What if the secret to feeling your best every day wasn’t just about eating healthy, but eating right – right for you? That’s the idea behind personalized nutrition.  

Instead of following generic diet advice, personalized nutrition focuses on what works specifically for you. Maybe your body needs more protein to stay energized, or maybe dairy isn’t your friend. With personalized nutrition, you’ll know for sure. Think of it as a customized recipe for good health.

Here’s how it works. 

It starts with your DNA

Personalized nutrition is based on your unique health blueprint. The backbone of that blueprint? Your DNA. Your genes play a big role in how your body processes food because they carry instructions for how you digest, absorb, and use nutrients.

Your genome is the complete set of DNA found in every cell in your body. Every person’s genome is about 99.6% identical to another person’s, with only 0.4% difference. These differences are called genomic variants, and they are part of what makes each person unique.1

Most genomic variants don’t affect how the body works, but some do. Certain variants determine physical traits like eye color or height, while others impact your health – including how your body responds to specific foods.1 

For example, 

  • A variation in the LCT gene makes it harder to digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products.2
  • People with two copies of the CYP1A2*1A gene are considered "fast caffeine metabolizers," meaning their bodies break down caffeine quickly. On the other hand, those with the CYP1A2*1F variant process caffeine more slowly, which can lead to longer-lasting effects from the same amount of caffeine.3 

Your DNA provides only a portion of your health blueprint. Other metrics that shape a personalized nutrition plan might include:4 

  • Blood tests to evaluate your overall health and metabolic profile.
  • A stool test to evaluate your gut microbiome. 
  • Information about your lifestyle, like how much you sleep and exercise, what medications you take, and if you smoke. 
  • Dietary information, like the food you consume and what time of day you eat. 

How your data is put to work 

After your information is collected and analyzed, a health-care professional can create a personalized nutrition plan that’s tailored to your specific needs to help you achieve your health goals effectively.

One study showed that adults following a personalized nutrition plan improved triglyceride levels, weight, and waist circumference compared to adults following standard diet recommendations. Participants also reported having more energy, better quality sleep, and improved mood.5

Some evidence indicates that personalized nutrition is part of an effective strategy to prevent or manage a variety of diseases, including: 

1. Heart disease. It’s well known that diet and activity level play a role in the risk of developing heart disease. But your genes also impact your risk. 

Variations in the AGT gene can affect how sensitive a person is to salt, which can increase high blood pressure, leading to heart disease.6,7 A personalized nutrition plan for someone who carries an AGT variant might include reducing sodium intake and following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. The DASH diet focuses on consuming food that is high in potassium, calcium, and other minerals that help the body excrete sodium more efficiently, offsetting the blood pressure-raising effects of salt.8 

In addition, specific variants in the APOE gene disrupt how the body breaks down and absorbs or removes cholesterol and other fats from the body. An individual who carries the APOE4 variant has an increased risk of developing high cholesterol. Too much low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, commonly called the "bad" cholesterol, can cause plaque to collect in the arteries – which is one of the common risk factors for heart disease.9 Research shows that following a personalized nutrition plan that includes a low-fat, low-glycemic diet can reduce cholesterol levels in APOE4 carriers.10

2. Type 2 diabetes. Some people have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes because of genetic variants. These variants can affect the body’s ability to produce and respond to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar, leading to higher blood sugar levels.11 Your gut microbiome also impacts how food affects your blood sugar.12 

Blood sugar response to food varies widely from person to person. A cookie might make your blood sugar spike, but that same cookie causes a minimal response in someone else.12 Studies show that following a personalized nutrition plan crafted around an individual’s DNA and gut microbiome improves blood sugar levels when compared to a one-size-fits-all diet plan.12-14 

3. Alzheimer’s disease. The APOE4 variant linked to heart disease is also the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. 

Research shows that people who carry the APOE4 variant experience faster cognitive decline when eating a diet high in saturated fats. The same study also found that omega-3 fatty acids slowed cognitive decline in those with the variant.15 Additionally, the Mediterranean diet is associated with lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease in people with the APOE4 variant.16 

4. Cancer. Diet alone can’t prevent cancer. But understanding your cancer risk can help tailor your diet toward prevention. 

Some genetic variations affect how the body processes certain nutrients. For example, variants of the SMAD7 gene affect how the body absorbs and uses iron. This can cause iron to build up in the body, damaging DNA and triggering inflammation. Research shows this increases the risk of colon cancer.17 A person with a SMAD7 variant might follow a personalized nutrition plan that avoids or reduces red meat. 

