Developing Personalized Diets
Decades of research have highlighted the role of diet in whole-body health. A proper, balanced diet does more than supply the necessary energy. It can boost the immune system, reduce the risk and severity of chronic diseases, and even promote mental health. General guidelines for dietary ratios, unhealthy foods, and important nutrients are widely available. However, each patient faces their own environmental deficiencies, personal needs, and health concerns. Customized or personalized nutrition has emerged to address these concerns.
As a healthcare provider, patients are likely to turn to you for dietary advice. To ensure that your patients are getting the most from their diet, consider developing customized nutrition plans. For best results, explore blood testing—the most effective way to develop a microscopic view of your patient’s health.
Deficiencies and Supplementation
Blood testing can reveal potential deficiencies in your patients’ diets. Your patients may experience deficiencies of healthy proteins, essential fatty acids, and other components. Minerals and nutrients such as iron, vitamin B12, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D are common deficiencies. In particular, vitamin D deficiency has been so severe and widespread as to be labeled a pandemic. Among other symptoms, low vitamin D levels can contribute to loss of bone density and osteoporosis.
Regular testing allows you to develop treatment and supplementation plans to address deficiencies. Vitamin deficiencies in particular, are notoriously difficult to identify and isolate. Full panels provide an effective testing method. Access Medical Labs offers a health and wellness panel to provide a full-scope view of your patient’s nutritional needs.
Personal Needs
Each patient may present unique dietary demands. Metabolism, activity level, and other lifestyle aspects shape nutritional needs. Even genetic makeup influences patients’ daily requirements. Certain genomes may require different ratios of fiber, folates, and carbohydrates. Developing the correct balance of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains may be a challenge for your patient. Consider beginning with a hormonal and metabolic panel to establish a baseline for your patient’s personal needs.
Intolerances and Sensitivities
Isolating and removing food intolerances and sensitivities presents another challenge. Sensitivities may arise suddenly and inexplicably. Common allergens such as lactose and gluten may have consistent presentations, particularly if related to your patients’ genotype. Certain genotypes for other sensitivities and symptoms vary drastically. Your patients may be unknowingly consuming sensitivities on the daily. These sensitivities may be affecting their health long-term. They may even contribute to chronic inflammation.
Identifying allergens can be a difficult, time-consuming process. Blood testing is the most effective method for isolating allergens. Access Medical Labs offers customizable blood panels that test for reactions for 286 food sources. Learn more about our foodANALYZER panel.
Health Concerns
Health concerns may influence the personalized diet for your patient. Inspired by genetic information or a personal history, your patients may focus on specific aspects of health. As diet plays a vital role in overall health and wellness, the right nutrition plan can prevent and lessen the severity of several conditions.
Cardiovascular Disease
Lifestyle interventions, including diet, have become central to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. In large, the nutrition/cardiovascular connection has focused on eliminating negative components. Diets that contribute to inflammation include foods high in refined carbs, and glucose, all of which cause significant damage to the cardiovascular system.
Removing negative components is essential, but it’s important to incorporate foods with a cardioprotective effect. Healthy diets can have a significant preventative effect against cardiovascular disease. For patients concerned with cardiovascular health, begin with a baseline of their heart health. AML’s cardio blood panels evaluate factors influenced by diet, including triglycerides, cholesterol, and lipoprotein levels.
Cancer
Additionally, some foods have been shown to prevent cancer. Foods with high levels of dietary antioxidants can promote apoptosis. Likewise, anticarcinogenic compounds such as flavonoids and carotenoids have been shown to reduce oxidative damage. In fact, fruits and vegetable consumption can help prevent cancer. Holistic cancer prevention should include dietary treatments, supplementation, and observation.
Neurological Diseases
Dietary intake has a transformative effect on mental wellness. Diet can contribute to mental clarity, awareness, and the prevention and management of neurological diseases. Chronic inflammation from diet leads to long-term neurological consequences. These include issues with motor skills and memory. Poor diet can also aggravate conditions such as depression, ADHD, and Alzheimer’s disease. New research shows that poor nutrition can even increase the chance of conditions such as dementia.
Diabetes and Obesity
Alongside physical activity, the most significant impact on the development of diabetes and obesity is diet. Those concerned about diabetes must monitor their intake of sugars and unhealthy carbohydrates. Additionally, it’s important to be aware of blood sugar and insulin production. The development of type 2 diabetes is a common side effect of poor diet. Likewise, weight management and the progression of obesity are closely tied to diet. Your diet and nutrition plan may be able to address these concerns.
AML offers testing for the factors that influence weight and metabolism. Data from our weight loss panels can influence your personalized nutrition plans.
Customizable Panels for Diet and Nutrition
As a healthcare professional, you need highly-effective tools to provide the best patient care. Customized diets for your patients opens new opportunities for treatment. With specialized nutrition, you can help your patients boost their whole-body health. From natural supplements to healthy diet plans, creating nutritional plans requires cutting-edge tools.
For in-depth information on your patients’ health, test with Access Medical Labs. AML provides effective, efficient, and extensive blood and saliva testing. With test results in industry-leading turnaround time, AML provides the data you need to give your patients the best nutritional advice. Explore more from Access Medical Labs.
