By Valli Manley B.C.N.D., CNHP
We have all heard the old saying that “you are what you eat”. I have learned on my Naturopathic educational journey that it’s true.
Eating for Your Metabolic Type
Nourishing oneself is about knowing what foods work for you in order to build health and reverse the dis-ease process. Titus Lucretius said that “One man’s meat may be another man’s poison”. I have found this to be true. While studying Holistic nutrition, I read a book called “Eating for Your Blood Type”. After reading it and measuring it against what I had already learned, it was pretty accurate; although I believe that there are still variables within its framework based on a person’s diet and lifestyle.
When I consult with clients to help them with a holistic nutrition plan, I need to know what they’ve been doing concerning diet and lifestyle. Based on my empirical study, O blood types have an affinity toward meat. I have a friend who says that she doesn’t feel her best if she removes meat from her diet. That makes perfect sense because according to the author of Eating for your blood type, he says that O blood types have high stomach acid, and they can digest meat well. They also tend to be alkaline interstitially. Meat is acidic so the acidity coupled with alkalinity helps to maintain internal balance.
Converse to that, A blood types have low stomach acid and they tend to do better on a vegetarian diet with occasional fish and chicken. I’m an A blood type, and if I eat red meat, the next stop for me is the bed. All of my energy is redirected to my digestive tract, because it needs extra energy to digest heavy food that I’m not genetically pre-dispositioned to digest.
When I eat according to my A blood type, which is more fruit and veggies; I have more energy, I’m more regular, and I’m not as sluggish. I have grown to like the foods that agree with me. It’s nothing for me to eat Quinoa carrots and broccoli for dinner and feel satisfied. I love seafood so when I go out, that’s my delicacy. Although there are so many great philosophies regarding nutrition; if you have no knowledge of what works for you, I think that eating for your blood type is a good place to start.
Nutrient Groups
The one thing that I learned during my discourse of study was that you need; macronutrients which are your proteins, complex carbohydrates, and your good fats, as well as your micronutrients which are your vitamins and minerals.
The macronutrients are supposed to contain vitamins and minerals, but because of how food is cultivated, you have to source it very well. With GMO’s (I call it Frankenstein food) on the rise, and our products being sprayed with pesticides, you have to know what you’re purchasing. Organic produce has not been sprayed, and anything that is seedless has been genetically modified, and your body recognizes it as being toxic.
Anything that is not fed will eventually die, and that includes your body. You can eat and still be malnourished because of the empty calories in food that has no nutritional value. Although we all have our individual tolerances, everyone has a tipping point. It’s important to eat food that helps to build health, not destroy it.
We are all guilty at one point or another of eating things that are not good for us. If you have a poor diet, no worries, you have landed in the right place. My goal as you read my blog posts is to give you information that will help you to rebuild your health one meal and lifestyle change at a time.
Food Selection
To build health, it’s important to choose your food carefully. Processed food contains chemicals that can introduce a lot of hidden toxins into your system. Over time, toxicity can create an insult to your health. Although it may take you a minute to get there, a good place to start shopping is on the outskirts of the supermarket where the whole foods are displayed. Anything in a can or box can be a potential processed food problem. There are some exceptions to this rule. As you continue your health journey, you will discover them.
Meat and Poultry (Protein)
When selecting meat, it should be free-range, as well as hormone and antibiotic-free. If you eat something that has antibiotics in it, it can kill off good bacteria in your gut that are there to support immunity. Synthetic hormones can disrupt the integrity of your own hormones, which are there to support metabolic processes. An accumulation of toxins over time can create a serious insult to your health. If you are going to eat meat, just make sure that it is quality meat, free of chemicals that can eventually make you sick.
Fish (Protein/Good Fat)
I never buy farm-raised fish because only God knows what was used to raise them. I only buy wild-caught.
Produce (Carbohydrates)
When you go into the supermarket, there are barcodes with numbers on the produce. If the numbers start with a 3, it’s a GMO product which is a big NO! If it starts with 4, it was conventionally produced, if it starts with a 9, it’s organic. I prefer non-GMO organic, but if I get non-GMO conventionally produced fruit or veggies, I will wash/soak it in vinegar or lemon juice and water to rinse off the pesticides.
One of my favorite ways to purchase is locally grown produce. It works best with your good gut bacteria because it was grown in your environment.
Health building can only be established through a good diet and lifestyle. Becoming aware of what you need to eat to build a new healthy you is a nice place to begin your journey.
I invite you to come to visit me here regularly at “CLEANSE NOURISH BEAUTYIFY” and engage in the informational journey on how to build a new healthier you.
(1)https://www.livescience.com/33179-does-human-body-replace-cells-seven-years.html