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One blueprint for your body: how the GENIE project is personalising nutrition with your DNA

Date: 2025-03-17

Author: Giacomo Sini

Personalised nutrition is evolving, shifting from standard guidance to highly tailored suggestions rooted in your individual genetic profile and gut microbiome. The GENIE project leads this transformation, integrating advanced technology with nutritional science to develop genuinely personalised meal plans.

The Evolution of food and technology

The relationship between food and technology isn’t new, as Jean Pierre explains in the podcast: “Technology and food has been always connected. If you look back now, all the innovation in terms of agriculture and the way that we get food… humanity couldn’t be at the place where we are if technology hadn’t had an impact on food production.”

Nonetheless, current progress provides unparalleled chances to comprehend our personal nutritional requirements at a molecular scale, revolutionising our approach to diet and wellness.

The GENIE project: “Personalised nutrition” revolution

The GENIE project seeks to represent a significant leap forward in personalised nutrition. Unlike generic diet plans or basic food tracking apps, this initiative analyses approximately 100 different parameters to create highly individualised food recommendations. The system combines four key data sources to generate recommendations:

Genetic predisposition: Identifying genetic variants that may predispose you to certain health conditions or affect how your body processes nutrients
Gut microbiota analysis: Examining the microorganisms in your digestive system to understand your current health status
Blood test results: Ensuring all nutrient levels are properly balanced
Consumer preferences: Accounting for your dietary choices and personal health objectives

As Marina explains: “We want to bring together all this data so we can create a personalized nutrition plan specific for one person.”

Why gut microbiota matters?

Your gut microbiome is essential for your overall health, influencing aspects ranging from digestion to immune response. In contrast to your genetic composition, which stays unchanged over time, your gut microbiota is flexible and can be greatly affected by your food choices.

Marina describes the microbiota as “a dynamic thing that reflects the current state of the person, but it can be easily influenced by diet and environment, unlike your genes.”

The GENIE project performs analyses of participants’ gut microbiota before and after implementing their personalized nutrition plans, specifically assessing improvements in:

Immune system function
Inflammation levels
Food tolerance
Vitamin production

Through this approach, the project not only provides recommendations but also validates their effectiveness by measuring biological changes.

What about the data used?

One of the GENIE project’s core objectives is to make complex genetic and microbiome data accessible and actionable for everyday consumers. The system offers multiple levels of engagement to accommodate different user preferences:

Simple recommendations: For users who want straightforward shopping lists without needing to understand the underlying science
Detailed explanations: For those who want to learn why specific foods are recommended for their unique profile
Deep insights: For users interested in exploring the full details of their genetic and microbiome data

As Jean-Pierre notes: “Our objective is to have these different layers because you have the very lazy [users] who want something easy and simple, to the more expert that want to have all the details and understand everything.”

The power of examples: when data meets diet: the calcium conundrum and the MTHFR gene connection

Jean Pierre discovered through genetic testing that he had a predisposition to absorb more calcium than average. His blood tests confirmed elevated calcium levels, despite his belief that consuming calcium-rich foods was universally beneficial.

“I was consuming a lot of products with high calcium content because I believed that was good,” he explains. “I was doing the opposite of what should be recommended in my personal case based on my nutrigenetics.”

This discovery prompted him to adjust his diet to reduce calcium intake, demonstrating how personalized data can challenge conventional wisdom about “healthy” foods.

On the other hand, Marina highlighted another powerful example involving the MTHFR gene, which affects folate metabolism. Approximately 8% of the population carries variants of this gene that can decrease folate levels and increase homocysteine, a risk factor for thrombosis.

For individuals with this genetic variation, simply increasing their intake of vitamin B9 or taking folate supplements can address the issue—a targeted intervention that wouldn’t be necessary for someone without this genetic profile.

Key takeaways for a better nutrition

When considering how to optimize your nutrition, remember these fundamental insights from the GENIE project:

Your genetics significantly influence how your body processes nutrients – what’s healthy for someone else might not be optimal for you
Your gut microbiome can be reshaped through dietary changes – the right foods can improve your digestive health and overall wellbeing
Effective nutrition requires addressing your body’s specific needs – generic guidelines are less effective than personalized approaches
Data-driven personalization can simplify healthy eating – technology can translate complex health data into simple, actionable recommendations
You should maintain control over your health data – privacy and personal choice remain essential in the age of personalized nutrition

This article is based on an extended discussion on the Digital Food Podcast; tune in and educate your network!