Read this part first. Nutrigenomics is a legitimate and developing field. It is also one where commercial claims run well ahead of the evidence. Before you spend money on a test, you are entitled to know which findings are established, which are preliminary, and what will happen to your genetic data. All three are on this page.
What it actually is
Nutrigenomics studies how genetic variation affects the way individuals respond to nutrients — and, in the other direction, how nutrients influence gene expression.
Some of this is well established. Lactase persistence determines whether you digest milk comfortably as an adult. Variants affecting folate metabolism are well characterised. Caffeine metabolism varies considerably and measurably between people.
A great deal of the rest is preliminary. A reported association between a variant and a dietary response is a finding; it is not yet a basis for a personalised plan, and the gap between those two things is where most of the industry’s marketing lives.
What the evidence supports, and what it does not
We would rather set this out as two lists than let the distinction blur.
Reasonably established
- Lactose tolerance and lactase persistence
- Caffeine metabolism speed
- Alcohol metabolism variants
- Folate metabolism and related variants
- Coeliac disease risk markers
- Some inherited lipid disorders
Preliminary or overclaimed
- Optimal macronutrient ratio from a gene panel
- Predicting which diet will produce most weight loss
- Specific exercise prescriptions from genotype
- Precise micronutrient dosing from variants
- Most “personalised meal plan” claims built on a panel
How we use it
A test is one input among several, and it is never the first one.
Blood work comes first
What your markers are doing now tells us more than what your genotype predicts they might do. Testing follows the assessment; it does not replace it.
Used where it changes a decision
If a result would not alter the plan, the test is not worth your money and we will say so.
Interpreted, not handed over
A raw report is not advice. A clinician reads it against your history and your markers.
Never deterministic
A variant shifts a probability. It does not decide an outcome, and it does not override what your own body is measurably doing.
Your genetic data
Genetic information is among the most sensitive data a person can hand over. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 it attracts obligations around consent, purpose limitation, retention and erasure — and, separately from the law, it is data about your family as well as about you.
Before any test is ordered you are entitled to clear answers on all of the following, in writing.
- Which laboratory processes the sample, and where the data is stored
- Exactly what the data will and will not be used for
- Whether it is shared with any third party, and if so which
- How long it is retained, and how you have it erased
- What happens to it if you leave the programme
- Whether it could reach an insurer or an employer — the answer must be no
Testing partner and data terms
Publication pending. The specific laboratory partner, the consent form and the data-handling terms for nutrigenomic testing are being finalised, and this page will not carry a commercial offer until they are. Genetic data is the one place where we would rather publish nothing than publish something we have not fully specified.
Blocked on dependency D10.
Questions we are asked
Will a genetic test tell me which diet to follow?
Not reliably, and not yet. Controlled trials comparing genotype-matched diets against ordinary sensible diets have generally not found the advantage the marketing implies. Your current markers are a better guide.
Is it worth the money?
For specific questions — a suspected inherited lipid disorder, a folate metabolism question, a family history of early heart disease — it can be. As a general starting point for a weight plan, our honest view is that the money is better spent on blood work.
Can my results affect my insurance?
This is precisely why the data terms matter. Ask for the answer in writing before you test, from us or from anyone else offering it.
Can I do the test without the programme?
We would rather you did the assessment first, because it frequently makes the test unnecessary.
Start with what your body is doing now.The free assessment reads your current markers — which is where the useful information usually is.
Start my free assessment