AM: What is your background and how did this lead you to creating DayTwo?
LIHI SEGAL: I have an extensive background in business positions at various start up companies. Over the years, I’ve been the CFO and COO of companies specializing in communications, semiconductors, and healthcare.
After I first became involved in healthcare (at a company called dbMotion, which specialized in information exchange and analytics, and was later sold to Allscripts), I knew there was no going back and it became difficult to consider taking a position in a company that isn’t involved in this area. Working in healthcare ignited a feeling of purpose in me that I haven’t felt in previous positions - we were touching people’s health, helping prevent disease, and improving their lives.
I later joined up with Yuval Ofek (former CEO of dbMotion) and Marius Nacht (founder of cybersecurity firm Checkpoint, among many other ventures) to found DayTwo. This came about after we were all fascinated by new gut microbiome research conducted at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science and its potential to improve people’s health and prevent disease. With our background in various tech companies, we hold a strong belief that using big data is the new way of developing effective healthcare solutions, and this ties in nicely with the Weizmann Institute research.
AM: What is DayTwo?
LS: DayTwo is the world's first provider of health improvement and disease prevention solutions based on Gut Microbiome research. Its first product, based on groundbreaking research led by Prof. Eran Segal and Dr. Eran Elinav from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and exclusively licensed to DayTwo, is a personalized nutrition platform. It aims to normalize blood sugar levels and reduce risk for metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, leveraging the world's largest and most detailed microbiome database. DayTwo's product pipeline includes additional microbiome-based diagnostic and therapeutic solutions.
AM: What is the gut microbiome?
LS: The gut microbiome is the collection of all microbes that exist in each person’s digestive tract and help us digest food. In our gut alone we have around 100 trillion microbes, similar to the number of cells that we have in our entire body! Each person’s microbiome is unique to, and influences the way, our body reacts to different foods. Unlike human genetics, we can change and manipulate our microbiome over time.
Microbiome research revealed that gut microbiome also affects our energy levels and our immune system. Recent research even showed that dieting may affect the microbiome in such a way that might lead to rapid weight gain once normal eating habits resume.
Since our gut microbiome is tied to so many different aspects of our health and well-being, it is extremely important to base our nutrition on our own unique microbiome composition.
AM: What are the benefits of using this and how does it enhance your lifestyle?
LS: People have been struggling to come up with a definitive answer to the question “what is the best diet for humans?” For many years, dietary trends have come and gone, and still, there is no clear answer.
The groundbreaking scientific research at the core of DayTwo’s personalized nutrition algorithm shows that we have been asking the wrong question. The right question is “what is the best diet for ME?”.
By basing our personalized nutrition recommendations on individual gut microbiome, as well as an extensive review of each customer's lifestyle and health, we are able to provide a plan that aims to normalize blood sugar levels.
DayTwo is not a diet, but a lifestyle and
wellness product. Maintaining healthy and normalized blood sugar levels can lead to better weight management, higher and more consistent energy levels, and, most importantly, can help reduce the risk of symptoms and diseases related to high blood sugar, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and more.
We encourage keeping a healthy and active lifestyle to go along with clean and balanced eating, based on our personalized nutrition recommendations.
AM: Why is this a service that is slated to trend for 2017 as you were included in this year's Wellness Trend Report?
LS: With genome-based personalized medicine being a hot topic of conversation, and new revelations on how our microbiome affects multiple aspects of our well-being published often, our product is at the forefront of these health trends.
Personalized nutrition that is specifically tailored to individual gut microbiome and meant to help balance blood sugar levels also addresses some of the most worrying health concerns of the past few decades, namely the rise of obesity to epidemic levels, and the growing number of individuals classified as either diabetic or prediabetic.
It is our strong belief that the path to a better, healthier life starts with better nutrition, and we are certain that in 2017 and beyond, more and more people will look to a tailored solution to improve their overall wellness.