Nutrition for Precision Health

chris_in_cal
chris_in_cal Posts: 2,539 Member
in Food and Nutrition
The Feds are furthering their studies to replace the USDA food pyramid recommendations to take into count individual differences.

E.g. lactose intolerance, gender, race, the interactions between diet, genes, proteins, microbiome, metabolism and other individual contextual factors.

https://commonfund.nih.gov/nutritionforprecisionhealth

Replies

  • VegjoyP
    VegjoyP Posts: 2,773 Member
    Thank you for thisifoation
    Sounds positive for netter nutrition.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    Where's the popcorn. :#
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,539 Member
    edited October 2023
    Hope you find it.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,539 Member
    I officially joined. One cool thing is the give DNA analysis for around fifty markers of disease, and a family heritage chart.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    While this might be a positive, at the same time the more I have dug into the rabbit hole that is nutritional science, the more I realize that while we know certain things, there is a whole host of things that are presented as solid science and accepted as such that are based on epidemiological studies and correlation that all to often reflects the biases of the researchers. Even the current food recommendations seem to have more to do with economics than they do with food science. In light of that, I am skeptical that the government (whether US or Canada) can come up with guidelines that are at all helpful.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,261 Member
    My sentiments exactly.
  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,539 Member
    I fight against my pessimism, and try to stay curious.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Interesting, but I also find this kind of odd...and I'm not sure how they can really individualize something that has always been geared to the population at large. Personally I don't have any issue with the food pyramid as a general guideline for a population...I don't really think there's anything wrong with it and the biggest issue is that nobody really follows it. If they did, most people would be getting far better nutrition than the SAD. It seems like there are other sites better equipped to address more individualized needs...because they already do...ie American Diabetes Association outlines diabetic nutrition for those individuals.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,598 Member
    That sounds interesting. Keep us posted, if you feel up to it, @chris_in_cal?

    The food pyramid, BTW, was dropped in 2011. The current USDA guidance is "My Plate". I'm not going to defend "My Plate" here (or elsewhere), and don't adore it. I will say that many people seem only to look at the plate graphic, and not the pretty extensive and more nuanced detail behind it. What people say about it is often not accurate.

    I feel a little skepticism about the individualization idea, but am open minded. I'm sure there are genetic variations among humans. But I also suspect that the genetic variations may've developed in response to a particular environment and lifestyle. Many of us don't live the lives our ancestors did (weather, activity level, physical demands, circadian/daylight influences, air/water quality, and lots more). Seems like those things would matter to "best" diet in some kind of synergistic interaction. I guess looking at the genetic influence would be a further step down the road from where we are now.

    In a practical sense, I'm pretty comfortable accepting the correlation-based research results as general guidance (absent counter evidence) for major nutrient intake, and eating mostly foods that humans have been eating for centuries/millennia and thriving long enough to reproduce.

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