METABOLIC TYPING
The concept of eating a diet specific to your individual metabolism is an idea that has been researched and developed in recent years. Although this idea has been known for millennia, in the 1970’s several nutrition experts studied how to determine what type of diet would be optimal for each individual.
The first concept was to look at the autonomic nervous system and see if the sympathetic or parasympathetic portion was dominant. The “fight or flight” sympathetic system, if dominant, predisposes to indigestion, heartburn, insomnia, hypertension, hyperactivity, irritability and certain psychological traits. The parasypmpathetic system, if dominant, predisposes to allergies, diarrhea, low blood sugar, chronic fatigue, excessive appetite, lethargy and other different psychological traits.
The next concept to emerge was the idea that some people oxidize or burn their food rapidly and some do it slowly. The oxidative and autonomic systems appear to be the most important in maintaining good health. Additional concepts that were studied were acid/base balance, endocrine type, blood type, catabolic/anabolic balance (balance between breaking tissue down and building it up), electrolyte balance and prostaglandin balance. Imbalances in these fundamental systems within the body are the source of chronic disease and illness. True health is a dynamic equilibrium of the body systems in a state of homeostasis. This means our body is able to adapt to a wide range of external changes (temperature, atmospheric pressure, ingested foods, exposure to toxins/viruses/bacteria, emotional stress, physical trauma) and keep the internal systems operating within a narrow range of optimal function.
An imbalance in one of these systems can cause different illnesses in different people. This is likely due to genetic as well as environmental differences between people. Therefore, a specific illness is not necessarily an indicator of an imbalance in a specific system. The source of most chronic illness arises from eating the wrong foods, in the wrong ratios of macronutrients (fats, proteins, and carbohydrates) and with the wrong balance of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, enzymes).
No simple blood test can tell what metabolic type you are. However, an extensive questionnaire developed by William Wolcott can tell you if you are a Protein or Carbohydrate metabolic type. Some people are in between these endpoints and are termed Mixed types. This questionnaire is in his book “The Metabolic Typing Diet” and it has extensive material on how to implement the type of diet that is likely to be best for your system. If you suffer from chronic illness and are unable to improve with your current diet, even if it is supposed to be healthy, then consider exploring your metabolic type. This may hold the key to your future good health.
Daniel Blodgett MD