OP / ED BY DR. ADIL MANZOOR
Working as a doctor for many years has revealed to me the astonishing influence diet can have on a person’s well-being. Every patient has different needs, but there is a general piece of advice that is offered that is considered “healthy” by many. Personalized nutrition is different from this. It is not merely a healthy diet; rather, it focuses on relieving and accommodating your body’s specific requirements. This precise methodology is particularly useful for people who are at risk of developing chronic diseases.
Consider two individuals who suffer from hypertension. One of them may have a salt sensitivity, while the other may have an insulin resistance issue. These two clearly require different diets. This is where personalized nutrition comes into play. It looks at the person’s family history, metabolism, gut flora, or even the culture’s food preferences and designs an individualized plan for every single person. This is a more proactive approach rather than reactive. Personalizing a diet and acknowledging risk factors early allows for preventative methodology instead of reactive, which involves medications later on.
As an example, I have had patients who were complaining of extreme fatigue, yet they still managed to eat what they believed was a healthy diet. Upon evaluation, we discovered their meals included refined carbs that resulted in high blood sugar and crashes afterward. Incredibly, their energy and focus improved tremendously when they began incorporating more proteins and healthy fats into their diet. Another patient diagnosed with chronic digestive disorders found relief by removing some foods from her diet based on gut microbiome test results.
But how did we come about the whole concept of personalized nutrition?
Emerging research shows that our bodies process food differently based on genetics and microbiome composition. Certain individuals will do well on low-carb diets, while others will start to develop energy crashes. Some people are slow metabolizers of caffeine and are prone to high blood pressure. Aside from this, gut bacteria also regulate the absorption of vital nutrients and modulate inflammation.
We don’t have to wonder any longer what may work because we have tools that help us make better dietary choices for every individual. These tools comprise genetic testing and microbiome analysis. Research revealed that two people can have very different blood sugar responses even though they are eating exactly the same meal. This would mean that statements such as “Don’t eat white rice” can be misleading. People respond differently; for some, white rice is a reasonable carbohydrate option, while others experience troubling blood sugar levels. Personalized nutrition helps uncover these individual responses, allowing for truly tailored diet plans.
Diet accounts for the development of most chronic diseases. Personalized nutrition presents an active means of managing risk factors before they become overt conditions. A few of them are:
- Diabetes: Rather than recommending a low-carb diet in general, individualized nutrition determines which foods raise blood glucose levels in each person.
- Heart Disease: An individual with a genetic susceptibility to high cholesterol may do wonderfully on a Mediterranean-type diet with lots of omega-3s, whereas another will require additional fiber to enhance lipid profiles.
- Obesity: Certain individuals easily gain weight on high-fat diets, whereas others have no control over portions on high-carbohydrate diets. Understanding how your body reacts enables you to create an effective weight control program.
- Autoimmune Diseases: Certain foods can trigger inflammation in individuals with autoimmune diseases. Personalized nutrition helps identify and eliminate causative agents and maintain nutritional adequacy.
I’ve seen patients who, after changing to a diet that was tailored to their genetic profile and metabolic needs, reversed prediabetes, reduced joint inflammation, and even clarified mental fog. The right diet can be as potent as a drug. But it does require shifting from blanket guidelines to individualized strategies.
Innovators are creating new technologies that allow diets to be personalized to individual needs and make lifestyle decisions much simpler. CGM wearables track an individual’s glucose levels in real time, allowing them to observe the impact of different foods on their metabolism. Some genetic testing reveals precise deficiencies of nutrients, and microbiome testing provides an image of gut health. We already have dozens of artificial intelligence-based applications that can analyze what is consumed and recommend personalized food. But there are some issues to be addressed.
There is no doubt that all these technological innovations do not come cheaply, and not everyone will be in a position to access them. Genetic and microbiome testing is expensive, and such services are not typically included under insurance coverage. Additionally, the tests might not be useful to everybody because not all physicians have the expertise required to interpret the information. But with the growth in research and technology alongside falling costs for personalized diets, it will quite certainly be much more affordable.
So where do you begin? You need to take notice of how your body responds to foods. Pay attention to how your meals impact your energy, your digestion, and your general feeling of well-being. For instance, do certain meals make you weak? Does a specific food make you feel bloated? This approach, as simple as it might look, can help you discover what is optimal for you. Make sure you keep a healthcare professional within reach while doing this. A doctor or a licensed dietitian can aid you with laboratory work, intolerance testing for foods, and even genetic testing. The tests can potentially reveal deficiency, intolerances, or susceptibility to these chronic diseases.
The cornerstone of effective personalization remains layered with good nutrition, such as lean protein, wholesome fats, fiber-rich carbohydrates, and vegetables. Ultra-processed foods are unhealthy no matter how much you try to personalize them. There is no reason for you to change your diet completely within a single day. Change made small but consistent enough leads to sustainable outcomes. If you find out that you are not able to digest dairy well, instead of cutting it out completely, replace milk with lactose-free alternatives. Nutrition is not a single system. Your level of physical activity, amount of sleep, and stress management have great effects on food intake.
The one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition is gradually fading. The future is bound to become more individual-focused, and our health will definitely profit from it.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor, DO, a Board-Certified Internist; Board certified Pediatrician who works as a Hospitalist and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice, Mobile Medicine NJ; House Call Doctors. He is also currently pursuing an Executive MBA and a Master’s of Science in Healthcare Leadership at Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management and the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.
References
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6723746/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6081996/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2161831322012169
- https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1370595/full
- https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14293/PR2199.001181.v1
