More on Metabolic Typing

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
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For those who wonder what type of diet they should be following with all the different recommendations around there are people who respond and function best on higher carb, low fat diets and higher fat and protein diets. To give an idea of which group you may fall into here is a list of some common attributes of a high carb individual: They tend to have a low appetite, like warm weather, do well on caffeine, crave grain based foods, like light sweets for desert, have a pale ear color (in relationship to face), get insomnia from eating before bed, do fine on 2 meals day, may forget to eat, have dry eyes, lighter complexion, strong fingernails, get goosebumps easily, gain weight from eating meats and fats, have mild reactions from insect bites, rarely if ever wake up in the middle of the night hungry, dry nose, more withdrawn socially, pupil larger than iris, dry mouth, foods often taste too salty, almost never sneeze, do well eating sweets by themselves, indigestion, heartburn, tall or thin, excellent concentration & motivation, irritable, hyperactive.


For protein/fat types they tend to like heavy meals, like the cold, don’t do well on caffeine, very strong appetites, tendency to cough, cracking skin, crave salty food (other than sugar), get dandruff easily, like rich fatty foods for dessert, reddish ear color, eating before bed helps sleep, need 3 meals with substantial snacks, love food, have moist eyes, darker facial complexion, weak fingernails, gain weight eating too many carbs, gag easily, suffer strong reactions from insect bites, wake up hungry at night, itchy eyes and skin, runny nose, more extroverted, pupil smaller than iris, have lots of saliva, love putting salt on everything, sneeze a lot, don’t do well eating sweets by themselves, lethargic, procrastinators, deliberate, excellent digestion, have energy problems and swings, don’t do well losing weight by cutting calories.


There will usually be some overlap between the 2 groups but from this list most will notice a tendency towards one group or the other. For high carb types for a bodybuilders type diet higher carb 50-30-20 diet works well (with starchy carbs predominating). For fat/protein types a 50 pro-30 fat-20 carb (mostly fibrous carb) works well and for those in the middle a 40 carb-30-protein and 30 fat (with a variance of low G.I. carbs).

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Well, let’s see. I like heavy meals, like the cold (but also like the heat), don’t do well on caffeine, have a very strong appetite, cracking skin in the winter, occasionally get dandruff in the dry weather, like rich fatty foods for dessert, eating before bed to help sleep, need 3 meals with substantial snacks, love food, have moist eyes, darker facial complexion, gain weight eating too many carbs, gag easily, wake up hungry at night, I’m more extroverted, have lots of saliva, don’t do well eating sweets by themselves, foods often taste too salty, excellent digestion, have energy problems and swings, and I don’t do well losing weight by cutting calories. I guess I should eat more protein/fat meals, huh?

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Kelly; REAL kewl stuff…you describe me almost to a “tee” in the second scenario. (It also seems to describe the “Fat Hardgainer”). And yes…I do best on the ratios you describe with mostly fibrous carbs…again…kewl…


Two questions:1) This has a STRONG “Anthropologic Feel” to it. Are Anthropologic studies and observations the source?


2) Any idea where “most” Americans fall?

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Kelly - you are definitely one of the most knowledgeable posters on this board. This post has the makings of an article. Have you thought about writing an an article for T-Mag? You always have valuable insights. Anyway I fit the second scenario also and thanks to T-Mag I have switched up my diet and done much better lately.

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Hey guys glad to be of help. What’s really amazing is how much better one feels and how little minor ailments start to disappear when one starts eating properly. Some of the information comes from The Metabolic Typing Diet and also from a program known as individualized nutrition system. What we see typically in the world of nutrition is certain groups of people being extremely vibrant and healthy and next thing we know everybody is saying “Eat like the _______tribe, they’re the healthiest people in the world etc.” The problem is we have some of these groups who eat nothing but carbs with no protein and are extremely vibrant and healthy…other groups eat nothing but protein and fat no carbs and stay vibrant and healthy…so a one size fits all diet won’t work for anyone. Natives from around the equator generally tend to be more carb oriented whereas native groups such as eskimos are almost pure protein/fat types. Depending on your genetics you will tend to have a dominant type which you function best on. It’s also been proven that disease and structural changes (such as facial features,crooked teeth,thin jaw etc.) strike groups once they begin eating the opposite of their metabolic type. Fortunately americans tend to be quite diverse in genetic and metabolic profile so we can probably get away with more than most populations.

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Bullshit.

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I consider myself one of the “protein/fat types,” and I’ve been eating accordingly. Right now, I’m in a mass gain phase where my ratios are 45% protein, 20% fat, and 40% carbs. It seems to be working pretty well so far, but I’m just a curious whether or not I’ll run into any problems down the road when I need to keep increasing calories. As it stands, I’m eating slightly more than 2g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Should I start to up the carbs and fat a little faster, or just continue with these macronutrient ratios and disregard how the exorbitant amounts of protein I’m consuming in relation the my bodyweight. Thanks is advance.

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This could occur obviously though coincidence, but I’m gonna say that this idea dosen’t hold much water because all the factors described can be altered by a change in environment, eatings/ sleeping/ exercise changes, etc.

For example- a person eating less salt and not sweating a lot will taste salt less, but crave it due to desensitization.

