Researchers in Portugal and Spain aimed to evaluate whether personalized dietary and shopping recommendations based on individual biochemical tests could produce measurable changes in nutritional behavior and biological outcomes.
Using the AI-driven personalized nutrition platform GENIE (Genomic Evaluation and Nutritional Integration Experience), they found promising results among the 1,177 participants.
“The approach provides a clinically relevant framework for translating emerging nutrigenetics and microbiome research into real-world interventions, aligning with growing literature on precision nutrition as a tool for chronic disease prevention and health optimization,” they wrote in the journal Nutrients.
GENIE provides dietary advice based on genetic, microbiota, and biochemical tests, as well as consumer preferences.
It was developed as part of a collaboration among the Spanish startup GUNDO, the Spanish health center and genetic laboratory ADN Institut, and the Portuguese non-profit biomedical research unit i3S.
In recent years, consumers have increased their awareness of and interest in personalized nutrition. Some companies offer services that combine genetic testing with microbiome analysis and digital coaching, but their outputs are delivered as static reports. The researchers noted a distinct lack of follow-up, evaluation, and integration with food shopping, prompting the development of the GENIE platform and the current study.
“This study addressed a key translational gap by implementing multi-omics PN [personalized nutrition] directly into routine shopping decisions and evaluating both biological markers and user experience within a unique pragmatic framework,” they wrote.
Study details
The study was conducted in collaboration with Spanish online food retailer Ametller Origen and included 1,177 participants recruited from their customer database through a newsletter campaign.
The participants were divided into three groups. Group one had recommendations based on a biochemical blood test, group two included a nutrigenetic saliva test, and group three had a gut microbiome test using stool samples.
A registration questionnaire allowed the researchers to characterize the participants, who were mainly women and aged 31-50 years. Most participants described themselves as moderately active, and 63% had a normal body mass index (BMI). 76.9% of participants self-reported a healthy eating pattern. The blood tests showed that most participants had values within reference ranges for most parameters, with cholesterol values presenting higher proportions of out-of-range values.
Following a month of tailored dietary advice through the GENIE platform, the researchers conducted a quantitative evaluation of the experience.
“The GENIE platform led to strong engagement (mean session time 7.07 min; +154% e-commerce use), with 71% of participants following at least part of the recommendations. This was associated with an increase in microbiome diversity in about 70% of participants, after just one month of guided recommendations,” they wrote.
They acknowledged the study limitations, including a lack of a control group and restricted evaluation methods, noting that longer testing periods would be advantageous.
Source: Nutrients 2026, 18(10), 1528; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18101528 “An Experiment in Personalized Shopping for Optimal Health, with Integration of Nutrigenetics and Gut Microbiome Information.” Authors: V. Fernandes et al.
