How to use the Nutrition Page on InsideTracker
What makes InsideTracker Plans different from other nutrition and diet advice? The short answer is: science. The plans use bloodwork to give you personalized nutritional information and feedback, so that the recommendations are based on your unique biochemical needs.
The InsideTracker Fitness and Fitness Plus plans provide you with a ton of information on your nutritional requirements, and we want to be sure that you see everything that’s happening on your personalized pages. We want you to get the most benefit from our services! Previously, we presented a brief tutorial on how to use the Food Menu page, and this post will focus on the Nutrition page.
Essentially, the Nutrition plan provides you with general food recommendations. It compiles all of the information from your blood analysis and helps generate recommendations on the Nutrition page that are tailored specifically to your body. These food recommendations can help you make informed decisions about what you put into your body. The ultimate goals of the Nutrition page are to help you:
-learn which foods can impact which biomarkers
-discover new foods to incorporate into your diet
-receive individual nutrition information for each food
How does the Nutrition page work?
When you log on to your personal InsideTracker account, click the Nutrition tab. This page contains the nutrition recommendations that InsideTracker generates based on your bloodwork. Similar to the Food Menu tab, the Nutrition page contains two important sections: settings and recommendations. In the very bottom of the settings area, you will see a list called “special dietary requirements”, where you will be able to set any specific food restrictions. For instance, there are vegetarian, vegan, raw vegan, gluten free, and low-lactose options. These dietary requirements may have been set already if you have previously visited the Food Menu page, but you can change them at any time. This customizable option helps you receive recommendations on foods that you enjoy eating!
What is a biomarker, and why is it important for me?
Learning about your personal biomarkers would be similar to opening a window that reveals what’s going on inside your body. By taking a small blood sample, scientists are able to identify certain biomarkers in your body, which are physiological indicators of your biological state. Simply put, when you have an indicator of what’s going on in your body, then you are able to pinpoint the problem and work to find a solution.
Segterra identified about 20 key biomarkers that have a probability to be slightly off in a healthy population. You probably have heard of most of them—common names of biomarkers include vitamin D, magnesium, and cholesterol. On the Nutrition page, the list on the left shows all the 11-20 biomarkers (your number may vary based on your bloodwork). Any biomarker that is outside your optimal zone has a red dot, which shows whether your levels are too high (above) or too low (below). The biomarkers that don’t have dots are in the optimal InsideTracker zone.
Where can I customize what biomarkers I want to focus on?
On the left side of the page, you will see a “foods that help with…” and a list of biomarkers. This section is completely left up to you—you can select any marker to see which foods help increase or decrease that marker. Essentially, any biomarkers that you select, such as calcium or glucose, determine your nutrition recommendations in the middle of the page. For instance, if the circle for calcium is checked, InsideTracker will give you some nutrition recommendations that are high in calcium. Raising your level of calcium will help you to build and maintain bone strength—which is essential for athletic performance.
On the image above, the Ca biomarker has been selected, which means that the displayed food items are high in that biomarker. So, if you were to eat those specific foods, your levels of Ca would increase. After you review that page, you can click on another biomarker to see your food recommendations change. Keep in mind that sometimes the name of the nutrient is different from that of the biomarker. For example, iron is the name of a nutrient found in certain foods that helps your body form red blood cells and circulate oxygen. The biomarkers ferritin and hemoglobin are affected by your iron intake.
What information does the food recommendations section provide?
In the middle of the page, you will see boxes that contain several foods. Each box contains a picture of a recommended food, a written description of how it can improve your diet, and the specific biomarkers that the food raises and lowers. It’s important to notice that many foods affect more than one specific biomarker. So, if you checked the option for calcium, the foods that are displayed contain a list of other markers that the food contains (besides calcium) right below the food’s name. You may have to scroll down the page to see a list of all of your recommended foods and biomarkers.
Note that if you choose a marker that is in your ideal InsideTracker zone, you will receive information about foods that are high in that marker.
How can this information help?
So, how can you use all this information? By incorporating some of the foods listed on the Nutrition page into your diet, you might be able to improve your overall health, as well as your athletic performance. This feature is easy to use because InsideTracker customizes and gathers all the relevant information for you. Plus, it’s a great way to discover new foods that will allow you to optimize your health. Check out the Nutrition page today to see how just adding a few foods to your diet can change the way you feel!
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About the blog
The InsideTrack is a blog about taking control of your well-being and athletic performance with the knowledge you gain from InsideTracker blood analysis. Check here for practical fitness and nutrition information that will give you a roadmap to achieving your athletic and personal wellness goals.
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About the authors
Perrin is a nutrition and public health graduate student at Tufts University. In her spare time, she enjoys running, hot yoga, and thinking about her next meal.
Meghan is a dual-degree nutrition and public health masters student at Tufts University. She hails from Philadelphia, by way of DC, and has finally stopped calling the T 'the metro.' You can usually find her restaurant-hopping, runnig or tweeting about food policy and health (and occasionally doing all three at once).