Understanding Your Metabolism: A Key Element in Achieving Successful Weight Loss Goals
I’m sure you’ve heard the term “metabolic typing” and thought, this sounds, complex, or scientific and for whatever reason, shied away from learning about it.. Well as it turns out, knowing whether you are a fast oxidizer, or a slow oxidizer, will end the mystery about why your attempts at weight loss in the past have been futile.
There is a simple and fun way to master your metabolism without having a degree in biochemistry, or in endocrinology.
Taking a simple quiz, can shed light on this and help you to discover, if you are a fast or slow oxidizer. What is the difference between them and why is it important to know, and how would your diet need to look once you find out ?
I’m going to answer each of these questions;
1) what is a fast/slow oxidizer?
Fast oxidizers burn through the nutrients in their food very rapidly, with the consequence that the carb content is broken down to glucose and released into the blood almost at once. This sudden increase in blood sugar triggers a rapid release of large amounts of insulin to clean away excess sugar, which is stored as fat in your cells. The more carb content in your food, the more energy will be available to your body right away, and the greater the chance that it will not be needed and get stored as fat. Insulin is a quick and effective blood-cleaner, and the dramatic leaps and falls in blood sugar levels that result from fast oxidation lead to the sugar crash effect. For a fast oxidizer, foods with high carb ratios cause fatigue and carb cravings as well as promote fat storage.
Slow oxidizers burn through the nutrients in their food slowly and do not release the glucose from carbohydrates into the blood quickly enough, which means that they do not get converted into glucose, and energy production and availability are delayed. A slow oxidizer should eat foods with higher ratios of carbs, since protein and fat slow the rate of oxidation and energy production even further.
Balanced oxidizers fall right in between the two. They require foods that have equal quantities of protein, fat, and carbs in order to optimally process, produce, and use the energy from their food.
2) What types of Foods should a fast/slow oxidizer eat?
Fast oxidizers should eat foods with more proteins and fats in order to slow down their rate of oxidation and insulin release, and to better promote stable blood sugar and sustained energy levels.
Table 1. Foods and Nutrients for Fast-Oxidizers
1. Proteins: protein foods with a high purine content such as liver, kidney and other organ meats, meat gravies and soups, herring, sardines, mussels and caviar, protein foods with a moderate purine content such as other cuts of meat, chicken, turkey, other fish and seafood, mushrooms, yeast and legumes such as lentils, beans and peanuts
2. Vegetables: purine containing vegetables such as avocado, artichoke hearts, beans, peas, lentils, cauliflower, spinach, asparagus additional vegetables such as carrots and celery
3. Starches: purine containing starches such as whole-grain breads and cereals
4. Sweets: pastries high in fat and low in flour, such as cheese cake, tortes, Danish pastries, etc.
5. Fats: lard and butter
6. Miscellaneous: avoid catchup, spicy sauces, soft drinks, coffee, tea, beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages
A slow oxidizer should eat foods with higher ratios of carbs, since protein and fat slow the rate of oxidation and energy production even further.
Table 2. Food and Nutrients for Slow-oxidizers
1. Proteins: milk, buttermilk, cottage cheese, eggs, fish (except herring, sardines, anchovies, tuna, salmon)
2. Salads: lettuce, green peppers, onions, radishes, cabbage, pickles, cucumbers, etc.
3. Starches: potatoes, rice, spaghetti, macaroni, bread, crackers, cereals, etc.
4. Sweets: fruit, jams, jellies, pastries, ice cream, candy, gelatin desserts, etc.
5. Fats: replace lard and butter with vegetable oils such as olive oil
6. Miscellaneous: no hard alcoholic beverages
Now that you have a better understanding of what the metabolic types are:
What is yours?
I will email you a short quiz which will help you determine whether you are a slow or a fast oxidizer.
Email me at: carly@headtohealth.com.
Carly Feigan,CN