A Weizmann healthy food study called the Personalized Nutrition Project has some surprising results and finally explains why a diet might work for one person and not another. The authors of the study from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have discovered that the same food can help an individual lose weight while raising the blood sugar of another. It prompted the scientists to say that it is time to start focusing on a unique nutrition plan for their clients, who wish to shed pounds and live healthy lives.
A Weizmann healthy food study entitled the Personalized Nutrition Project might finally explain why your husband lost more weight than you when you are eating the same meals.
Eran Segal and Eran Elinav from the Weizmann Institute of Science, a public research university in Rehovot, Israel have published a fascinating study in the journal Cell, which confirmed that to lose weight and be healthy people need individual meal plans tailored to their bodies.
Professors Segal and Elinav worked with 800 volunteers, who were all given the same food for one week, and they monitored their blood sugar. The researchers said they decided to focus on blood sugar levels because it is often the cause of obesity and diabetes.
Segal, of the computer science and applied mathematics department, and Elinav, of the immunology department, further explained in their paper:
“We chose to focus on blood sugar because elevated levels are a major risk factor for diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome.”
During the seven days, the participants of the study were given about 47,000 meals, and the experts collected data related to their body measurements, blood tests, glucose monitoring and stool samples. The conclusion was that each person responded differently to what they consumed. Segal explained:
“The huge differences that we found in the rise of blood sugar levels among different people who consumed identical meals highlights why personalized eating choices are more likely to help people stay healthy than universal dietary advice.”
Elinav stated that they were hoping “to find factors underlying individual blood glucose responses to food” and added:
“We used that information to develop personal dietary recommendations that can help prevent and treat obesity and diabetes, which are among the most severe epidemics in human history.”
The authors of the study assigned each volunteer with a very personalized “good” diet plan that will keep their blood sugar at steady and healthy levels. The duo has also launched a new website and is pushing an app that promotes the importance of personalized nutritional programs.
