From 2006
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| illustration by Andy Potts |
By and large, we are not a nation of healthy eaters. This is not to say we don’t eat a lot. Sometimes we just eat the wrong foods and then follow up our meals with everything from antacids and allergy pills to energy boosters and weight-loss tablets. If we ate the right foods—the foods right for each of us individually—we would need no such supplements and be healthier for it.
Dallas-based personal trainer Vickie Griffith spends a good part of every day spreading this simple yet profound message. As one of four metabolic typing advisors in Dallas certified through an organization called Healthexcel, she also spends her time customizing food lists and meal plans based on her clients’ highly individualized biochemistry and unique genetic makeup, which isn’t so simple.
Metabolic typing is both an approach to nutrition and the subject of The Metabolic Typing Diet published in 2000 by Healthexcel founder William Wolcott and coauthor Trish Fahey. Based on research that began in the 1930s, the program centers on the premise that no single diet is healthy for all people and that, in fact, depending on your metabolic type, sticking to some diets might actually be harmful.
“The Atkins Diet, the Zone, South Beach, you name it—any of the fad diets out there can work for select people, but none of them can possibly work in the long-term for everyone,” Griffith says. “As individuals, we process food differently and use energy differently in our bodies. So, foods that are good for one person might be terrible for another person, and that’s really the basis of metabolic typing and why the first step is to get tested to determine your type.”
The Typing Test
According to Griffith, the test for determining your metabolic type—whether it’s taken online, from the pages of Wolcott’s book, or with the help of a metabolic-typing advisor or other trained health practitioner—is the same for everyone and takes an average of 30 to 45 minutes to complete. The test’s 65 multiple-choice questions tend toward the specific and deal with everything from your favorite foods and eating habits to ear color and fingernail thickness.
The seemingly random questions are designed to reveal crucial information about your autonomic nervous system—comprised of the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches—as well as the rate at which your cells convert food into energy through a process called cellular oxidation. Your responses determine which of these characteristics are dominant in you and, in turn, which of three broad metabolic types you are: Protein Type, Carbo Type, or Mixed Type. Even within the same type, there are differences that define metabolic individuality, so that, for example, you might be a slight Carbo Type, moderate Carbo Type, or extreme Carbo Type, but these variations come into play mainly when it’s time to fine-tune the overall diet plan.
On average, Carbo Types are slow oxidizers who do well eating lighter meats and vegetables; it’s recommended that they eat mainly carbohydrates at every meal in order to balance their systems. In contrast, Protein Types are generally fast oxidizers who need to eat significant quantities of protein and fat at every meal while reducing their overall consumption of carbohydrates. Mixed Types are a combination of these two and make the job of metabolic-typing advisors infinitely more interesting.
Keeping it Straight | ||||
| Also Known As | Does Best On | Does Poorly On | In General | |
Carbo Type | Slow oxidizer, | High-carb, low-fat diet | High-protein, high-fat diet | A little food goes a long way; might say, “You know, I don’t know if I’ve eaten anything today. |
Protein Type | Fast oxidizer, parasympathetic-dominant | Diet rich in protein, fats, and oils | Vegetarian and high-carb diets | Tends to be frequently hungry; more capable of being meat-eaters than other types. |
Mixed Type | Combination of fast/slow oxidizer and parasympathetic/sympathetic-dominant | Diet with relatively equal ratios of protein, fats, and carbs | Diet with too much of either Protein Type or Carbo Type regimens | Has an average appetite and the capacity to do well on the widest range of foods; not prone to cravings. |
Balancing Act
Eating foods that are specifically right for your metabolic type is imperative for success with the metabolic-typing diet. But just as important as which foods you eat is the quality of what you consume. This means, as Griffith delicately puts it, “cutting out the crap” in your diet.
