I want to talk next about metabolic typing and then wrap things up with some observations related to gene variations and nutrient quality as an indicator of a preferred diet.
Metabolic Typing (MT) is a process where-by an individual’s optimum ratio of protein, carbohydrate and fat intake is determined. The macronutrients can get apportioned as such:
General Macronutrient Proportions for Each Metabolic Type
Carb Type: 25% Protein / 15% Fat / 60% Carbohydrate
Mixed Type: 30% Protein / 20% Fat / 50% Carbohydrate
Protein Type: 40% Protein / 30% Fat / 30% Carbohydrate
One point to make is that MT is similar to the Zone in that it is concerned first with nutrient portions and second with nutrient quality. My friend, Ido Portal recommends MT and so does Charles Poliquin. They tend however to recommend “Paleo” foods within the context of MT as this ensures higher nutrient density and removes the most allergenic foods. This process is nothing unique. Barry Sears in Mastering the Zone has a flow chart for “Optimizing Your Hormonal Carburetor”. Mauro Di Pasquale has a flow chart for optimizing performance and recovery:
http://www.metabolicdiet.com/images/md_tshoot.pdf. John Berardi offers a similar system for determining one’s best air fuel ratio. One Commonality of all these recommendations is that the ratios will fluctuate from time to time in accordance with activity level and other factors. Robert Lee notes in his book !Kung San: Men Women and Work in a Foraging Society that the !Kung diet varies form as much as 90% of calories coming form animal products at certain times of the year to as little as 10% at other times. TS Wiley and Bent Formby, authors of Lights Out: Sleep Sugar and Survival recommend cycling periods of higher and lower carbohydrate consumption based on the time of the year. The take home message from all this?
1-There is no one “Paleo” diet with regards to macronutrient ratios. There are some trends and there are certainly some foods that are NOT representative of what our ancestors evolved to eat.
2-ALL of the Hunter-gatherers experienced variability from season to season and obviously form location to location.
3- Metabolic Typing and all of the other sophisticated nutrition approaches mentioned above recognize that there is variability from individual to individual, even variability for that individual from time to time. Nothing about this is at odds with what we know about our ancestors (people are different) or their nutritional situation (things change).
This segues nicely into the question of genetic variability. A powerful point is made by the information in the book African Exodus by Christopher stringer. Now no one would spend a moment debating what a Chimpanzee diet should consist of, right? The interesting thing is that there is GREATER genetic variation among a family group of 60 chimps than the TOTALITY of humanity. The chimp family line is remarkably old and highly varied. Genetic variation implies a potential to adapt yet it is quite clear what the eating and dietary practices of chimps include (it is clear for humans as well, but less broadly known…hence this Q & A). Human beings despite loads of outward differences are stunningly similar compared to most other organisms. Our ancestors were pinched down to only a few thousand individuals about 100,000 years ago and we have accrued little genetic variety in that time. Now humans ARE opportunistic omnivores and some adaptation has occurred (some populations can tolerate lactose better than others) but the interesting point to make is that the location of greatest change is the area where the germ line is oldest, Africa. Specifically the !Kung People. Wherever agriculture has been established the longest, people show some adaptations towards that end. As was made clear previously however, agriculturalists are NOT healthy in comparison to HG’s or even pastoralists. If you happen to be of northern European or Native American origin you are faced with a few decades to perhaps a few thousand years to adapt to a completely new lifeway. We see this reflected in the earlier and more ubiquitous disease of affluence in these populations.
Key Points:
1-Humans have very little genetic variation in comparison to other organisms.
2-Little genetic variation indicates adaptation to a specific lifeway.
My final point involves food quality and really could have been the first and only point to be made. Grains, legumes and dairy are completely inferior to meats, vegetables, fruits nuts and seeds. Loren Cordain illustrates this point in this paper:
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/JANA final.pdf
In simple terms if one consumes large amounts of grains, legumes and dairy not only are they subjecting themselves to high glycemic, insulin and toxic lectin load one is by default displacing the MOST nutritious food possible.
As to peak athletic performance a Paleo diet is advocated by: Charles Poliquin (US Olympic Track team strength coach) and Joe Friel (Us Olympic Triathlon team coach). Put as much or as little stock in those facts as you like but I think the nutrient density issue is an open and shut case for any endeavor. Regardless of the amounts or ratios of foods consumed, if one chooses lean meats, veggies, fruit nuts and seeds one will be optimizing intake of vitamins, minerals and a slew of phyto-nutrients. A paleo diet need not be low or high carb. As mentioned previously there are some guidelines but what a paleo diet is mainly about is QUALITY of food."
http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/uploads2/EasyGuideGoodNutrition.pdf
This from the Journal of nutrition and Metabolism:
Nutrition & Metabolism | Full text | Ketogenic diets and physical performance
Also from Robb
"Now this from the Journal of Applied Physiology:
http://***.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/100/1/7
The author makes the point that although fat is the primary fuel source for long slow events, the realities of racing dictate a need for glycogen for final kicks and things like that.
I have a few thoughts on this:
1-The more your sports or activities hang in the glycolytic pathway the more carbs you will need. One may be able to force a bit of fat adaptation in someone like a wrestler...more of their recovery after training may be fed from fat breakdown vs carbs, however if this person runs out of glycogen they are dead on the mat.
2-We can manufacture glucose from 3 sources. Gluconeogenesis from amino acids, lactate in the Cori cycle and glycerol in TAG/fat metabolism. Although the body can and does run quite well on ketones it would certainly be of survival benefit to have glycogen for brief, intense activities. Another way of putting it: if nature could have figured out another way to bridge the gap between ATP/CP and aerobic metabolism, it would have. Fro activities that are both intense and moderate in duration, carbs are essential if performance is the primary concern.
3-Ketosis, whether a consequence of strictly a low carb, higher fat diet or as a consequence of intermittent fasting, appears to confer a wide range of benefits.
4-This the interplay of performance, health and longevity IMO. What one do you want to emphasize? A nice way to balance this is intermittent fasting, likely with a CLC plan something like post WO carb feedings."
Now those are enough for a while. Educate yourself then come with something. Otherwise you are another newbie, wasting our time.
