Precision nutrition: The future of nutrition science
Precision nutrition, also known as personalised nutrition, is an emerging field in nutrition science where personalised recommendations are made based on the unique characteristics of each individual
Azim Mahmud is a 60-year-old man who has been suffering from diabetes and urolithiasis for the past two years. He consulted a clinical dietitian, who diagnosed his conditions and prescribed appropriate dietary guidelines and lifestyle modifications. Following the expert advice, Azim Mahmud made the necessary changes and recovered from his ailments within a year.
Encouraged by his recovery, Azim Mahmud began recommending the same lifestyle and dietary changes to other patients with similar conditions. However, within a few days, those patients' health deteriorated significantly, and they became seriously ill.
Azim Mahmud had mistakenly believed that the prescribed medications, lifestyle changes, and dietary guidelines that worked for him would be universally effective for everyone with the same diseases. Unfortunately, his assumption was incorrect, leading to worsening health outcomes for the other patients.
This story clearly illustrates that the same dietary guidelines, lifestyle modifications, and medications are not universally applicable to all patients with the same disease. The case also highlights the crucial principle that individualised care is essential for managing chronic illnesses, as a one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective.
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To visualise this concept, an approach has been introduced in the field of nutrition science known as precision nutrition. Precision nutrition tailors dietary recommendations to individual characteristics such as genetics, microbiome composition, metabolic profile, health status, physical activity, dietary patterns, food environment, and socioeconomic and psychosocial factors.
This personalised method aims to optimise health by considering the unique needs and conditions of each person, often utilising advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics to process and integrate large volumes of data for creating individualised nutritional guidelines (Berciano et al., 2022).
Precision nutrition, also known as personalised nutrition, is an emerging field in nutrition science where personalised recommendations are made based on the unique characteristics of each individual. It is well established that genetic traits, microbial populations in the gut, lifestyle, food habits, physical activity patterns, and other features of individuals are unique and different from each other. Therefore, the nutritional needs of every individual are also distinct.
A key component of this approach is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics. When preparing recommendations for a patient, a large volume of information is processed through AI and big data analytics to provide individualised nutritional recommendations. By analysing unique genetics, microbial populations in the gut, physical activity, food habits, and other relevant information, AI and Big Data Analytics deliver a comprehensive outcome that can be used as nutritional guidelines for specific individuals.
Several factors are considered while making individualized nutritional recommendations, including personal data, genetics (genes and their impact on the human body), nutrigenomics (how nutrition or nutrients impact genetic characteristics), clinical and biochemical parameters, gut microbiota (the microbial population present in the gut, also known as probiotics or gut-friendly microorganisms), physical activity levels, meal timing, meal content or nutrients, dietary intake data, metabolic patterns (how nutrients are metabolized in the human body through biochemical reactions such as glycolysis, the TCA cycle, deamination, transamination, and beta-carboxylation), medical and family history, interactome (interaction between drugs and nutrients or nutrients and nutrients), proteome, transcriptome, anatome, state of mind, cognition, anthropometric data (data collected from measurements of the human body like weight, height, waist, hip, mid-upper arm circumference, head circumference, etc.), and bibliome.
The whole process is carried out by AI and big data analytics. First, the computer system takes all the aforementioned information as input, then integrates it and prepares an interpretation using advanced analytics. Finally, it provides precise, individualised nutritional recommendations to optimise the health and nutritional status of the individual.
Precision nutrition sheds light on traditional nutritional recommendation systems available around the globe and offers hope in suggesting nutritional guidelines in a precise and personalised manner. For instance, it shows that the future of nutrition science will depend on artificial intelligence and big data analytics.
The nutritionist or clinical dietitian may be replaced by an AI dietitian, as AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini AI, and Bing AI have gained immense popularity. The recent boom in the AI industry will surely impact current traditional nutritional recommendation systems as we become more dependent on technological advancement.
In the near future, a personal AI chatbot may suggest precise nutritional recommendations based on personal history, dietary habits, and other relevant information. Your smartphone could become your nutritionist or dietitian, eliminating the need for frequent consultations with a dietitian and allowing you to follow instructions from smart devices.
Furthermore, the demand for AI-driven nutrition science education will skyrocket in the coming days. Graduates with a combination of technological skills (AI literacy, big data literacy, and machine learning literacy) and degrees in Applied Nutrition, Nutrition Science, Food and Nutrition, or other relevant disciplines will be game changers in this field.
Though there are challenges, such as the inadequacy of skilled personnel, expensive methodology (AI and big data), and privacy issues, these are typical of an emerging field. Finding ways to overcome these challenges is key to achieving success in implementing precision nutrition at the ground level.
In essence, the future of nutritional science is leaning towards personalised approaches. Precision nutrition, aided by artificial intelligence, is emerging as a groundbreaking method for tailoring dietary advice to individual needs. Let's delve into the exciting beginnings of this field in nutrition and food science.
Md Billal Hossen is a Lecturer at Department of Food Engineering and Nutrition Science, State University of Bangladesh.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect +the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
