Dr. Jacob Mey Discusses Using Your Unique Biology and Goals to Determine YOUR Best Meal Plan

What if your diet was as unique to you as your own biology, environment, socio-economic factors, individual preferences, and goals?

Pennington Biomedical Assistant Professor Jacob Mey, Ph.D., RD posed this exact question to those gathered at the most recent Scientific Dinner hosted by Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation.

In his talk, "Precision Nutrition and Advanced Biometrics," Dr. Mey explained why a diet that might work wonders for your friend can seem to accomplish nothing for you.

"We have access to so much information about our own unique biology, why not choose a diet based on it?" he asked.

Dr. Mey said a good diet considers food preferences and data-driven evidence such as certain markers in the blood, your level of physical activity, the number of hours you sleep, and more.

"Every person here tonight, eating the same meal, will respond differently to this meal," he said. "If I could measure everyone's blood sugar, every person's levels would be different."

Dr. Mey, who runs the Mitochondrial Energetics and Nutrient Utilization (MENU) Lab, outlined five key steps to find your own precise nutrition plan to achieve your personal goals.

First, he suggested finding a dietitian who focuses on your unique needs to work with, whether that is finding a diet for diabetes, weight loss, gut health, athletic performance or aesthetics. He suggested using the website www.eatright.org/find-a-nutrition-expert. Dr. Mey cautioned against relying on readily available information on the internet.

"Health MISinformation is rampant," he said. "When you see the Keto diet on social media, it's bacon, butter and beef; but the ketogenic diets we test in clinical trials include a much greater variety of foods, like vegetables, berries, olive oil, fatty fish and other nutrient-dense foods."

With an expert to help guide you, you can begin to build a precision nutrition meal plan for your specific goals. He said you should actively communicate with your dietitian and convey as much information about your life as possible, including your eating patterns and food preferences. It even helps to indicate what parts of your lifestyle are flexible to change versus what might be a non-negotiable part of your life; for example, if you have a standing 'coffee and beignet' meet-up with your close friends every Sunday, make sure your dietitian knows to build that into your precision nutrition plan.

The next step is to figure out how you are going to collect the data that will help you know if you are achieving your goal. For some, that might include taking their blood pressure; others might need bloodwork. Genetic testing can often provide even more individualized results. For example, those on the DASH diet for heart health who metabolize caffeine differently than most will need to be careful about caffeine intake. Results should be reviewed with your dietitian and adjusted if needed. The final step is to repeat the previous steps, because your health and wellness goals, nutritional needs, and food preferences will change over time.

"Precision nutrition is a lifelong iterative process. Life changes; and you can build endless new adjustments into your established precision nutrition menu," he said.

For those determined to take a DIY (do it yourself) approach, Dr. Mey suggested that once you have settled on a diet foundation by selecting an established healthy eating pattern, like the DASH diet, search the name of the diet with "eatright" together to see science-backed descriptions of the diet and avoid any inaccurate information from less than stellar sources. He cautioned that those taking medications for any condition should discuss their changes with their doctors before making any major diet changes, especially medications that lower blood sugar or blood pressure.

Dr. Mey, who describes himself as passionate about nutrition, said that Pennington Biomedical is a "mecca for nutrition science" and THE place to be for anyone who wants to advance nutrition research. His work is a combination of clinical work with patients, cellular work to understand what is happening on the cellular level, and population work, to bring his work to entire communities and groups of individuals. For example, when he studies how different diets impact people with asthma, he is working with the patient in the clinic, but he is also looking at how cells in a petri dish are reacting to different diets.

He reminded everyone that, "Success takes consistency, but precision nutrition is flexible" so you should expect to modify your precision nutrition menu over time.

About the Pennington Biomedical Research Center

The Pennington Biomedical Research Center is at the forefront of medical discovery as it relates to understanding the triggers of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. Pennington Biomedical has the vision to lead the world in promoting metabolic health and eliminating metabolic disease through scientific discoveries that create solutions from cells to society. The center conducts basic, clinical, and population research, and is a campus in the LSU System.

The research enterprise at Pennington Biomedical includes over 600 employees within a network of 44 clinics and research laboratories, and 13 highly specialized core service facilities. Its scientists and physician/scientists are supported by research trainees, lab technicians, nurses, dietitians, and other support personnel. Pennington Biomedical is a globally recognized state-of-the-art research institution in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more information, see www.pbrc.edu.

Provided by Louisiana State University