How Science Can Help Plan Your Next Diet

From Atkins to Keto, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of diets that people have tried. Scientists plan to embark upon a new study that could change the way we plan and look at diets forever. Here’s what we know...

The study is going to focus specifically on precision nutrition. According to Harvard, precision nutrition takes one’s DNA, microbiome, and metabolic response into account and analyzes how they respond to specific foods or dietary patterns to help come up with the most effective eating plan. However, precision nutrition is still in its early stages and has yet to be fully understood. This is where the research study comes in. There will be 13 sites across the United States that will participate in this research study. Among the 13 sites, there will be around 10,000 people enrolled in the study. There will be a variety in age, weight, race, geographic location, and more. The goal of the study, per National Geographic, is “to tease out the many variables that impact nutritional responses and develop algorithms that predict them, allowing nutritionists to offer dietary advice to others with similar characteristics.”

So, how will the study operate? The initial phase will last around two weeks, and all the participants will eat as they normally do. Then, in the second phase, 1,500 people will be appointed to one diet and have their meals chosen and sent to them. In the third and final stage, 500 participants from the main group will be selected to live in the research center for two weeks and eat all their meals there. Throughout the study, regular urine and blood tests will be administered, and researchers will also take a complete census of each participant’s gut microbiome. The participants will also wear glucose monitors to help detect blood sugar levels. Plus, their daily behaviors will be tracked, like sleep, stress, the times they decide to eat, and more. This study will hopefully provide more insight into what works for certain people versus others.

There is still plenty of work to do before precision nutrition can be selected as a way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but this study will bring us one step closer. Then, one day, science will help to determine your ultimate lifestyle diet... Stay tuned.