By Dr. Joseph Mercola with Rachael Droege
If you've ever wondered why one diet works for one person and causes problems in another, then you're not alone. The truth is that no one diet works for everyone because we are all unique on a biochemical level, and we all need different amounts of macronutrients--fats, protein and carbs--to help us function optimally. How do you do what ratio of macronutrients is right for you? You'll first need to determine your nutritional type.
In the beginning of December my entire dietary and lifestyle health program will be released in the form of my newest book: "Dr. Mercola's Total Health Program: 150 Delicious Grain-Free Recipes & The Proven Plan to Prevent Disease, Optimize Weight and Live Longer."
This book--the culmination of my last 20 years of work--is designed around nutritional typing, and will give you everything you need to know to optimize your health. Plus, it will provide you with the ability to assess your general nutritional type and give you a full plan to start eating the right macronutrient ratio for your type. It will also teach you how to "listen to your body," that is, it will teach you how to subtly adjust and fine-tune your macronutrient ratios so that you feel your best.
Also included in the book are 150 delicious and original grain-free recipes for all three nutritional types, created by a nutrition expert in collaboration with my program. Proceeds from the book will go toward building the alliance of trustworthy groups that are dedicated to arming the public with information to prevent disease and achieve optimum health.
Even if you're not yet familiar with nutritional typing, chances are you've experienced symptoms that it can help you overcome. If an hour or so after eating you:
... Then you are likely not eating right for your nutritional type. Here are 10 other ways that nutritional typing can help improve your health.
Optimize Weight
Your nutritional type lets you know how readily you convert excess carbohydrate to fat or how able you are to digest protein efficiently. People who are carbohydrate nutritional types will be able to tolerate grains far better than protein types, who are naturally suited to a diet with little or no grains.
Determining your nutritional type, whether you are a carb nutritional type, a mixed type or a protein type, will allow you to choose foods that your body can utilize and digest properly. You may need a high-protein diet, or you may need a high-carb diet (mostly vegetable carbs) to reach your ideal weight. As I said earlier, there is no one approach that will work for everyone, but once you eat the food that your nutritional type was meant to eat, you will naturally lose weight, or gain it depending on your need, and you won't feel hungry or deprived and your cravings for unhealthy food will naturally disappear.
Improve Emotional Well-Being
You will be amazed at how much impact foods can have on your state of mind. Eating the wrong foods for your nutritional type will imbalance you not only on a physical level but also on an emotional one. This can easily leave you feeling irritable, nervous, angry, hyper, depressed or hopeless.
Similarly, the right foods will feed your body and your mind and will leave you feeling strong, energetic, in control and emotionally sound.
Increase Energy
If you give your car premium fuel or your houseplant special plant food, your car will run more efficiently and your plant will thrive. Your body also needs the proper fuel to function at its optimum level, and the proper fuel for your body is determined by your nutritional type.
This will let you know what ratio of macronutrients to eat to give your body plenty of energy. nutritional typing will let you know your basic ratio, for instance protein types do better on low-carbohydrate, high-protein and high-fat diets. A typical ratio might be 40 percent protein and 30 percent each of fats and carbohydrates, but the amounts could easily shift to 50 percent fats and as little as 10 percent carbohydrates depending on individual genetic requirements.
Once you have the basic ratio you can fine-tune it to your own body's needs by trying slightly different combinations of fats, protein and carbs at each meal to see what feels best to you.
Prevent Disease
Eating the right foods for you is by far your greatest ally in fighting and preventing disease. You will fortify your body with the nutrients it needs and strengthen your immune system, which will make it difficult for disease to be present. Your body is its own best defense system, so by balancing your body with the proper foods, you are strengthening your best line of defense against illness and disease.
Look and Feel Younger
Age-related diseases are occurring at younger and younger ages, and poor dietary choices are largely to blame. Once you know your nutritional type you can rest assured that you are making the right food choices for your body, and you'll know they're right because of the way you'll feel. And when you're healthy on the inside, you'll naturally start to look younger and have a healthy glow on the outside.
Avoid Common Illnesses
Colds and flus will become a thing of the past when you eat right for your nutritional type. This is because your immune system will be strong, efficient and easily able to fight off common viruses and infections. If you should happen to get sick, you'll notice that a flu that once put you in bed for a week will be significantly shorter and less severe.
Increase Mental Focus
Mental clarity is yet another "side effect" of nutritional typing. The sluggish, foggy head that you once experienced daily after lunch will soon be replaced by a clear-headed ability to think, focus and function.
Fight Existing Disease and Health Challenges
If you are already facing a health challenge, eating for your nutritional type can help. Many, many health problems stem from inadequate nutrition. Not only has nutritional typing worked for me personally, it also has worked for hundreds of my patients. Check out the three links below for some testimonials on nutritional typing:
Live Longer and Better
Along with living a longer life, you will have a higher quality of life when you eat the right foods for your nutritional type. Your insulin levels will stay under control--elevated insulin levels are one of the major accelerants of aging--and you will have energy, stamina and great cognitive function, even as you get older.
Feel Satisfied and Avoid Cravings
A diet based on your individual nutritional type will leave you feeling satisfied after you eat, with no cravings or feeling that you are still hungry. When a meal leaves you feeling unfulfilled, it is because your body is still lacking certain nutrients. However, after eating the right ratio of foods you will feel satisfied because you will have met all of your body's nutritional requirements.
Modify Your Diet so You Feel Terrific How to Avoid the Holiday Weight Gain Trap -- For Real A Surefire Plan to Looking (and Feeling) Younger The Six Things You Can do to Have Truly Younger Looking Skin
Modify Your Diet so You Feel Terrific
How to Avoid the Holiday Weight Gain Trap -- For Real
A Surefire Plan to Looking (and Feeling) Younger
The Six Things You Can do to Have Truly Younger Looking Skin