“We need to get back to eating what our bodies were genetically designed to eat, and that’s not processed foods,” she says. “With fast food, everything is cooked in oils that will absolutely disturb your metabolic processes. Eating it—or any processed foods—is, in the long run, like killing yourself slowly. The point of this program is to get your body running efficiently, in a well-balanced way. Processed foods work against that.
“When your body is balanced, you lose weight. That’s the bottom line. When your body is out of balance, you cannot lose weight efficiently, and you start having problems, whether it’s digestive problems, terrible allergies, or cravings. People craving sugar or coffee—and I see this all the time—are craving those things because their bodies are off balance. This program helps people get into balance and, ultimately, if they need to lose weight, they will lose weight.”
Case in Point
Losing weight was merely an added bonus for Jennifer Polansky of Preston Hollow, who turned to the metabolic-typing diet four years ago as a way to supplement her workouts and to achieve the balance Griffith so enthusiastically propounds. Now the mother of a 1-year-old, Polansky, 33, says adhering strictly to the menu plans and lists of type-specific foods Griffith laid out for her has achieved results she had not found with any other program.
“I had gastric problems my whole life and felt sort of tired all the time, but I never realized that it was because of the foods I was eating,” she says. “Once I took the test, though, and started eating the foods Vickie was telling me to eat, all my stomachaches went away, and I had a lot more energy. My original interest in being on the diet was not to lose weight—I had had the same body fat for years, even though I had tried every workout—but then, all of a sudden, along with the other benefits the body fat disappeared, too.”
After testing revealed her to be a Protein Type, Polansky says she was initially concerned about what increasing the amount of meat and fats in her diet would do to her cholesterol, so she had it checked out. The result, she says, was that her good cholesterol had significantly risen and her bad cholesterol had decreased. Since then she has stuck to the regimen, even through her pregnancy, and she attributes the diet with enabling her to return to her pre-pregnancy weight within two months of her daughter’s birth.
“In a way the whole program goes against logic—or at least against what we’ve been taught—but my experience with it is that when you eat according to your body type and what you need, then it works,” she says. “I do stick to the diet, and I eat organic foods, which is part of it, too.
“One of the things I’ve learned is that, when you’re grocery shopping, you never go down the aisles in the store; you go around the aisles, sticking to the perimeter of the store, where all the fresh meats and produce are kept. Since I’ve started doing that and avoiding the aisles, where all the processed foods are, I’m in and out in 20 minutes with everything I need.”
Griffith says the metabolic-typing diet will work for everyone, but she adds that, for most people, achieving success with the program does require an adjustment in the way that food—and nutrition in general—is perceived.
“Everybody wants a quick fix, but metabolic typing is not that,” she says. “It’s a lifestyle change. Metabolic typing is the complete opposite of a one-size-fits-all approach: It works for all, but in a highly detailed, customized way, and only if you’re willing and ready.”
Hint Hint
The metabolic typing diet is highly individualized, involving very specific lists of ideal foods based on testing that takes into account genetics, ancestral and ethnic heritage, and even climate variations. For an accurate diagnosis of your type, a metabolic-typing advisor or other trained health practitioner should conduct a thorough assessment, but the following is a generalization for illustrative purposes.
If you feel energized and satisfied after eating: Beef, dark chicken, liver, beans, whole milk, almonds, peas, and anchovies
But feel sluggish or sick to your stomach after eating: Salads, fruits, corn, rice, and breads
You might be a: Protein Type
If you feel energized and satisfied after eating: Chicken breast, pork, fruits, non- or low-fat milk, cottage cheese, salads, and whole-grain breads
But feel sluggish or sick to your stomach after eating: Organ meats, pate, caviar, nuts, butter, and cream
You might be a: Carbo Type
If you feel energized and satisfied after eating: A mixture of heavy and light meats, salads, cheese, eggs, yogurt, and nuts
But feel sluggish or sick to your stomach after eating: Foods exclusively from either the Protein or Carbo Type lists
You might be a: Mixed Type
