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Know Your Metabolic Type
The theory of metabolic typing originated in the 1920’s when a dentist, Dr Weston A Price www.price-pottenger.org traveled the world to investigate the nutrition, health and lifestyle of the different ethnic tribes around the world. He compared the health effects of western food compared to their traditional diets.
He found a large variance in types of foods eaten. He saw the Eskimos ate a diet of almost exclusively protein and aft, from seal, fish etc. Opposite to this was tribal groups in South America who had an almost meat free diet. The two groups, and many in between these extremes had no cancer, heart disease, mental illness, very little tooth decay and were what could be said to be ‘very good health’. When subjected to western foods these groups would succumb to the same degenerative conditions prevalent in the west. He went on to conclude that when people lived off the ancestral foods in their own environment, they maintained robust health free of modern degenerative diseases.
The variability in food selection and nutritional needs to produce and maintain health were backed up by Roger Williams, PhD and recounted in his book Biochemical individuality. His work reviewed thousands of medical studies. He found that there was a large variety in almost every measure of the human body from organ size and shape to enzyme and blood concentrations and effectiveness. Through his own studies and in review he showed how vitamin and mineral requirements for individuals varied considerably. From this he coined the term, the Genotrophic approach to health. This states that if you fulfill your genetically inherited nutritional requirements you will optimize your health.
Biochemical individuality is expressed in the way we look and how are metabolism works. Although we all have the same physical structures, i.e. eyes, ears and a nose, of us look identical. This is exactly what happens inside. We all have the same enzymes, organs and structures but they vary greatly in size, shape and efficiency. Hence we do not handle the food the same.
The theory then took began to develop with two scientists each creating a system to treat patients. Dr William Kelly used the autonomic nervous system to classify and treat his patients while Dr George Watson used the Speed of oxidizing carbohydrates for his treatment protocols. Current proponents of the idea of metabolic typing include William Wollcott www.metabolictyping.com, Peter Dadamo, N.D, www.dadamo.com, and Joseph Mercola, D.O. www.mercola.com. Each offers specific questionnaires, blood and saliva tests and other tools to help determine an individual’s type.
Dr. Mercola www.mercola.com summarizes each of the metabolic types as follows:
- PROTEIN TYPES do better on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein and relatively high-fat diet. Depending on your Metabolic Typing profile, these ratios are then perfected to help you make wise food choices.
- CARBOHYDRATE TYPES normally feel best when the majority of their food is carbohydrate. Yet, there are major differences between classes of carbs such as vegetables and grains. Learning which types of carbs are best for your unique physiology is just one way in which Metabolic Typing excels.
- MIXED TYPES require a combination of foods somewhere between the carbo and protein type groups. This is actually the most challenging type to have and requires a great deal of fine-tuning while "listening" to your own body with the help of Metabolic Typing.
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