari, secretary to government of India, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and director general CSIR, told Pharmabiz

To be called the Institute of synthetic and systems biology, it will study the different regional food patterns in order to connect their food with the nature of disorders prevalent in these places.

According to Prof. Brahmachari, making simple changes in what we eat can prevent or control some of the diseases. In the bargain, it can reduce consumption of medicine. Some of these include diabetes, digestive disorders, skin diseases and cholesterol.

CSIR is scouting for a place to locate the Institute, he said.

Apart from taking a hard look at regional food consumption patterns, the institute will drive home the importance of micro-nutrients in promoting health. “There is ample bacteria in the gut and the scientists are now trying to understand the foods that will help design bacteria within the human body to control many diseases. There are a number of nutritional pathways. Researchers are viewing the foods specific to each state and their genetic impact on people of those region,” said Prof. Brahmachari and added that this is where Systems Biology comes into the picture where the science of metabolites and haemostatic functions can be modified in the body itself.

After the Green Revolution of the 1960s and the food glut that followed, now is the time to bring back the consumption of traditional foods. They are known to control disorders affecting the digestive system, which is said to be where many diseases manifest, he said.

For instance, regular and controlled consumption of traditional meal of rice and curd will cure or keep away many digestive disorders at bay. In fact, curd or yogurt is now globally accepted as a probiotic.

CSIR has already invested around Rs.80 crore to undertake the Ayur Genomics research initiative. Its scientists look at traditional medicine and genomics for discovery of predictive markers for preventive and personalized medicine.

The new Institute would leverage studies from this centre.

“Evidence-based Ayurveda has a holistic approach to understand the complexities of diseases and to investigate the principles of preventive medicine through the integration of Indian System of Medicine with genomics,” he said.

“With System biology, we have recognized the genome variations in the human body and its vulnerability to diseases. In fact the human body is itself a metabolic factory. If more triglycerides are secreted, then there are ways to negate its impact with the intake of certain foods by bio-transforming the recombinant nutrients activated through an internal mechanism. This is where the new Institute of Synthetic and Systems Biology would transform the treatment modalities to focus primarily on disease prevention, Prof Brahmachari said.