The science
The advice was never built for you
For a long time, the research behind everyday nutrition advice was run on a narrow slice of people. Plait exists because that left most women, and most of the conditions they live with, out of the picture.
The problem with bikini medicine
For decades, a lot of health research studied women only where their bodies obviously differed from men's: the parts a bikini covers. Beyond that, women were often assumed to be small men. Many studies leaned on young male participants, then applied the findings to everyone.
Nutrition guidance inherited that blind spot. Advice that quietly ignored the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause, and that treated weight as the headline rather than the conditions women actually live with. If the standard plan never seemed to fit, this is a large part of why.
What Plait does differently
Plait starts from your body rather than an average. Two ideas sit underneath it.
Phase-aware
Your needs shift across life stages. Perimenopause, menopause, pregnancy, and the postpartum months each ask something different of nutrition. Plait reflects the stage you are actually in.
Condition-aware
The conditions you tell us about shape the guidance you see, including when you hold more than one at once. This is educational nutrition guidance, not a diagnosis and not a prescription.
The research it’s built on
Every target, meal score, and condition recommendation in Plait is checked against current guidance from the ADA, ACOG, The Menopause Society, NHLBI, ACG, WHO, USDA, KDIGO, ACR and AASLD, and the peer-reviewed studies below.
Nutrition targets
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure. Am J Clin Nutr, 1990.
- Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes: Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat & Protein, 2005.
- National Academies. Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium, 2019.
- USDA & HHS. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 (10th ed.).
- WHO. Guideline: Sodium intake for adults and children, 2012.
Diabetes, glucose & insulin resistance
- American Diabetes Association. Standards of Care in Diabetes, 2026.
- Evert AB, et al. Nutrition Therapy for Adults With Diabetes or Prediabetes: Consensus Report. Diabetes Care, 2019.
Blood pressure & DASH
- NHLBI (NIH). DASH Eating Plan.
- Appel LJ, et al. Effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure (DASH). N Engl J Med, 1997.
- Sacks FM, et al. Reduced dietary sodium and the DASH diet. N Engl J Med, 2001.
- Whelton PK, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA High Blood Pressure Guideline. Hypertension, 2018.
Cholesterol & lipids
- Grundy SM, et al. 2018 AHA/ACC Blood Cholesterol Guideline. Circulation, 2019.
- Whitehead A, et al. Oat beta-glucan and cholesterol: meta-analysis of RCTs. Am J Clin Nutr, 2014.
- Katan MB, et al. Plant stanols & sterols and blood cholesterol. Mayo Clin Proc, 2003.
PCOS
- Teede HJ, et al. 2023 International Evidence-based Guideline for PCOS, 2023.
- Lim SS, et al. Lifestyle changes in women with PCOS. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2019.
- Grant P. Spearmint tea anti-androgen effects in PCOS. Phytother Res, 2010 (small RCT, preliminary).
IBS & low-FODMAP
- Lacy BE, et al. ACG Clinical Guideline: Management of IBS. Am J Gastroenterol, 2021.
- Monash University FODMAP Research Team. The Low FODMAP Diet.
- Black CJ, et al. Soluble fibre, antispasmodics & peppermint oil in IBS: meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2020.
Menopause & perimenopause
- The Menopause Society. 2022 Hormone Therapy Position Statement. Menopause, 2022.
- The Menopause Society. 2023 Nonhormone Therapy Position Statement. Menopause, 2023.
- Taku K, et al. Soy isoflavones and menopausal hot-flash frequency & severity: meta-analysis. Menopause, 2012 (modest effect).
Pregnancy & breastfeeding
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Nutrition During Pregnancy.
- Institute of Medicine. Weight Gain During Pregnancy, 2009.
- U.S. FDA & EPA. Advice About Eating Fish (pregnancy & breastfeeding).
- USPSTF. Folic Acid Supplementation to Prevent Neural Tube Defects. JAMA, 2023.
Celiac, thyroid, kidney, gout, fatty liver & migraine
- Rubio-Tapia A, et al. ACG Clinical Guidelines Update: Celiac Disease. Am J Gastroenterol, 2023.
- Ross DS, et al. 2016 American Thyroid Association Guidelines. Thyroid, 2016.
- KDIGO. 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for CKD. Kidney Int, 2024.
- FitzGerald JD, et al. 2020 ACR Guideline for the Management of Gout. Arthritis Care Res, 2020.
- Rinella ME, et al. AASLD Practice Guidance on NAFLD. Hepatology, 2023.
- Holland S, et al. AAN guideline: riboflavin & magnesium for migraine prevention. Neurology, 2012.
Everyday habits & food-drug interactions
- DiPietro L, et al. Post-meal walking improves glycaemic control. Diabetes Care, 2013.
- Cook JD, Reddy MB. Vitamin C & non-heme iron absorption. Am J Clin Nutr, 2001.
- U.S. FDA. Avoiding Drug Interactions (e.g. warfarin-vitamin K, statins-grapefruit, levothyroxine timing).
Citations reviewed against current literature as of 2 June 2026. Professional-body guidelines supersede individual studies where they conflict. Naming these bodies is not an endorsement by them; this is educational nutrition guidance, not medical advice.
Honest about the limits
Plait offers condition-aware nutrition guidance. It does not diagnose, and it does not claim to treat, cure, or prevent anything. Any nutrition figures it shows, such as calories or macros, are estimated starting points to discuss with your own clinician, not instructions.
We keep our reasoning and our references in the open, and we update them as the evidence does.
Your body didn't fail. The advice did.
Plait provides nutrition guidance and is not a substitute for medical care.