What is a Personalised Diet plan?

Personalised diet plans provide food guidelines to support someone in adopting a certain diet. They can be very specific, providing a structured meal plan with exact amounts and cooking instructions or be less specific and simply give guidance on foods to increase or decrease. Personalised diet plans should take into consideration medical history, dietary preferences/choices/religion, allergies, gut health and nutritional requirements.

Someone may want to follow a personalised diet plan to lose or gain weight, improve sport performance, improve fertility, support diabetes, or just to be healthier. Ultimately, whilst general dietary guidelines are good, personalised diet plans can take into consideration all of the above.

What are the Advantages of a Personalised diet?

Reduce time, stress and anxiety around deciding what to eat
Reduce food wastage
Plan food shopping
Pre-prepare meals
Achieve goals quicker
Support dietary preferences
Ensure meeting nutritional requirements
Alleviate gut issues

How can it support my health?

Food is important for more than calorie content; it provides protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and more.

Protein is important for every process in the body, muscle growth, skin, hair and nails.
Fat, especially healthy fats such as Omega 3, is important for the brain, heart health, protecting our cells, vitamin absorption and hormone support.
Carbohydrates help regulate our mood, provide us energy and fibre, a type of carb, is super important for a healthy gut.
Vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, C, Iron and magnesium, ensure our body is able to function properly. Deficiencies can cause short and long term ill health such as increased risk of brittle bones, hair loss or anaemia.

We all need similar amounts but requirements are based on someone's sex, age and activity levels. Certain dietary choices such as veganism, pescetarian, no gluten or halal can also influence the design of a personalised diet plan and may require supplementation. For example, vegans are at risk of Vitamin B12 deficiencies, whilst those that follow a gluten free diet may lack fibre and folate.

When is a personalised diet plan better than public health guidelines?

In the UK, we are not getting enough fibre, and public health guidelines suggest we need 30g a day. However, if you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), this may be too much for you and may increase discomfort.

UK guidelines also suggest people only need around 50g of protein a day (or 0.75g of protein per KG of body weight) however this is outdated and new research has confirmed that it’s more likely 1-2g of protein per KG of body weight, depending on factors such as age, exercise and goals like weight loss or building muscle.

Is Personalised Nutrition the right approach?

With the surge in Artificial Intelligence, technology, wearables and access to home testing (genetics, blood testing and Continuous Glucose Monitors) professionals have the opportunity to personalise diet plans even more. Personalised diet advice is specific to YOU and your unique biology, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach. You’ll therefore, in theory, get better results.

That being said, be mindful to not allow data to become an obsession. When relying solely on data, important factors such as food enjoyment and food quality are missed.

Not All Personalised Diet Plans are Created Equal.

Unfortunately, many meal plans sold are not designed by qualified professionals. Research shows that only 1 in 9 ‘wellness experts’ on social media provide accurate dietary advice. So whilst there are many advantages of a personalised diet plan, to reap the benefits, ensure you are getting it from a qualified source, such as a registered nutritionist or dietitian.

Personal trainers (PT) for example, are not legally able to prescribe meal plans outside of basic healthy eating advice. Whilst many have extra nutrition qualifications, it’s always best to understand their expertise to ensure they consider more than just calorie and macronutrient needs. It is unlikely personalised plans from a ‘wellness expert’ would have accurate nutritional support for gut discomfort; they may for example, include a very high amount of protein, which for some people can exacerbate bloating and flatulence.

Which types of Personalised Diet Plans can I get?

Some popular examples:

Sport performance diet plan
Elimination diet plan
Irritable Bowel Syndrome diet plans (see our 30 day IBS intro plan)
Vegan diet plans

A Personalised Plan for Gut Issues

Many people blame the food they’re eating and don’t realise it could be due to stress, or even perhaps the food they’re not eating.

In any case, there are IBS meal plans that can often help. IBS sufferers can benefit from following a low-FODMAP diet, an elimination diet, or other modified and personalised diet plans to help understand their personal food triggers (if they have any at all). Most practitioners will have different methodologies and will often entail reducing or completely eliminating a certain type of food for a while and then retesting.

If you are struggling with gut issues, you may find it helpful to try The Gut Feeling app. It’s designed by ex-gut sufferers alongside the experts (Dietitians, Doctors, Gastroenterologists.) to help you find relief from your gut issues from less than 10 minutes a day.

Should I be eliminating foods for my gut issues?

The low-FODMAP diet removes highly fermentable foods such as onions, dates, apples and wheat, while the Elimination Diet looks to reduce symptoms by removing common allergens such as nuts, gluten, eggs and soy. Both Low FODMAP and Elimination Diets are extremely restrictive. If not done with a professional, can lead to worsening health, anxiety around food and restrictive or even disordered eating.

However, we know for some people it may be worth exploring, but elimination should never be long term (unless a confirmed allergy) due to potential negative effects on the gut microbiome.

Having someone support you through this is recommended, and getting a personalised elimination diet meal plan would ensure you are still getting your nutritional needs. Plus, it’s pretty hard to remember all the foods you can or can’t have, so having a plan can really help!

When can a personalised diet plan be particularly helpful?

A Vegan IBS Meal Plan is a great example of a useful personalised diet plan.

Vegan diets are restrictive in nature (no animal products) and an IBS meal plan can also mean restricting a lot of fruit, grains, soy, nuts and vegetables, leaving a very limited amount of foods you can eat.

Due to the amount of foods that you would need to cut out, having a carefully designed personalised meal plan will help ensure you are getting enough calories, fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals.

The Disadvantages of A Personalised Diet Plan

Personalised diet plans are great but whilst they may be a good place to start, it can lead to reliance on someone telling you what to eat and having an “on” “off” mentality. Instead, try working with a professional to learn the ins and outs of what your body needs so you can continue by yourself and feel empowered in knowing what is right for you.

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Protein intake for athletes and active adults: Current concepts and controversies

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The Advantages of a Personalised Diet Plan