FOOD VISION USA: Let’s get personal. Your microbiome, your blood sugar and you

25-Aug-2016 - Last updated on 13-Sep-2016 at 15:45 GMT

Personalized nutrition will be a key theme at Food Vision USA in Chicago in November. Picture: istockphoto

Could your microbiome - a huge ecosytem of trillions of bacteria living inside your body - explain why you find it harder to regulate your blood sugar than the next person?

It’s an emerging area of study, but research by DayTwo scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute suggests a link between an individual’s microbiome and his or her blood sugar reactions to different foods, which could explain why some people following an apparently healthy diet still find their blood sugar levels hard to control, claims CEO and co-founder Lihi Segal.

Based on this research, DayTwo is using machine learning algorithms to predict individuals’ responses to different foods and to develop personalized diets that regulate blood sugar levels, says Segal, who will be speaking on day two (no pun intended) of Food Vision USA in Chicago in November.

Segal – who will explain the science underpinning DayTwo’s personalized diet proposition – will also explore…

You say tomato, I say… why people react differently to the same foods and why the standard dietary advice may be well intentioned but wrong.
The ultimate algorithm – how DayTwo predicts the diet that will keep your blood sugar stable (but not the next guy’s).
Proof of the pudding – How DayTwo plans to reduce blood sugar levels for individuals across America.

The mission: To ‘transform the way every human being eats, sleeps and moves to live a longer, better life’

Continuing the personalized nutrition theme, Rony Sellam, CEO at InsideTracker - an analytics platform built by scientists from MIT, Tufts and Harvard – will explore how consumers are embracing new technologies enabling them to actively take control of their personal wellbeing.

Sellam – who is on a self-proclaimed mission to “transform the way every human being eats, sleeps and moves to live a longer, better life” – will also discuss…

From every day consumers to Olympians and pro-athletes – why individuals turn to InsideTracker to control their wellbeing
From complex science to simple business model – how InsideTracker identifies and evaluates key health biomarkers with a straightforward blood test
Impressive results – how dramatic improvements in health, wellbeing, and fitness have been measured objectively across thousands of people
Into the mainstream – how strategic partnerships will extend the benefits of InsideTracker to millions of consumers

Food Vision USA 2016

Held at the Drake Hotel in Chicago on November 9-11, Food Vision USA 2016 will also bring together senior figures in food and consumer research from Hartman Group CEO Laurie Demeritt to ‘Mindless Eating’ author Brian Wansink, coupled with a clutch of entrepreneurs spanning everything from ‘veggie fries’ to cold-pressed nut milks (MALK), HPP babyfood (PureSpoon), steel cut oat entrees (Grainful) and protein bars, snacks and shakes (Quest Nutrition).

Building on the success of the Food Vision global event, held annually in Cannes, France, we’re shining a spotlight on the companies – large and small – that are doing most to drive innovation and champion change.

Themes we'll address on the conference floor include:

Is the future of food plant-based?
Can we end metabolic disease?
What really motivates mainstream consumers (and how do you find out)?
Are meal-kits and other direct-to-consumer businesses a long-term trend or a fad?
How do you build a completely new food category?
How much protein do we really need?
Who is the ‘progressive consumer’?
What can we learn from social media conversations about food?
What do Americans actually eat (and does it bear any correlation to the Dietary Guidelines)?
Are traditional focus groups past their sell-by-date?

Watch DayTwo's video below: