A host of companies have entered the personal nutrition space, estimated at $1.8 billion in annual global sales in 2020. Personal nutrition—also called “precision nutrition”—is advice about what foods to eat and what to avoid based on individual data, such as genotype, biochemistry, microbiome, and medical health. Instead of a one-size fits all, “eat this, not that” approach, personalized nutrition aims to make highly tailored nutritional recommendations based on a detailed individual profile.

How Does It Work?

In order to come up with a personalized recommendation, you will need to provide a combination of blood, spit, DNA, poop—and, of course, money—to the company that is performing this analysis, based on the belief they will be able to predict what foods are right for you. Stanford nutrition scientist, Dr. Christopher Gardner, who is also on the scientific advisory board of one such company, ZOE, says:

These companies are learning as much from you as you are from them. It’s like being a citizen of science where your data is contributing to the larger body of research. — Christopher Gardner, PhD

The Top Takeaway

Personalized nutrition is an emerging science, and one with promise, but current buyers of these services should still beware. Scientific research in this area is accelerating, thanks to $170 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health that was just announced in January, 2022. In that same period, however, several personalized nutrition companies have been sued for fraud, and a number have gone out of business. Consider personalized nutrition with a blend of curiosity and skepticism.