Metabolic Typing

How you benefit:

  • live the rest of your life at your ideal weight
  • have high and sustained energy levels all day, every day
  • eliminate destructive food cravings
  • enjoy robust health
  • prevent and even reverse disease

As far as we’re concerned, getting yourself metabolically typed is the only way to be truly specific about your own unique fuel needs.  If you think about it, no two people are exactly the same, so how can the same diet work for everyone? 

Metabolic Typing tells you all about your biochemical uniqueness – in other words, what types of foods you should ideally be eating, as well as what ratios of proteins, carbohydrates and fats are best for you. 

When you start to eat correctly for your metabolic type, it’s so much easier to achieve an excellent level of health and an ideal body weight, without needing calorie restrictions or excessive exercise.

Don’t worry – there are no needles involved!  It’s done by means of a simple, ‘though extensive, questionnaire that relates to your physical, nutritional and emotional traits. 

If you’re still not convinced that you’re that different from the person next to you, consider this:

  • we’re all highly distinctive on a microscopic as well as an anatomical  level
  • your inherited differences extend to the structure and metabolism of  every cell and determine the speed and efficiency with which your  cells perform their functions
  • unbalanced or inadequate nutrition at cellular level is a major cause  of human disease
  • you have genetically determined and highly individualized nutritional  requirements

Everybody has what are called ‘fundamental internal control mechanisms’ which are the systems that actually determine your nutrient requirements.  There are three of them and they’re called the autonomic nervous system, the oxidative system and the endocrine system.

The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
This system consists of two branches – the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branch.  These relate to how efficiently your body uses its fuel.  Once you’ve been tested, we can work out which branch of your nervous system is more dominant (when we know this, we’ll also know what sorts of foods you should eat and what you should avoid).

The sympathetic nervous system (the fight and flight branch) influences the heart, testes, ovaries, ligament and connective tissue, and the muscle system.  If you’re dominant in this system, you’ll probably be tall and slim, have good muscle definition, good concentration, a short temper, crave sweets, tend towards heartburn and need carbohydrates to do well. 

The parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest branch) influences the liver, stomach, immune system, digestive system, excretory system and pancreas.  If you’re dominant in this system, you’ll probably have broad shoulders, be strong and powerful, cautious, creative, crave meat and salt, tends towards low blood sugar and need fats and proteins to do well.

The Oxidative System
This system is all about how quickly or slowly you burn your fuel (your carbohydrates, specifically).  If you oxidise (burn) them quickly, you are said to be a fast oxidiser; if you burn them slowly, you are said to be a slow oxidiser.  Different foods can make you faster or slower, so it’s really important to know which ones will support your oxidative rate.

If you’re a slow oxidizer, you’ll probably have steady energy, be lethargic/apathetic, introverted, have a weak appetite and need carbohydrates to do well.  If you’re a fast oxidizer, you’ll probably have bursts of energy, be hyper but exhausted, extroverted, have a strong appetite and need fats and proteins to do well.

The Endocrine System
Within the endocrine system, there are four main glands (the adrenals, pituitary, thyroid and gonad), which determine where you’re likely to store your body fat.  When we find out which of these glands is dominant, we can apply really specific dietary restrictions to help you minimise this unwanted fat.  If you’re an adrenal type, you’ll probably tend to be shorter, heavily muscled, have square hands and be barrel-chested.  As a thyroid type you may tend to be tall, lean, strong-boned and have fine hair.  Pituitary types are generally tall, shapely, have a round face and youthful looks and if you’re a gonadal type, you’ll probably tend to be shorter, pear-shaped, have voluptuous hips and a slim upper body.

So how exactly do we assess your Metabolic Type?  As previously mentioned, it’s done by means of a questionnaire and is based on the following:
1) Physical traits, for example, the size of your head compared to your body; the  colour of your ears compared to your face; the size of your pupil in a naturally lit room etc.
2) Psychological traits, for example, are you a natural leader or do you like to follow; are you even-tempered or do you fly off the handle; are you very sociable or do you like being on your own etc.
3) Dietary responses to food, for example, how do you feel on orange juice on an empty stomach; what foods do you currently crave; how do you feel on meat for breakfast etc.