Today, taking nutrition seriously means more than keeping track of your macros, getting tested for food allergies, and hiring a dietician. Personalized nutrition is now a whole industry. It uses things like saliva, blood, or stool samples, as well as lifestyle habits, to create custom diets and give targeted advice to help people live longer, healthier, and more whole lives.
InsideTracker is one of these companies that has been on my mind for the past few years. Its popularity has exploded in the world of competitive workouts.
I couldn't wait to see all the fuss, so I jumped at the chance to try InsideTracker to the fullest.
What Exactly Is Insidetracker?
InsideTracker, which bills itself as "the ultra-personalized nutrition system," uses information gleaned from genetic analysis, blood work, and user-reported diet and exercise patterns to formulate individualized programmes supported by scientific research. The purpose is to enhance one's physical condition to increase one's lifespan, quality of life, and capacity for achievement.
InsideTracker markets itself to professional athletes and anyone interested in bettering their health and fitness. However, there is a distinct focus on performance that runs throughout the company, which makes it particularly appealing to those of us striving to reach the highest levels of our sport.
How It Works
Choosing a plan is the first step in getting started with InsideTracker. (For options, see the next section.)
Then, your blood is drawn in a lab or at home using a home test. Blood tests are included in all but three of the plans: DNA kit, blood results upload, and DNA results upload. You can submit your DNA test results to InsideTracker if you've already taken one.
The next step is to respond to a series of questions about your daily routine, including when you go to bed and wake up, how often you eat, and how often you exercise.
Your internal deep dive can begin once InsideTracker has received and analyzed all of your data, which usually takes a few weeks. You can access your full biomarker report in your web browser or mobile app by going to the "bloodwork" or "my results" tab. There's a description of the biomarker, a list of foods that affect it, and suggestions for how to raise a low number (red = at risk, yellow = needs work, green = good). You can also view (and print) a table of your biomarkers next to lab reference ranges to get an idea of where you stand compared to what you should be at and what to tell your doctor.
In the nutrition section of your report, you'll find a list of foods recommended for you based on the biomarkers you chose to have tested and your personal needs and preferences (pulled from your questionnaire). Recipes incorporating the food, a nutritional breakdown, and suggested serving sizes and consumption frequencies are all included.
After giving yourself time to digest the findings and suggestions, it's time to move forward. The InsideTracker app allows you to monitor your development, analyze your data, and learn more about health, wellness, and fitness through articles and podcasts.
In a perfect world, InsideTracker recommends repeating your biomarker test every few months to monitor the effects of your dietary and lifestyle changes.
Key Features of InsideTracker
Personalized Action Plans
InsideTracker's individualized strategies are a standout feature. InsideTracker will make a custom plan for you to follow based on the outcomes of your blood tests to help you achieve your health and fitness objectives. The plan will detail everything you need to know to improve your health, from what to eat to exercise to what supplements to take.
There are a few different options available to you within the program. The plans can be modified to account for factors such as age, weight, and food allergies, making them suitable for individuals of varying needs and preferences.
Easy-To-Use Platform
The InsideTracker App is simple and easy to understand. Users can keep a food diary and monitor their weight loss or gain. Based on the outcomes of their blood tests, the app also gives users personalized advice on enhancing their health and fitness.
Comprehensive Results
InsideTracker provides health and nutrition data based on blood work. The company analyses vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, enzymes, hormones, and inflammatory markers to help users improve their health and performance.
The system's selling point is its individualized approach to health and fitness. Each user receives unique diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations based on their blood work.
Conclusion
InsideTracker is suitable for anyone who wants a personalized look at what works and doesn't work for their body. The at-home blood test and results process are very cool, and the ability to link these test results and feed them into real-time, daily data to work with takes the guesswork out of nutrition and wellness.
