Why ‘Healthy Eating’ Isn’t As Simple As We Thought

Have you ever tried a healthy eating habit that worked wonders for a friend but did absolutely nothing for you?  According to researchers writing in the scientific journal Cell, everything we know about healthy food and nutrition could be wrong. They found that people's bodies responded to eating the same meal in very different ways. According to The Washington Post: 'The researchers recruited 800 healthy and pre-diabetic volunteers ages 18 to 70 and collected data through health questionnaires, body measurements, blood tests, glucose monitoring and stool samples. They also had the participants input lifestyle and food intake information into a mobile app that ended up collecting information on a total of 46,898 meals they had.' Source: Top Food Facts The results were fascinating, with some individuals having completely opposing results from following the exact same dietary program. Some individuals experienced massive sugar spikes when eating certain foods, while others had absolutely zero side effects. The study showed that factors such as age, weight and genetics played a role, but lesser known ones like gut microbes could also play a massive part in a person's metabolism. Source: Imgur Most interestingly, the research team are working on an algorithm that can tailor-make a diet that suits an individual, moving away from the one-size-fits-all approach to healthy eating prevalent at the minute. The team are currently working on a longer term-study to see if the algorithim can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes in a group of individuals.