When it comes to nutrition, you’ll find many differing approaches, fad diets, and nutrition myths. The contradictions and misinformation create so much confusion around what is a nutritious, sustainable, and healthy way to eat. 

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The truth is there are as many healthy nutrition plans as people on the planet. The time of one-size-fits-all is over; we are in the era of personalized nutrition. 

The truth is there are as many healthy nutrition plans as people on the planet. The time of one-size-fits-all is over; we are in the era of personalized nutrition. 

Today’s article will explore personalized nutrition as a long-term solution to chronic dieting and diet culture. We’ll discuss why diets don’t work and why personalized nutrition does. You’ll learn some of the elements we consider when designing personalized nutrition plans at The Fork. We’ll cover:

• What is personalized nutrition?
• What standard nutrition plans get wrong
• What is diet culture?
• Why do most diets fail
• Benefits of a custom nutrition plan 

What is Personalized Nutrition?

One central aspect of Functional Medicine is personalization. There are no standard treatment protocols for any given condition. Instead, we work to understand each individual’s root causes, honoring how all body systems are connected. Then, we create a personal health and wellness plan to support each patient, which includes nutrition solutions. 

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Personalized nutrition, also known as precision nutrition, is a functional framework to optimize nutrition for each person. There isn’t a standard nutritional eating plan; your plan is unique to you. Personalized diet and nutrition programs have the potential to improve individual health, and there is a great need to integrate this philosophy into traditional nutrition and healthcare practice. 

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Personalized, ideal nutrition depends upon the following factors:

• Genetics (nutrigenomics)
• Lifestyle habits
• Health goals
• Health history
• Family history
• Environmental factors
• Social and cultural factors
• Current diet 
• Metabolic health
• Gut health and microbiome
• Anthropometrics – height and weight
• Age
• Laboratory data
• Food allergies, sensitivities, and preferences
• Circadian rhythm (chrono-nutrition)

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While some basic tenants may be established, such as the importance of whole foods and meeting daily nutrient requirements, there is much room for personalization to focus on the individual while remaining patient-centered, evidence-based, and preventative. 

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The Problem with Standard Diets

Standard diets, including objectively nutritious nutrition plans, are designed, researched, and marketed as a single approach for everyone. They often lack the personalization required to achieve long-term health. While they may work from a public health perspective and guide our understanding of population health, they don’t always work for the individual. 

Standard diets, including objectively nutritious nutrition plans, are designed, researched, and marketed as a single approach for everyone. They often lack the personalization required to achieve long-term health.

These standard diets tend to be rigid and do not allow for nuance. They may be too focused on restriction and calories (vs. where the calories come from) and fail to address root causes that may contribute to excess weight, such as hormonal imbalances, emotional eating, trauma, digestive dysfunction, and more. 

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How Diet Culture Skews Nutrition

Diet culture refers to the trends and norms related to nutrition and dieting. It tends to perpetuate myths in nutrition, including:

• Thin equals healthy 
• Food is either good or bad
• Nutrients (like fat or carbs) are either good or bad 
• Diets fail because of poor willpower

These common nutrition myths, perpetuated by diet culture and social media, promote fad diets and may contribute to negative body image, disordered eating patterns, and clinical eating disorders. 

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Why One-Size-Fits-All Plans Fail

Research suggests that most diets are not successful over the long term, including those that initially produce weight loss. While there is a global, public health epidemic of obesity, current dieting strategies often fail. Reasons why diets fail may include:

• A mismatch between human genetics and the modern environment
• Diets require following a set of outside rules vs. honoring your inner knowing
• Diets don’t foster skill building 
• The body doesn’t feel safe 
• They aren’t personalized for your unique needs! 

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Read more about why diets fail in our recent article: Why Diets Don’t Work Long Term.  

Benefits of a Custom Nutrition Plan

Instead of a standard diet plan geared towards the average person, you deserve optimum nutrition customized for you! This approach is precisely what we offer and encourage at The Fork. We will start each patients journey with a complete assessment including a case review, lab testing, and our elimination diet protocol to gather all the information needed to design your plan. The process is a collaboration between provider and patient where self-discovery is key. 

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Our goal is to support you in achieving your highest and best health. In your journey with us you’ll get access to our elimination protocol, suggested nutritional supplements, additionally there are medically managed weight loss options available as well as options for a custom nutrition plan, and personalized nutrition coaching to personalize and fit your long-term health goals, lifestyle, and needs. When diet culture and dieting fail (as they often do), it’s time for a new strategy: personalized nutrition. Please reach out today to get started! 

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References

1. Bush, C. L., Blumberg, J. B., El-Sohemy, A., Minich, D. M., Ordovás, J. M., Reed, D. G., & Behm, V. A. Y. (2020). Toward the Definition of Personalized Nutrition: A Proposal by The American Nutrition Association. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 39(1), 5–15. 
2. Barrow, M., Bell, L., & Bell, C. (2020). Transforming personalized nutrition practice. Nutrition reviews, 78(12), 1046–1051. 
3. Marcum J. A. (2020). Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics, Personalized Nutrition, and Precision Healthcare. Current nutrition reports, 9(4), 338–345. 
4. Franzago, M., Alessandrelli, E., Notarangelo, S., Stuppia, L., & Vitacolonna, E. (2023). Chrono-Nutrition: Circadian Rhythm and Personalized Nutrition. International journal of molecular sciences, 24(3), 2571. 
5. Anderson K. (2023). Popular fad diets: An evidence-based perspective. Progress in cardiovascular diseases, 77, 78–85. 
6. Rounsefell, K., Gibson, S., McLean, S., Blair, M., Molenaar, A., Brennan, L., Truby, H., & McCaffrey, T. A. (2020). Social media, body image and food choices in healthy young adults: A mixed methods systematic review. Nutrition & dietetics : the journal of the Dietitians Association of Australia, 77(1), 19–40. 
7. Contreras, R. E., Schriever, S. C., & Pfluger, P. T. (2019). Physiological and Epigenetic Features of Yoyo Dieting and Weight Control. Frontiers in genetics, 10, 1015. 

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