What is Metabolic typing?
Metabolic typing was introduced by William Donald Kelley, a dentist, in the 1960s. Kelley advocated basing dietary choices on the activity of one's sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (Interestingly enough, In 1970, Kelley was convicted of practicing medicine without a license, as he had diagnosed a patient with lung cancer based on a fingerstick blood test and prescribed nutritional therapy). The practice has been further developed by others including Harold Kristol and William Wolcott. Wolcott provides three general metabolic types:
•Protein types -- Protein types are fast oxidizers of parasympathetic dominant. They tend to be frequently hungry, crave fatty, salty foods, fail with low-calorie diets, and tend towards fatigue, anxiety, and nervousness. They are often lethargic or feel "wired", "on edge", with superficial energy while being tired underneath.
•Carbo types -- Carbo types are slow oxidizers or sympathetic dominant. They generally have relatively weak appetites, a high tolerance for sweets, problems with weight management, "type A" personalities, and are often dependent on caffeine.
•Mixed types -- Mixed types are neither fast or slow oxidizers, and are neither parasympathetic or sympathetic dominant. They generally have average appetites, cravings for sweets and starchy foods, relatively little trouble with weight control, and tend towards fatigue, anxiety, and nervousness.
What are the guidelines for the diet?
According to the metabolic typing diet, the three metabolic types should eat the following foods:
•Protein types should eat diets that are rich in protein, fats and oils, and high-purine proteins such as organ meats, pate, beef liver, chicken liver, and beef. Carbohydrate intake should be low.
•Carbo types should eat diets that are high in carbohydrates and low in protein, fats, and oils. They should eat light, low-purine proteins.
•Mixed types should eat a mixture of high-fat, high-purine proteins and low-fat, low-purine proteins such as cheese, eggs, yogurt, tofu, nuts. This type requires relatively equal ratios of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Now down to business...
Some people may respond slightly differently to particular foods, experiencing higher or lower tolerances to certain foods, which occasionally draws correllations to ethnicities. But this does not change the fact that we all share the same biochemistry. We all process nutrients and react accordingly in the same fashion. Having sensetivities or preferences to foods does not mean we need different macronutrient compositions in our diets. There are plenty of other factors that may influence our nutritional needs and sensetivities, but this has nothing to do with where our great ancestors hailed from. In fact almost every factor you can think of, age, sex, medical history, etc... apart from where 10 generations ago of your family lived.
One of the biggest quacks perpetuating the myth of metabolic typing is Dr Joe Mercola. Dr Mercola's testing is not only completely unscientific and inaccurate, but rather based on how you feel when you eat certain foods. The testing for metabolic typing is purely subjective. It is like asking a smoker if they enjoy smoking, and if they feel better after having a cigarette. Most people's addiction to unhealthy foods means that the results of any metabolic test will be nonsense. In fact, the more you crave something and the worse you feel when you stop consuming it is a good sign that you are addicted to it and it is harming you, not helping. For example, most people with hypoglycemic symptoms feel better when they eat a mostly animal-based diet, yet these same people get completely well once they are off the high-protein diet they have been using to lessen their symptoms. and their body is no longer nitrogen toxic. In other words, they no longer feel ill when their withdrawal symptoms have been allowed to come to completion, and they are off the high nitrogen diet. he is appealing to that person's food preferences and addiction and not only deviating from scientific integrity here, but promoting dietary suicide to his uneducated entourage to make a buck. His opinion is without scientific foundation in both these areas, and unquestionably can lead people to a shorter lifespan. Dr. Mercola's position on saturated fat (high in cheese, butter and red meat) runs counter to thousands of medical research studies showing that saturated fat is the food factor most promoting high cholesterol levels and heart disease. Though Dr. Mercola (like Atkins) denies the saturated fat--> high cholesterol--> heart disease link. Dr. Mercola's topsy-turvy advice actually promotes the consumption of high saturated fat foods and makes ridiculous health claims for coconut oil (ninety percent saturated fat) including weight loss, detoxification, viral killing, heart disease reversing and other unsubstantiated silliness'. Good health comes from nutritional excellence, not from a jar of oil.
Metabolic typing is also refered to as Genetic Based Nutrition - suggesting that we require different diets because of different genetic make up. Our biggest genetic difference is being male or female, so by that account males and females should have vastly different diets! That fact alone shows that metabolic typing is pure fiction.
The scientific literature is clear; there is no genetic type that has immunity from such a disease-causing, high saturated fat diet-style. People can eventually develop atherosclerosis and hypertension from the low intake of unprocessed vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds. Our high intake of animal products AND processed foods and our low intake of unrefined plant food is the dietary pattern undeniably associated with these avoidable illnesses and a premature death from heart attacks or stroke.
Metabolic typing is pure fiction! Anybody saying otherwise is either uneducated or selling something.
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