Not quite first-hand primary information, but there is a book review in the 21 October 2004 issue of
Nature that at least shows that work is ongoing along this line. The book reviewed is
Why Some Like it Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity, G. P. Nabhan, Island Press, 2004. From T. Colin Campbell's review:
Nabhan identifies a group of 26 'disease genes' that are likely to have been fashioned by food factors and endemic diseases. He cites adult-onset diabetes, lactose intolerance and heritable food allergies as examples of interactions between genes, food and disease. He goes on to say that a large number of us are subject to one or more of these genetic 'disorders', as some would call them indeed they are so common that they should be considered normal.
He discusses in considerable depth the extensively studied link between malaria, sickle-cell anaemia, the consumption of fava beans, and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, in order to illustrate how a careful study of biology, culture and history can be much more rewarding than one of these disciplines alone. He takes the reader on a trail of discovery, visiting the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where malaria has long been endemic. Here the traditional springtime consumption of fava beans offers those with the genetic disorder of G6PD deficiency some protection against the mosquito-borne disease. Coupling cultural, biological and historical analyses in this way is the basis for the field of nutritional ecogenetics.
I'm tempted to get the book, if only to clear up for myself what the heck fava beans have to do with sickle-cell anemia. Apparently, anyway, what wormjitsu (and a warm welcome to you!) is envisioning has already shaped populations of humans to some extent.
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