If you haven’t heard about personalized nutrition before, you might be wondering what it is about. The thing about personalized nutrition is that it can pave the path to better health. Personalized nutrition can be broken down into three parts: nutrigenetics, nutrigenomics, and microbiome.
Nutrigenetics
Nutrigenetics is essentially about how your genes impact the way you interact with nutrients and your eating habits. The underlying idea is that genetics impacts different factors, such as the following:
- Nutrient Absorption
- Nutrients Use
- Nutrients Tolerance
- Nutrients Requirements
In simpler words, your requirements for foods and nutrients essentially depend on your genetic makeup. This aspect also indicates that even if you are getting enough of a nutrient – your body might not be able to process it well.
Nutrigenomics
Nutrigenomics is about the assessment of nutrients and how these impact your genome. This aspect assesses how the food you eat changes the way your genes are expressed. For instance, if you are obese, you might have a certain set of genes – but – the presence of those genes doesn’t necessarily mean that you express them. However, if you consume food that impacts those genes and expresses them, then you become obese.
Microbiome
Lastly, there is a microbiome, and this study focuses on how the microbiomes in your gut affect your health. The study of microbiomes is relatively new, but it has quickly become one of the leading marketing claims. As everyone’s microbiome is essentially different, it is easy to understand why each person’s ideal diet is prone to be different, too. Every person is complex and different, which indicates that physical needs – especially nutrition needs are different, too.
The Study on Nutrition
The NIH has become a major research project that is exclusively focused on precision nutrition. Researchers are recruiting a diverse pool of thousands of people to establish an algorithm that can predict how the human body responds to various parts of the diet. The research is focused on diet, genetics, microbiome, physical aspects, and the environment of the people who are part of the research.
The study aims to accumulate enough information to develop accurate algorithms and test their findings to determine their reliability.
The Benefits of Personalized Nutrition
Now, you know that personalized nutrition is based on the belief that one size does not fit all. It wouldn’t be wrong to state that the concept of personalized nutrition is incredibly appealing to humans with respect to their egos – after all – who doesn’t like to feel special?
If you are allergic to peanuts, then you are already special, as you cannot consume what the general population can. The same goes for gluten-free foods that are exclusively available for people with gluten intolerance. Also, people with genetic variants who are lactose-intolerant can avail of lactose-free foods.
So, you know that personalized nutrition is already available in the markets as food industries have realized the unique needs of individuals.
Let us have a detailed look at the benefits of personalized nutrition:
No Fad Diet for Weight Management
Before personalized nutrition, there was a common belief that fad diets are for everyone, especially those looking for weight loss. However, now things have changed, and there is no longer the need for a fad diet if you want to lose weight.
It all comes down to nutritional counseling, which allows you to achieve powerful results as you work closely with a team of experts who help you adjust your eating habits and lifestyle in a way that helps you lose weight the right way.
A personalized nutrition plan won’t focus on omitting certain foods, cutting calories, and delimiting your eating window. Personalized nutrition is about moderation and balance. It is also about learning portion control and the right way to view food and nutrition so that you can establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle for the long term.
Customized Meal Plan Addressing Your Needs
Personalized nutrition is essentially customized, which is why it is exclusively designed to address your unique needs. This area of science addresses the different genetic compositions that require different foods and nutrients. For instance, you might do well with a high-protein diet, while your friend might need more carbs.
When it comes to establishing the perfect meal plan, you need to keep in mind your activity level as well as your body composition, which is exactly what personalized nutrition is about.
Without personalized nutrition, you will struggle with reaching your health and body goals. Unbeknownst to you, you might over-consume certain macronutrients while not consuming the right foods.
On that note, nutritional counseling is essential as it will help you get on the right track and ensure that you eat the exact things that your body needs.
Your Health Conditions Are Thoroughly Addressed
The foods you eat impact your health conditions. For instance, if you have diabetes or an auto-immune disease, then you must avoid certain foods. Despite taking medications, you must adjust your lifestyle and eating habits to attain longevity despite the health conditions, which is also where the importance of nutrition counseling comes in.
The nutrition experts will address your health conditions thoroughly and create the right meal plan while including foods that can help with alleviating certain health conditions. The thing is that when you sit down with a professional nutritionist, you essentially get guidance about the type of foods and nutrients you should consume for your best health.
Nutritional counseling also takes your medical history and current lifestyle into account when creating a diet plan that exactly fits your needs. So, getting professional help is crucial for you to boost your health and live a good-quality life.
Final Thoughts
If you are interested in improving your life quality and optimizing your health, you must establish a positive relationship with your food. As an individual, your food and nutrition needs will be different from everyone else and the more aware you are – the more control you will have over your life, especially your health. Choosing the right foods is essential for fulfilling your physical needs and improving life quality.
