What is Metabolic Typing?
What is Metabolic Typing?
As I said previously, in my opinion, one of the most intriguing tools out there for understanding your metabolism is metabolic typing by Dr. Kelly + William Wolcott in his book Metabolic Typing + the work of Dr. Gonzales in his book Nutrition and the Autonomic Nervous System. Your metabolic type consists of inherited patterns of biochemical and neurological strengths and weaknesses that define metabolic individuality + express genetic potential, and dictate nutritional requirements.
Metabolic typing is a way to determine your individual type and help you plan your nutrition accordingly.
A Closer Look at The Three Types:
Protein types are fast oxidisers of parasympathetic dominance. They tend to be frequently hungry, crave fatty, salty foods, fail with low-calorie diets, and often suffer with fatigue, anxiety, and nervousness. They are often lethargic or feel “wired”, “on edge”, with superficial energy while being tired underneath.
Carbohydrate types are slow oxidisers of sympathetic dominance. They generally have relatively weak appetites, a high tolerance for sweets, difficulty with weight management, “a type A” personalities, and are often over-rely on caffeine.
Mixed types are neither fast or slow oxidisers, and are neither parasympathetic nor sympathetic dominance. They usually have average appetites, cravings for sweets and starchy foods, relatively little trouble with weight control, and display moderate levels of fatigue, anxiety, and nervousness.
A Few Caveats:
Due to the tremendous amount of biological and biochemical diversity among people, so there are far more than three metabolic types. So that means you may be in the same general category as someone else, yet your dietary needs could be distinctly different.
For example (from William Wilcott) you and a friend might both be Protein Types, which means you don’t function well on vegetarian-oriented diets or on meals and snacks centered mainly around carbohydrates. But even though you both need to emphasize protein and restrict carbohydrates to a certain extent, your friend might require heavier proteins on a more consistent basis throughout the day, and be more sensitive and reactive to carbohydrates (i.e., sugars and starches) than you.
Why I Personally Began Tuning into Metabolic Typing:
It honors the autonomic nervous system.
It honors bio individuality.
It takes into consideration the process of cellular oxidation, which refers to the rate at which your body converts what you eat into fuel. For example, if you are a fast oxidizer or "burner," you may need to consume a high protein and high-fat diet because these nutrients burn slower. On the other hand, if you are a slow oxidizer, you may need to focus on consuming mainly carbohydrates from vegetables, rather than breads, cakes, and potatoes.
It aligned with what I saw in my lab work.
My Personal Example:
For the longest time, I could not figure out why I would be hungry after an hour of eating. On top of that, during a time when I was trying to lose weight, it seemed as though no matter how little or whole food focused I ate, I kept experiencing weight gain, low mood, fatigue, and needed excessive caffeine to function. On the flip side, in my early 20's when I was at my prime weight, I could out eat my husband, not gain weight, and but never still never felt full + satiated.
The more I tuned in, the more it felt as if I was not absorbing and using my food appropriately. After working on gut healing, nervous system work, and blood sugar regulation, my symptoms improved significantly, but it still felt as if something was off. So I began researching metabolic types and experimenting with it.
My test results indicated that my metabolism is controlled mostly through a system known as cellular oxidation - the "burning" of nutrients inside cells to create energy. This also made sense in light of my labs.
While certain foods and nutrients tend to increase the oxidation rate, other foods and nutrients decrease the oxidation rate.
Fast Oxidizers like me, burn carbohydrates too quickly and need to decrease their rate of cellular oxidation to achieve better metabolic balance and thereby optimize energy production (otherwise they struggle with blood sugar imbalances, specially drops in blood sugar). Learning this helped me balance my meals, stay fuller longer, and avoid crashing after meals due to low blood sugar. This was also intriguing with my history because when these types are not eating properly, they are prone to suffer from anxiety, fatigue, and burn out (oh hi, it is me ;)
Fast Oxidizers in general need a lower carbohydrate intake, and a higher fat and protein intake, relatively speaking, as compared to other Metabolic Types.
This does not mean totally eliminating carbs. This personally gave me clarity as I reflected on my past dietary choices.When I totally eliminated carbs, I felt good at first but eventually my sleep was disrupted and my anxiety worsened.
And now, if I eat only carbs (without pairing them), I am tired after I eat, experience a crash, low mood, and hungry again in about an hour or so. This made total sense, even when looking at the big picture of stress hormones, gut health, blood sugar dysregulation, and nutrient deficiencies. It also makes sense in what I have seen with clients over the years and how one diet approach can resonate with one person and make another feel terrible.
What This Does Not Mean:
This does not mean I believe metabolic typing is the end all be all. I also do not recommend taking the supplements mentioned for your type because that can vary based on blood work. It also does not mean I obsess over it. Your type can change. Your metabolic type is not something that’s carved in stone. Although you were born with a specific set of dietary requirements dictated by your genetic heritage (your Genetic Type), your needs can shift for any number of reasons, such as illness, climate, stress, nutrient deficiencies or excesses.
I do not always recommend it to clients right away either. But I do believe it is an awesome tool that can be used as a guide. Especially if you cannot afford to personally work with someone one on one in your season. Why not start with food and start tuning in to how certain foods make you feel individually? If you can work with a practitioner one on one, pairing this knowledge with an HTMA test, saliva, urine, + blood labs can help you dive even deeper into your metabolic type, but it is not always needed.
If you want to dive deeper into Metabolic Typing here are a few resources for you:
You can take the in depth questionnaire here.
You can find the books I mentioned here:
