The Power of Personalised Nutrition, Explained.
In a world where nutrition advice is abundant, it can be challenging to determine what is best for our individual needs.
Enter personalised nutrition - an approach that takes into account your unique genetic makeup, lifestyle and health goals. Before you start thinking this is all about fad diets and magic potions, let's get one thing straight - personalised nutrition is all about the facts. Facts that make up the parts of you, that is.
It has the potential to revolutionise the way we approach our diets and can be the key to unlocking our full potential when it comes to all those health and wellbeing goals you have.
In this blog, we'll explore the power of personalised nutrition over standard nutrition recommendations and how it can benefit you when it comes to smashing your goals in the most efficient way!
One size does not fit all
NRVs (Nutrient Reference Values) set out the amount of a nutrient that is required by the average person to maintain good health.1
NRVs are a bit like that one friend who always gives you generic advice, no matter what the situation. Sure, they mean well, but they're not really helping you reach your full potential.
Whilst these guidelines do have their place in some public health systems, it is important to note that these guidelines are just that, guidelines.
Everyone's nutritional needs are extremely unique based on a number of factors including age, gender, activity level, overall health and of course, genetics.
The NRV guidelines are extremely imprecise because they don't account even for very broad categories like age and sex. They’re supposed to account for everyone ages 4 and up – as if a 5-year-old child and a 40-year-old man will have anything like the same nutrient requirements!
The numbers are for preventing deficiencies
This might be an even more damning criticism. The numbers in the RDA report are designed to prevent obvious deficiency, not to achieve optimal health.
So if you follow their recommendation for Vitamin D, you won’t get rickets; if you follow the recommendation for Vitamin B1, you won’t get beriberi.
It goes without saying that it’s definitely better not to have these diseases than to have them, but just the fact that you don’t have rickets or beriberi doesn’t make you healthy. It is unlikely that following these guidelines will allow you to perform at your peak.
In fact, out of all the 100’s of DNA analyses I’ve done, not a single person has shown to only require the ‘baseline’ NRV nutrient recommendations based on their genetics.
One of the key advantages of personalised nutrition is that it can help identify a predisposition for nutritional deficiencies and imbalances that may contribute to health issues. For example, our DNA Nutrition Report may recommend certain foods or supplements that can help address nutrient deficiencies, support gut health, or reduce inflammation.
Personalised nutrition: it wasn’t always so easy
In the past, personalising your diet was a difficult and expensive thing to do. DNA tests that provided insight into an individual's unique nutritional needs could cost upwards of £500, making them inaccessible to the majority. One-size-fits all nutrition plans were also complex and difficult to stick to, requiring a significant amount of time and effort to implement. Not to mention, willpower to maintain!
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc., was one of the first 20 people in the world to have his DNA sequenced, for which he paid a hefty $100,000. Thankfully, the price of DNA testing has drastically reduced since the completion of the sequencing of the Human Genome in 2003.
However, in recent years, huge advances in technology and nutrition science have made personalised diets more accessible and affordable than ever before. For example, at-home DNA testing kits are now available at a much lower cost, and there are a growing number of online tools and apps that can help individuals track their nutrient intake and create customised meal plans.
Moreover, there is now more awareness about the importance of nutrition and a greater emphasis on the value of personalised diets. This has led to an increase in research in the area of nutrigenetics (aka: nutrition + genetics), which has resulted in more practical and evidence-based recommendations for personalising diets.
How do we personalise your nutrition?
When we talk about DNA analysis, we're not talking about discovering your long-lost cousin or finding out that you're actually part alien (although that would be pretty cool). We're talking about using your DNA to unlock the secrets of your unique nutritional needs. With personalised nutrition, you can finally stop guessing which foods will work best for you and start making informed decisions based on your genetic predispositions.
Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all nutrition. Thank goodness.
How exactly can personalised nutrition help me?
On our DNA Nutrition test, we look at genetic fat and carbohydrate sensitivity. These refer to an individual's genetic predisposition in how their body processes and responds to both fats and carbs.
Some people may have a genetic predisposition to metabolise fats or carbohydrates more efficiently than others.
This gives very valuable insight into how you can reach your goals more quickly by working with your body, rather than against it. These insights can be useful for many goals, including:
● Maintaining stable energy levels throughout the day
● Reaching fat loss goals more quickly
● Knowing which is a better fuel source for your workouts
For example, those with a genetic sensitivity to carbohydrates may be more prone to weight gain and insulin resistance when consuming high-carbohydrate diets, while those with a high genetic sensitivity to fats may be more prone to weight gain when consuming a diet high in saturated fats.
There’s never been a better time to start
Forget the year 2000, where DNA tests cost in the region of half a million great British pounds and only the realms of Steve Jobs, A listers and elite athletes could afford this level of personalisation.
Thankfully, personalising your nutrition has now become more affordable and easy than ever. So even if you're on a budget, you can still get in on the action.
Book a free 15-minute discovery call with me now.
References
1) https://www.hsis.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Recommended-Intake-Guidelines.pdf
2) https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/assets/UL_Summary_tables.pdf