At Nutrify Performance Nutrition for Women, part of our core offering is a comprehensive nutrition assessment which evaluates all key aspects of the athlete’s sports nutrition including energy intake, macro and micronutrient status, hydration status and nutrient timing. The baseline nutrition assessment uses dietary intake logs and other information provided by the client to create an actionable roadmap for clients seeking to improve training adaptation, performance, and recovery. However, dietary intake logs alone may not be sufficient to comprehensively assess nutritional status which is why we recommend and utilize InsideTracker to get a deeper assessment of what the body needs to perform at its best.
In today’s post, we will cover some basics of testing and share a couple of case studies to highlight how we use InsideTracker to optimize nutritional plans for our athletes. As an athlete and a long term InsideTracker client, I will share my latest test results, insights and action plan in a subsequent post so you can see a first hand how the results and recommendations are presented and how it is used to build a plan. But first, let’s cover some basics about InsideTracker.
What is Inside Tracker?
InsideTracker is a service that analyzes your blood, DNA and habits to provide an ultra-personalized, science-backed action plan to improve health and performance. The action plan recommendations are based on clinical research. The InsideTracker recommendations have been scientifically proven to be effective in improving biomarkers in otherwise healthy individuals.
Why use InsideTracker?
To illustrate the value of utilizing InsideTracker blood biomarker testing, we’ll use two client case studies representing some of the more common issues facing our clients.
Case Study 1: Suboptimal Energy Intake => Micronutrient Deficiencies
Client reported feeling overly fatigued and sluggish in her workouts. During the nutrition assessment, we discovered this athlete is not meeting her energy intake requirements and as a result, she is also not consuming enough key vitamins and minerals to meet her needs and support her performance.
With a goal of immediately addressing her fatigue, we increased her calorie intake requirements and provided an initial meal plan to help the athlete meet her daily intake needs. The client also obtained an InsideTracker panel to get a comprehensive picture of the extent of any vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to her insufficient energy intake. her InsideTracker test results indicated that she had low Vitamin D, Iron and B12, key vitamins and minerals which if deficient can have a significant impact on performance and health. To address these deficiencies, she added a daily Vitamin D supplement and we modified her meal plan to increase Iron and B12 intake from whole food sources. Client will retest in 3 months to evaluate improvements to these biomarkers as a result of these recommended changes.
Case Study 2: Suboptimal Iron Levels
Iron is an important mineral for athletic performance given its role in delivering oxygen to working muscles. But much like the princess and the pea, iron levels must be just right as too much or too little can have significant negative impacts on performance.
Interestingly, the nutrition assessment indicated the client is consuming adequate iron in her dietary intake. Combined with the lack of reports of any issues with fatigue or sluggishness which are common symptoms of iron imbalance, it appears her iron status is optimal. But in the interest of getting a comprehensive baseline to support her big race plans, the client obtained a comprehensive baseline test from InsideTracker and was surprised when her results indicated she has suboptimal Iron and Ferritin (the storage form of Iron).
Despite adequate iron intake in her diet, low Iron and Ferritin can indicate an issue with iron absorption or losses e.g. heavy menstrual bleeding, regular muscle damage, GI bleeding, etc. And while her low iron results are not classified as abnormal or anemic from a clinical standpoint, her lower than optimal iron indicates she needs a more support and could be impacting her performance. Because the client is already consuming adequate iron in her dietary intake, she will add a Vitamin C supplement to take with her iron containing meals to improve iron absorption. She will retest in 3 months to determine if her Iron status has improved as a result of the Vitamin C supplement.
So how does InsideTracker work?
Clients of Nutrify Performance Nutrition for Women receive a special discount code to purchase tests from InsideTracker. Clients log onto the store at InsideTracker, select a plan (differences exist in cost & biomarkers included in the different plans), complete a profile, and schedule a blood draw at a local Quest Diagnostics branch (or you can have someone come to your home).
Note: It is recommended to schedule the blood draw in the morning as the tests require fasting for at least 12 hours. Also, it is recommended to avoid alcohol and supplements the day prior and intense exercise for a few days prior to the test as it can impact test results. Results are typically posted in 5-7 days.
Nutrify then utilizes the test results to help clients to help prioritize recommended actions with the largest impact to performance and provides meal plans to help clients take action against these recommendations.
How often is an InsideTracker panel needed?
At a minimum, 2 tests, 3 months apart are needed to build a baseline action plan and to measure the effectiveness of the initial plan. However, testing more frequently (i.e., every 3 months) can help uncover valuable insights e.g. testing a few days after a big event can help highlight what your body needs to recover properly. InsideTracker offers bulk discounts for 2 or more tests.
Interested in learning more about InsideTracker? Schedule a complimentary 15’ call today.
