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Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data

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Re: Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data

#121

Post by acct1771 »

minfitzgerald wrote: post #96
diN0bot wrote: post #70

vancanwin, this is a cool premium service and product. i would be more inclined to pay the premium price if the first step was getting blood/bone/gut work done. ordering the elixir based on a 10-second form didn't seem much better than me buying recommended vitamins at the store. it's not very custom is it! it is the data about myself that i really struggle with. i have health insurance and a doctor, but i don't know…

Thanks for the feedback, diNObot. You've provided us good feedback to include the communication of what's included in our new 3-month program that includes blood and other lab work on top of the genetics. All of your information is kept confidential to facilitate this customized program.

If you're a customer sending anything besides mailed cash or cryptocurrencies for any private service, it has the potential to not be private one day.

Re: Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data

#122

Post by didgeoridoo »

qume wrote: post #116
didgeoridoo wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite the official-sounding name, nutritionfacts.org is run by Dr. Michael Greger, a passionate advocate of veganism and animal rights. This doesn't mean it should be dismissed, but it is at its root a political project — it is by no means neutral or objective with regards to the science.

The 200+ volunteers working with Dr Gregor have never even mentioned animal rights as far as I remember and Ive reviewed personally most of what they have published. It is as unpolitical as you can get - a volunteer group doing an ongoing literature review of nutrition papers and publishing their condensed findings in video and constantly updated book form. So yes it does aim to be objective with regards to science,…

It doesn’t take more than five minutes to realize that nutritionfacts.org is purely one-sided. You can’t find a SINGLE piece of science on there that disagrees with vegan orthodoxy.

What is the likelihood that this is the result of an evenhanded look at a broad range of scientific literature, vs. a careful cherry-picking of evidence to support a predetermined conclusion?

Here’s a trick: if you’re the only person who thinks a complex science is clear cut and obvious, maybe you’re the one who is missing something.

Re: Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data

#123

Post by hokkos »

qume wrote: post #18
vancanwin wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I truly understand the skepticism especially when starting this company. That's why we are putting standards and QA processes to make sure our vitamins are pure and not filled with 99% fillers as most vitamins do. We are targeting people who have taken a step towards reducing their refine sugar, carbs, and proper exercise. Our customers typically work out and eat healthy, but are finding that supplementation is worki…

Interesting you suggest in this post that reducing carbs is a step towards a healthier diet. A whole food plant based diet is mostly carbs and is generally regarded as the healthiest diet available. The field of nutritional science is as valid as any and saying it ia becoming more validated science suggests to me you havent been exposed to the thousands of high quality studies being published every year. This is a hu…

nutrition facts is a vegan propaganda site disguised as a science based, political independent site.

https://www.thatnerdysciencegirl.com/2015/11/13/the-case-aga...

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/death-as-a-foodborne-illnes...

https://www.reddit.com/r/nutrition/comments/6b1ik6/seriously...

https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments/3uiriu/how_biased_is...

Re: Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data

#124

Post by ekelsen »

vancanwin wrote: post #5
noisefridge wrote: post #3

Pardon my skepticism, but the whole "supplement" industry seems incredibly bogus. Yes, there might be some benefits from little tweaks to our nutritional profile. But is this a priority compared to the massive benefits one gets from simply cutting out refined sugar, refined carbs, and other junk foods, and doing moderate exercise? The idea of a supplement tailored to the individual seems to a) vastly overestimate wha…

I truly understand the skepticism especially when starting this company. That's why we are putting standards and QA processes to make sure our vitamins are pure and not filled with 99% fillers as most vitamins do. We are targeting people who have taken a step towards reducing their refine sugar, carbs, and proper exercise. Our customers typically work out and eat healthy, but are finding that supplementation is worki…

The parent said nothing about purity of vitamins. That this is the first sentence of your response only seems to confirm his fears about marketing hype. I'm disappointed to see a legitimate PhD used for pseudo scientific snake oil sales.

It's also totally unclear what harm is caused by "fillers" such that their presence is a concern. Or what research backs up the improvement of personalizing vitamin dosages over taking a multi-vitamin - would love to see that study.

The first google search about the condition related to folate methylation took me to some pseudo-scientific naturopathic website that amongst other claims, made this one "it turns out that many of us (estimated at 45%) have at least one [mutation in this gene]". That this source / website is the first thing I find when searching for what you mention does not look good. Let's further break down this claim: it's unclear that having a mutation means that there is any actual loss in function. The statement implies it. But I can't find any evidence, anywhere, that this is true. I also can't find any evidence on the NIH website (https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/MTHFR#conditions) about the condition you mention or what it's prevalence might actually be - everything listed there is a pretty serious disease and you would know it if you had one of those conditions.

I'm honestly somewhat disgusted that YC chose to accept such a morally and scientifically terrible product to peddle. Even if selling bogus supplements to uninformed consumers is a good business.

Re: Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data

#126

Post by kayhi »

vancanwin wrote: post #113
kayhi wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, but these references are reporting demographic and biochemical indicators. They do not state that people with a normal diet need supplementation. Summary reference: "The Nutrition Report has limitations. First, it does not cover information beyond biochemical indicators, such as dietary intake, supplement usage, hematologic measurements, and anthropometric body measurements, which are generally used together…

Hi Kayhi, quickly, what do you define people with normal diet? There is an array of different diet and different health spectrum that doesn't constitute a visit to the doctor or even have the thought of getting a blood panel. As mentioned above, the scientific rigor for each supplement efficacy on some human clinical trials are sometimes over-simplification of findings from very short trials that don't look into more…

Controlling for purity should not be a major problem and should be a baseline for being in the food business. Lifestyle (diet, sleep, stress, alcohol consumption, disease, genetics, etc.) will far outweigh the variable of supplement purity.

I hope you find more studies, but the variables such as those mentioned above will make it very difficult to determine causation.

Re: Launch HN: Nutrigene (YC W18) – Tailor-made liquid supplements using health data

#127

Post by listic »

qume wrote: post #115
listic wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not ship worldwide all at once?

The US is notoriously unregulated. Why bother in countries with strong consumer protection and health claim laws? Ride the wave of corruption while it's still possible. Its not going to go anywhere under Trump.

iHerb ships to over 150 countries, somehow. As well as many online stores that ship almost everywhere.

I am not sure what kind of problem there can be in shipping supplements, which are unregulated by definition.

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