Other genetic variants, like BRCA-1, increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer. Focusing on fruits, vegetables, and other foods from plant sources, like whole grains and beans, has been shown to reduce cancer risk.18

Personalized nutrition starts with you

DNA tests and programs that collect your health data can be expensive. But apps and wearable technology are making personalized nutrition more accessible. 

If you’re interested in knowing more, talk to your health-care team. They can get you started and assess your results to help you understand what kind of dietary changes you need to make. 

Although personalized nutrition can be an important part of a long-term strategy for overall health, it’s not the only determinant. Lifestyle factors like exercise, stress management, and sleep also contribute to staying healthy and preventing disease. 

Even without tests, you can start personalizing your nutrition by paying attention to how certain foods make you feel. Do you feel tired after eating a bowl of spaghetti? Does ice cream leave you feeling bloated? Listening to your body is the first step toward a more personalized approach to eating.

A word from Thorne

Thorne offers an array of home tests to evaluate your body’s response to stress, your microbiome (which uses genetic sequencing), specific biomarkers associated with various health concerns, and several more tests. And if you’re wondering what foods you might be allergic to, check out Thorne’s MediClear Detox & Allergy Elimination Program. Included in the guide is a detailed description of how to eliminate common food allergens from your diet, specific food recommendations to eat and those to avoid, recipes, and more. 

References

  1. Human genomic variation. National Human Genome Research Institute. https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/educational-resources/fact-sheets/human-genomic-variation. [Accessed Jan. 7, 2024.]
  2. Enattah NS, Sahi T, Savilahti E, et al. Identification of a variant associated with adult-type hypolactasia. Nat Genet. 2002;30(2):233-237. 
  3. Cornelis MC, El-Sohemy A, Kabagambe EK, et al. Coffee, CYP1A2 genotype, and risk of myocardial infarction. JAMA. 2006;295(10):1135-1141. 
  4. Berciano S, Figueiredo J, Brisbois TD, et al. Precision nutrition: Maintaining scientific integrity while realizing market potential. Front Nutr. 2022;9:979665. 
  5. Bermingham KM, Linenberg I, Polidori L, et al. Effects of a personalized nutrition program on cardiometabolic health: A randomized controlled trial. Nat Med. 2024;30(7):1888-1897. 
  6. Haas AV, En Yee L, Yuan YE, et al. Genetic predictors of salt sensitivity of blood pressure: The additive impact of 2 hits in the same biological pathway. Hypertension. 2021;78(6):1809-1817. 
  7.  Sanada H, Jones JE, Jose PA. Genetics of salt-sensitive hypertension. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2011;13(1):55-66. 
  8. Akita S, Sacks FM, Svetkey LP, et al. Effects of the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) diet on the pressure-natriuresis relationship. Hypertension. 2003;42(1):8-13. 
  9. Kiani AK, Bonetti G, Donato K, et al. Polymorphisms, diet and nutrigenomics. J Prev Med Hyg. 2022;63(2 Suppl 3):E125-E141.
  10. Griffin B, Walker C, Jebb S, et al. APOE4 genotype exerts greater benefit in lowering plasma cholesterol and apolipoprotein B than wild type (E3/E3), after replacement of dietary saturated fats with low glycaemic index carbohydrates. Nutrients. 2018;10:1524. 
  11. Del Bosque-Plata L, Martínez-Martínez E, Espinoza-Camacho MÁ, et al. The role of TCF7L2 in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes. 2021;70(6):1220-1228. 
  12. Berry SE, Valdes AM, Drew DA, et al. Human postprandial responses to food and potential for precision nutrition [published correction appears in Nat Med. 2020 Nov;26(11):1802.]. Nat Med. 2020;26(6):964-973. 
  13. Zeevi D, Korem T, Zmora N, et al. Personalized nutrition by prediction of glycemic responses. Cell. 2015;163(5):1079-1094. 
  14. Merino J. Precision nutrition in diabetes: When population-based dietary advice gets personal. Diabetologia. 2022;65(11):1839-1848. 
  15. Liu X, Beck T, Dhana K, et al. Dietary fats and the APOE-e4 risk allele in relation to cognitive decline: A longitudinal investigation in a biracial population sample. J Nutr Health Aging. 2024;28(5):100211. 
  16. Singh B, Parsaik AK, Mielke MM, et al. Association of Mediterranean diet with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Alzheimers Dis. 2014;39:271-282.
  17. Stern MC, Sanchez Mendez J, Kim AE, et al. Genome-wide gene-environment interaction analyses to understand the relationship between red meat and processed meat intake and colorectal cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2024;33(3):400-410. 
  18. Capodici A, Mocciaro G, Gori D, et al. Cardiovascular health and cancer risk associated with plant based diets: An umbrella review. PLoS One. 2024;19(5):e0300711.