You Are What You Eat

Nothing else recharges our energy but the food that we eat. We cannot plug into a power point to recharge over night like a cell phone or computer. Our energy only comes from the quality and balance of food we choose to eat. Therefore learning about the healthy whole foods we should eat to obtain health and vitality is important. It is also important that we understand the hormonal effects that poor food choices have on our whole well-being. Only then can we start to understand that we have to maintain an intake of healthy, well balanced nutrition. A key component of this is understanding what Metabolic Type we are. Once we know this, we are then able to select quality, whole food and organic food options that provide our bodies with the correct fuel mix that we need to maintain a healthy metabolism.

Metabolic Typing and the “No Diet Diet”

If you are already feeling good, eating should – at the very least – help to maintain your energy levels. But if you happen to feel worse around an hour after eating, then something is not quite right, i.e:

• You still feel hungry even though you are physically full
• You develop a sweet craving
• Your energy level drops
• You feel hyperactive, nervous, angry or irritable
• You feel depressed

Any of the above feelings would indicate an improper combination of proteins, fats and carbohydrates at your last meal. You may be eating quality, organic whole foods (which are extremely healthy) but having too much of one type of nutrient in place of another can produce any or all of the symptoms listed above, by creating the wrong fuel mix for your body. Metabolic typing is based on the principle that we are all unique, and that each of our bodies require a unique and individualised ‘fuel mixture’. It is the only system that allows us to create customised nutritional programs based on your unique biochemical and genetic makeup. Different Metabolic Types react differently to the same nutrients. This is a very important fact as this is why food that makes one person healthy and trim might make another unhealthy and overweight – for example, Atkins vs. South beach diet; or Aborigine vs. Eskimo diets. Once we know what Type we are, it is then easy for us to refine our food mix and gain the benefits of eating what right for us.

The benefits of finding out your Metabolic Type

Metabolic Typing is for you if you’re interested in looking for answers to a health problem or are simply looking for a way to stay healthy, have more energy or vitality. Benefits include:

• More robust health, wellness and energy
• Weight and body fat control
• Freedom from hunger and cravings between meals
• Moving your weight towards your ideal weight – (lose weight if you are overweight and put on weight if you are underweight)
• Experience an increase in strength and stamina
• Long-term benefits may also include the prevention and/or reversing of disease.

Eating for your correct Metabolic Type can also assist you to lose undesired body fat without using one or many of the common diet methods. Over the years I have seen example after example where clients have stripped away body fat without any kind of “fad diet”, simply by switching to eating based on their Metabolic Type. By eating for their correct type, it is quite usual to see this sort of effect when someone maintains the correct mix of nutrient types for their Metabolic Typing. We call this the “No Diet, Diet”.

Different Metabolic Types

There are three types of Metabolic Types: PROTEIN TYPE, CARBOHYDRATE TYPE and MIXED TYPE

• PROTEIN TYPES do better on low-carbohydrate, high-protein and high-fat diets.
• CARBOHYDRATE TYPES normally feel best when the majority of their food is carbohydrate, with a smaller
• portion of protein and fats.
• MIXED TYPES are in-between – i.e. a combination (ratio) of carbohydrates, protein and fats.

How Your Metabolic Type is Determined

Your Metabolic Type is determined by filling out a questionnaire and having it analysed by a professional. Once we have determined the correct Type, we can then refine your food (fuel) mix to match your typing. This will enable you to monitor your eating and do self-checks of your questionnaire yourself, to ensure that you maintain the correct balance for you as you progress towards a healthier nutritional balance in your life. For more information on this assessment click here.

Recommended Reading for Your Overall Good Health

Eating quality whole foods that include fresh organic vegetables and fruit, organic meat, free range organic poultry and eggs, unprocessed fish, organic legumes, nuts and seeds, un-refined organic whole grains in the right balance for a Metabolic Type is critical to develop good health. Society attitudes have changes over the past few generations to include processed foods with all sorts of additives as well as a wide range of non-foods in our diet. A “non-food” is something that when we eat it, it takes more out of our bodies to process and digest it than it gives us in nutritional value. If the food did not exist in pre-industrial times, it probably is not healthy to eat and may be a non-food. The key indicator is that most whole foods actually go bad if you keep them too long. This is because they are good quality, fresh and have no added chemicals to prolong their shelf life. A packaged food that has a long shelf life has either had its nutrition stripped away so there is little left to go bad, or it is full of chemical preservatives, food additives, artificial colourings and flavourings, or both. Paul Chek puts forward some very good and helpful points in his online article ‘You Are What You Eat – Processed Foods’ This is excellent follow-up reading to create an understanding that the quality of what we put into our bodies will always determine the nutrient value we gain from it. If you are interested in more in-depth information, you can find more via his popular Audio programme, You Are What You Eat. Remember…eat whole foods, and avoid processed foods. E-mail me if you’d like more information around how to get started.