March is National Nutrition Month
Kari Collett, RDN, LDN, CLT with A to Zinc Nutrition, LLC
I’m super excited for this years’ National Nutrition Month theme promoted by the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics! Personalizing people’s diets is exactly what we do at A to Zinc Nutrition.
1,001 Different Diets
The diet choices and plans available today are numerous. I think every time I learn about one I hadn’t heard of before, I wonder how this “perfect plan” came about. Was it driven by science? Was it experimental and anecdotal? Or was it profit driven? On occasion I get a little curious and look into the details of the program; what I learn makes me wonder why people want to follow these diet plans, or how they could possibly be sustainable.
Many diets focus on eliminating specific foods, food groups, or macronutrients. Eliminating a broad variety of foods can be concerning as some food groups carry unique key nutrients – all of which could have adverse effects on a person’s health if eliminated long term. Furthermore, most of them seem less than desirable and don’t seem to promote much joy in eating.
I’m NOT a FAN!
A lot of well-meaning individuals try to convince me of all the benefits of the latest diet they are following. While that particular diet might be serving that person well at that point in time, I’m never really sold on any predesigned diet program. Not only do they all have their pros and cons, but I don’t care for restrictions. Everyone should have the freedom and confidence to eat what they know their body needs while also providing adequate calories and nutrients.
Additionally, none of the diets people rave about are specific to any individual. People may become frustrated or have adverse effects from trying to follow a plan that doesn’t make sense for their body. What I’ve seen in most cases is that people give up on these diets because they aren’t really helping them reach the goal they were trying to get to or it’s just too difficult to maintain, and then they feel worse than when they started. This type of dieting can be hard on the body but also on our emotional well-being.
The MRT® is the BEST Personalization Tool
The Mediator Release Test is the gold standard in helping people find the exact foods their body needs for optimal health and the foods their body should avoid – at least for a while. There are no two diet plans exactly alike. Creating a plan around the MRT results, known as the LEAP diet, provides people the freedom and confidence to eat what their body needs, improve their chronic health conditions and inflammation symptoms, and expand their food list over time. Because people feel good and have a wide variety of foods to choose from, the plan is perfectly sustainable and nutritionally complete.
Food and nutrient personalization is best all around. No two people have the exact same immune system, digestive system, or genetic make-up so no two people should follow the exact same diet plan regardless of how many hundreds of others attest to its amazing outcomes!
To learn more about personalizing your plate and MRT food sensitivity testing, visit: https://atozincnutrition.com/the-science/