Your patient's DNA wants a different diet: Is nutrigenomics ready for the exam room?
Industry Buzz
I recommend my patients consider having a micronutrient panel tested, especially when they have brain fog & fatigue—along with other labs like blood count, thyroid hormone, and other conventional testing.
—Yoon Hang Kim, MD
Home microbiome tests can be interesting, but most people shouldn’t overhaul their diet based on one stool test, and AI apps shouldn’t replace guidance from a qualified provider.
—Melanie Murphy Richter, MS, RDN
Precision nutrition has found firm footing in the healthcare landscape, helping clinicians provide customized, patient-centered care vs one-size-fits-all recommendations.
The widespread use of AI is also helping researchers and clinicians predict how patients will respond to certain nutritional therapies.
In the world of precision nutrition, a bland “eat more veggies” is swapped out for a therapeutic, response-based target. Armed with multiomic data, evidence, and clinical context, you can align dietary interventions with your patients’ unique biology and lifestyles.[]
“Precision nutrition in 2026 is promising when it helps people turn data into simple, sustainable behavior change,” says Melanie Murphy Richter, MS, RDN, a metabolic health expert and dietitian with L-Nutra. “Wearables, glucose tracking, bloodwork, and AI health apps can be useful when they reveal patterns, [such as] late meals affecting glucose, poor sleep driving cravings, or low protein intake impacting energy and muscle preservation.”
“I believe it’s incredibly important to talk about the role genetics plays in precision medicine,” says Natalie Samson, MS, CGC, INHC, a board-certified genetic counselor at Golden Genetics. “Nutrigenomics is an emerging area that helps tailor nutrition and lifestyle recommendations based on a person’s DNA. I believe these advances are shifting healthcare toward a more personalized, proactive, and precise model—one that helps patients in a much more meaningful way.”
Related: 5 foods you should eat every day for optimal healthA deeper look into personalized nutrition
Nutrigenomics is an area that integrative medicine physician Yoon Hang Kim, MD, MPH, is deeply familiar with.
“My patient population is seeking a personalized approach to healthcare. In many of my patients, I recommend micronutrient tests rather than guessing what my patients need,” he says. “I recommend my patients consider having a micronutrient panel tested, especially when they have brain fog and fatigue, along with other labs [such as] blood count, thyroid hormone, and other conventional testing.”
These micronutrient test results yield information about more than 30 analytes, from vitamins and minerals to fatty acids and other metabolites.
He says he also runs a microbiome test for patients experiencing gastrointestinal function issues. These tests can provide a clear picture of a patient’s gut bacteria, fungi, and viruses, helping tailor personalized nutrition recommendations.
Kristen Kuminski, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in metabolic health, weight management, and nutrition support for individuals using GLP-1s, says she believes wearables are where the industry is going.
“Wearables for glucose monitoring are where I see the most genuine clinical utility, particularly continuous glucose monitors for people with insulin resistance or on GLP-1 medications,” she says. “Seeing in real time how specific foods affect blood sugar is genuinely behavior-changing in a way that static dietary advice often isn't.”
Limitations to be aware of
Despite precision medicine’s clear promise, clinicians and patients should still be aware of the limitations of this technology, especially regarding direct-to-consumer at-home testing kits or apps.
“Where we need to be cautious is with tools that overpromise without enough clinical context,” says Richter. “Home microbiome tests can be interesting, but most people shouldn’t overhaul their diet based on one stool test, and AI apps shouldn’t replace guidance from a qualified provider.”
Patients have to be educated on how to interpret data—and clinicians should help guide that journey.
“The gap between what’s being marketed and what’s clinically validated is still significant,” Kuminski adds. “Home microbiome testing is the clearest example. The science behind gut microbiome influence on metabolism, weight, and mood is legitimate and growing. The problem is that consumer tests don’t yet translate reliably into actionable dietary changes.”
For example, she says, some reference ranges are inconsistent across labs, and most recommendations are too generic to justify the cost.
In the end, Richter believes precision nutrition is a game changer when approached correctly.
“The real value of precision nutrition is helping people better understand their own metabolic response while still prioritizing the fundamentals: stable blood sugar, adequate protein, fiber diversity, circadian-aligned eating, and whole, minimally processed foods,” she says.
Related: Common nutrition myths debunked by science