Good Food
Why you should throw away every diet book you own
Silverstone's "Kind Diet" may be unkind to you
“There are so many fad diets out there,” says certified health coach Brandi Molitor. “And none of them take a person’s age, gender, ethnicity, blood type, or metabolism into consideration.”
Enter bio-individuality, a thought-provoking yet painfully obvious theory that’s finally getting its due. At its core, bio-individuality recognizes that one person’s nourishing food is another person’s poison. The theory, first put forth by Roger Williams in his 1956 book Biochemical Individuality, is only now garnering broad attention after being embraced by forward-looking, holistic-leaning institutions like the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Brandi Molitor, 31, recommends throwing away your copy of Skinny Bitch
So while Alicia Silverstone proselytizes a vegan diet as a panacea for all health problems (“Your skin will clear! Pounds will melt away! Your energy will improve!”), Molitor and other bio-individuality proponents take a more circumspect approach. “Veganism is great for the environment; I understand where Alicia is coming from in terms of the meat industry and factory farming,” says Molitor who was a vegan for over a decade until metabolic testing revealed that she need a lot of protein.
“Just eating soy and tempeh always made me feel a little down. After understanding that my body reacts better to animal protein, I ate organic chicken and had the most amazing reaction—I felt full, happy, and my muscle tone improved.” People with Type A blood types, however, often really flourish on a vegan diet, explains Molitor, “it just comes down to using your own body as a laboratory and figuring out what works for you.”
You can also go about it a bit more scientifically, by seeing a nutrition coach like Molitor and analyzing your ancestry, blood type, and metabolic function. “Chances are if you come from Dutch, English, or Russian stock, being a vegetarian will be a really tough road for you,” say Molitor. Eating a healthier-version of our your ancestor’s diet is often the perfect recipe.
Brandi Molitor Wellness Coaching, 917-446-3631, www.brandimolitor.com
I am dubious that even a healthier version of my ancestors’ diet would be good for anyone, including me, but perhaps I could make some big money by marketing the Medieval England or Medieval Poland diet?
And, long before bio-individuality theory, Ayurveda (Classical Indian Medicine) recognized that each person’s constitution demands a different diet, and that this diet might change according to activity level, climate, stage in life, etc. If we all studied our unique response to food as much as we study up on the next digital camera we want to buy, we might liberate ourselves from being enslaved by dieting according to trend.
So agree! You can’t figuratively put all your eggs in one basket and depend on a diet approach to change your life. It’s not that easy, but I do think we can learn healthy ways of thinking about food, portion size and dietary needs by educating ourselves about food and our bodies.
- Alicia
@leximaven on Twitter
http://www.meyouhealth.com
Right now it sounds like WordPress is the best blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Thanks for the suggestions shared using your blog. Another thing I would like to say is that fat reduction is not about going on a dietary fad and trying to get rid of as much weight as you’re able in a few days. The most effective way in losing weight is by acquiring it slowly and gradually and right after some basic points which can provide help to make the most from your attempt to lose weight. You may learn and already be following these tips, yet reinforcing knowledge never does any damage.