Our Philosophy

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Written by the founder of Stable Isotope Science, Inc., MA, on May 24, 2025

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Diet-related chronic diseases are prevalent in the United States, affecting cardiovascular diseases (35% of the population), type 1 or 2 diabetes and prediabetes (39%), overweight or obesity (66%), osteoporosis (11%), and certain cancers, including colorectal and breast cancer (Dietary Guidelines for Americans, DGA, p. 5). Over half of U.S. adults have at least one of these conditions (p. viii). A balanced diet is crucial for those already diagnosed with these diseases to aid in recovery or mitigate disease progression (p. vii). For healthy individuals, it lowers the risk of developing these conditions in the long term (p. vii).

To enhance the nation’s nutritional health, federal law requires the USDA and HHS to examine dietary patterns among populations (1990 National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act). It mandates that practical guidelines for healthy eating be provided to the public and updated every five years since the 1980s (p. vii). Additionally, the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) has been designed to quantify the quality of Americans’ dietary patterns (p. 26).

Sadly, the average HEI score in the U.S. has never exceeded 60 out of 100 (pp. 4 and 26). The most recent reported average HEI score was 59 in 2015. Scores show limited variation by age, ranging from 50 to 63 (pp. 4 and 26). These disappointing scores emphasize the overall poor nutritional health of Americans (p. 26). This outcome indicates that unhealthy dietary habits, rather than just genetic factors, significantly contribute to the prevalence of certain metabolic diseases in U.S. society (p. viii).

The good news is that we can begin adopting a healthy dietary pattern today without significant costs or time investments (p. x). The success of transitioning to a healthy eating lifestyle relies on two key elements: understanding what to eat more or less of (knowledge) and maintaining the motivation to practice it consistently in our daily lives (attitude; pp. x and 18). Given that poor nutrition has persisted for a long time in the U.S., we may need effective tools to educate ourselves about healthy diets and inspire us to stick with them (p. 13).

The high rates of diet-related chronic diseases and low HEI scores in the U.S. motivated our company, Stable Isotope Science, Inc., to create a direct-to-consumer service called MyNiche that evaluates an individual’s HEI score while providing personalized dietary information. We emphasize that our service is safe, convenient, affordable, reliable, and scientific.

These features distinguish MyNiche from previous SaaS (software as a service) solutions for nutritional health, which either provided generic dietary information or required significant effort from users, such as tracking the amounts of every ingredient consumed (p. 13). Traditional nutrition consulting from registered nutritionists or dietitians cannot replace the unique benefits of our offering, due to the distinct insights provided exclusively by our scientific approach, which involves stable isotope science.

Stable isotope science has a solid scientific and practical foundation for nutrition studies (Boecklen et al., 2011; Fogel, 2019). Our body parts, foods, and beverages contain naturally occurring carbon and nitrogen isotopes. The isotopic ratios reveal a predictable relationship between the body parts of animals, including humans and pets, and the foods and beverages they recently consumed (DeNiro and Epstein, 1978, 1981). These isotopic ratios are influenced only by foods and beverages, not by carbon- and nitrogen-free water or air. Therefore, carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios serve as reliable chemical indicators for tracking an individual’s dietary composition.

Although this isotopic method has proven effective in both animal ecology and human nutrition for several decades (Boecklen et al., 2011; Fogel, 2019), there have been no services utilizing this approach available to us, whether through health professionals or directly to individuals. In response, our company is introducing MyNiche, the first service to analyze carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in hair or nails to evaluate personal dietary habits.

Our company is founded on publicly accredited credentials. Our founder and sourcing collaborators possess advanced degrees from renowned institutions, have published multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals, and bring extensive experience in evaluating studies within the realm of stable isotope biology.

Our brand, MyNiche, adopted the symbols of stable isotope ecology to emphasize our company's roots. In ecology, the stable isotopic approach has been used to delineate the “food chain” or “food web” in nature (Boecklen et al., 2011; Fogel, 2019). The position of microbes, plants, and animals in the food web is called a “trophic niche.”

The logo of our service symbolizes a food web, often depicted as a pyramid shape in elementary school textbooks. We aimed to use an image that is easy to follow and familiar to the public. The name of our service, MyNiche, is derived from the term trophic niche since our service informs users of their trophic niche. The logo and name of our service demonstrate that our company is committed to bridging the gap between academia and society, bringing value to both sides.

We discovered well-designed, well-functioning, and affordable systems developed by the government and private sectors to improve our access to healthy ingredients and a balanced diet (p. 50). While the initial steps towards adopting a wholesome diet may be challenging, maintaining this habit is easier than the initial effort (p. x). More importantly, the benefits of sustaining healthy eating habits are invaluable—it protects you from numerous diet-related chronic diseases that threaten the lives of many Americans and enhances your mental and physical well-being.