Advancements in precision nutrition are paving the road to “nutrition as medicine.” Precision nutrition aims to develop highly personalized dietary recommendations, taking a tailored approach to virtually any medical concern, from weight management to cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Here’s the current state of precision nutrition, including what it can and can’t do for patients.

 

An overview of precision nutrition

 

Precision nutrition has gained significant traction in recent years—it means designing dietary recommendations based on an individual's unique genetic, metabolic, and environmental factors. Most of our present understanding of nutrition is meant for the general population. 

 

 

While popular diets like the “blood type diet” have promised a higher level of tailored nutrition, they fail to stand up to scientific scrutiny.

The Blood Type Diet: Does it really work?. Cleveland Clinic. January 21, 2023.

Nonetheless, some real progress toward personalized nutrition has been accomplished. The challenge lies in expanding this knowledge and applying it to patients.

 

 

Established foundations in human nutrition

 

Nutrient intake recommendations have been established for people in different stages of life, marking preliminary attempts at precision nutrition. According to the authors of a review in the Annual Review of Nutrition, these include Daily Recommended Intakes (DRIs) for 22 population groups, including infants, boys, girls, and pregnant women.

Bailey RL, Stover PJ. Precision nutrition: the hype is exceeding the science and evidentiary standards needed to inform public health recommendations for prevention of chronic disease. Annu Rev Nutr. 2023;43(1):385–407.

Nutritional scientists have also defined “adequate intakes” to prevent deficiencies. Since the 1980s, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans have offered suggestions for food groups and, more recently, dietary patterns for public health.

 

As the review authors note, however, “less precision is required to prevent nutrient deficiency and toxicity states compared with chronic disease reduction.”

 

Progress toward individualized diets

 

Examples of more personalized nutrition include the avoidance of lactose for lactose intolerance, gluten for celiac disease, and phenylalanine for PKU.

Additionally, some disease-specific recommendations have emerged, such as sodium restrictions for hypertension. However, despite knowing that certain people are responders or non-responders to this type of dietary intervention, so far, it hasn’t been practical to further classify individuals for specific diet prescriptions.

The gut microbiome is emerging as a critical player in precision nutrition. As the article by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health explains, variations in microbial composition influence how nutrients are absorbed and metabolized, with implications for issues like glucose control in type-2 diabetes. Tailoring dietary recommendations to support a healthy gut microbiome holds significant potential for personalized nutrition.

 

 

 

Modern-day challenges and considerations

 

Today’s health experts are tasked with optimizing nutritional approaches for population subgroups beyond the bounds of isolated geographical locations. Historically, human genetics and microbiomes have adapted to localized food conditions and availability. However, globalization of the food supply and of the human population requires specialization for evolving biological and lifestyle traits.

Despite promising strides, several challenges and limitations must be overcome before the fruits of precision nutrition are realized in practice.

In addition, long-term health outcomes and the sustainability of personalized dietary plans require further investigation. 

Considerations like privacy and the cost of genetic profiling and advanced metabolomic analysis restrict the robust research needed to support evidence-based practice. However, with the expansion of smarter technology and tracking tools, precision nutrition should only continue to improve. While 100% precision may always be a pipe dream, any level of progress is to be celebrated.