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What about other aspects of health? any recommendations for these 2 types? Bodybuilding diet is interesting, but what else can you say/recommend for these groups? Thanks in advance.

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I think thats really weird that I experience everything in the second paragraph (fat type)
WOW!!..thats amazing stuff…

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This really just hits the tip of the iceberg as far as metabolic typing goes. It’s true that environment and current eating habits can influence the results somewhat. The nervous system strongly influences the types. Within the autonomic nervous system one is either sympathetic (speeded up) or parasympathetic (slowed down) dominant. As for the oxidative type or the rate at which the body burns calories one can be a fast oxidizer or slow oxidizer. Fast oxidizers burn their food very quickly therefore they need more fats/carbs in the diet to stabilize blood sugar and slow down insulin release. Slow oxidizers burn food slowly and the food releases energy slowly already (good for blood sugar control). A slow oxidizer usually doesn’t respond well to a high fat/high protein diet. There are actually 9 fundamental homeostatic controls to consider for metabolic typing: autonomic type, oxidative type, catabolic-anabolic balance, electrolyte/fluid balance, acid/alkaline balance, prostaglandin balance, endocrine type (pituitary,thyroid,adrenal,gonad), blood type and constitutional type. Where it really gets interesting is when looking at different micronutrients, minerals, foods and supplements and their influences on different types. The same food can have completely opposite effects on different people and either cause a negative imbalance or positive balance…even something as simple as a calcium, zinc or vitamin C supplement will show different results among different people. This is something I’ve been playing around with in my own diet for the last few months and found to be true.

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Eric if you’re a protein type then you can handle plenty of protein so I wouldn’t worry about increasing it. For additional calories you might want to consider more high purine slower burning proteins such as liver, beef, bacon, organ meats, etc. For general health advice carbo types tend to have adequate calcium levels regardless of what they eat and need to focus on taking in adequate potassium. Protein/fat types are the opposite and tend to have plenty of potassium and need a lot of calcium in order to maintain a balance.

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Not a flame, but could you elaborate on your post?

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As with somatypes, you will find most people are a combination, not either/or. Arnold’s ‘bible’ illustrates many bodybuilders who are somatype combinations, with none being pure types. Also, some of what you describe can be learned behavior as well.

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are you saying that slow oxidizers should eat more carb based meals and eat less frequently?

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Thanks Thanos, I was just about to post the same thing when I read yours.
So, sasa, mind eleaborating?

There are parts I can buy, and some that are hard to swallow. Each person has his/her own genetic makeup, and is most likely not totally in one group or the other. But these groups are interesting… But since Americans have a much larger gene pool, and these tribes mentioned usually do not, I can understand doubt on anyones part. Im not flaming, saying I agree or dont. I am just saying it is quite interesting, this Metabolic Typing…

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Fascinating topic Kelly. Your posts are always thought provoking. Where does this research come from? I fall mostly into the protein and fat category. I digest P+F very easily but my body has a much harder time with carbs. I always feel bloated after eating them. I can’t stick with high carb diets to gain muscle. I’m currently on Massive Eating and bumping up the P+F a bit. I firmly believe that different people respond in different ways to diet and training programs. You have to try different things to find out what you respond best to and understanding our genetic/metabolic make-up is part of all that. To ignore it is ignorance in my opinion.
Sounds like an interesting topic for an article in T-mag!!??

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really fascinating stuff, kelly. but where is this info coming from? are there studies that lend some credence to this metabolic type theory? where can i read about this theory?

and since you mentioned different ethnic groups leaning towards one category or the other, i’m also kind of curious as to which ethnic groups fall into which category. i’m an american of chinese descent, so which category would an individual such as myself typically fall under? from reading the descriptions, i lean towards the second category.

btw, you mentioned in the first category a characteristic whereby one’s pupil is larger than his/her iris. how in the world can one’s pupil be larger be larger than their iris? correct me if i’m wrong, but isn’t the pupil simply an opening of the iris?

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Metabolic typing has been around for a long time now and is not relegated to natives. Natives just offer up a good explanation of the variations from one extreme to the other. In fact metabolic typing came about as a way to treat illness and research started as early as the 1930’s. One has to realize that their type can change over time as a response to their environment, lifestyle etc and the key is to try and maintain a balance. As someone mentioned quite a few people do fall somewhere in the middle which gives them a greater variety. To those who disagree the concepts are really quite simple and measurable. For example if test results showed one was a high p/f type and he disagreed with the results and ate a high carb diet than one could measure glucose/insulin sensitivity via a blood test and prove the results. Everything in metabolic typing is that way and is completely measurable. And to answer the oxidative question carb types are either sympathetic dominant or slow oxidizers. Pro/fat types are fast oxidizers or parasympathetic dominant

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Hey Jim
Try reading the Metabolic Typing Diet. It will answer all your questions as far as history, studies, variations, and such. It’s a really good read as is Dr. Mauro Dipasquales The Metabolic Diet. As for your type I would guess native chinese are probably more of the carb type but not 100% sure. One sure way to find out is to eat high carb for a week and see how you feel than eat high pro/fat for a week and see how you feel. You’ll usually feel better on one or the other and if you do ok on both then you’re in the middle. As for pupil/iris size look for the width of each one not necessarily size. Hope this helps!