Omri Casspi, an Israeli professional basketball player who played for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, has invested an undisclosed sum in Israeli startup DayTwo. DayTwo provides personalized nutrition and dietary recommendations by analyzing the DNA of an individual’s gut microbiomes.

Although the application is mainly focused on maintaining normal blood sugar levels for people with diabetes, metabolic conditions and obesity, it can also be used by healthy people and athletes looking to make smarter nutritional choices.

Casspi said he decided to invest in DayTwo after the company’s personalized diet plan helped him change his pre-game preparation and helped maintain sugar levels during games.

“For the first time in my career, I adjusted my diet personally and according the kinds of activity I do. I realized that there were foods and combinations of foods that were recommended to me by the world’s greatest experts in the course of my career, and that these did not necessarily suit my needs,” Casspi said in a statement.

The technology behind DayTwo’s application is based on a five-year study conducted at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel by Prof. Eran Segal and Prof. Eran Elinav.

Using a questionnaire, a stool sample kit and an HbA1c blood test result, the company produces a personalized nutrition profile that uses a scoring system to rate thousands of different foods and food combinations based on the analysis of gut bacteria and lifestyle factors.

So far, DayTwo has raised $17 million in funding, not including the investment from Casspi. The company now plans to expand its activity in the US market, in the professional sports industry, and health organizations focused on type 2 diabetes.

DayTwo was founded by Marius Nacht, one of the founders of Check Point Software Technologies, together with Lihi Segal and Yuval Ofek. It currently employs 45 people in Israel and in the US.

(via Israel21c)

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