Your Nutritional Individuality and Unhealthy Emotions
by Vin Miller
Although it’s becoming more widely accepted that nutrition can have a significant impact on your mental wellness, and that part of this is dependent upon the unique nutritional needs we each have, it’s far from being as well known as it should be. As a result, many people are unfortunately missing out on a simple and natural solution to both mental and physiological dysfunction.
After reading Nutrition and Your Mind by George Watson PhD, I was left with two compelling thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised that I could gain so much from a book that was published in 1972, but highly disappointed to see how little has changed since then, and in some ways, has even become worse.
An Accidental Discovery
As is often the case with research, George Watson made an unexpected and intriguing discovery that was completely unrelated to the purpose of his work. He was studying the effects of various vitamins on the sense of smell and found that many of his subjects were having significant psychological reactions to them. Deciding to pursue this further, Watson began to study the effects of vitamins on people diagnosed with mental illness.
Watson’s research with vitamins eventually led him to the discovery that the food we eat can also have a significant psychological impact. Through 10 years of thorough research, he was able to categorize his subjects into one of two groups based on test results such as blood pH, blood sugar, and carbon dioxide level and also their reactions to various foods and specific nutrients. All of these characteristics provided a strong indication of each subject’s metabolic tendencies. Of the approximately 300 subjects Watson worked with in this manner, approximately half of them were included in published and controlled trials.
The two groups that George Watson established were based on cellular metabolism and energy production. One group metabolized glucose quickly and was referred to as fast oxidizers while the other group metabolized glucose slowly and was referred to as slow oxidizers. The importance of this distinction is that it can have a significantly good or bad influence on a person’s mental wellness depending on the type of food they eat.
A Flawed Perspective on Psychiatry
At the time Nutrition and Your Mind was published, psychiatry was the undisputed choice of treatment for mental dysfunction. Suggesting nutrition or any other physical factor as the cause or solution would have been considered to be utter nonsense. Although to a lesser extent, the same is unfortunately still true today.
Such a strong faith in psychiatry is highly ironic. As Watson points out, the descendants of Sigmund Freud, such as Adler, Jung, and Rank, each had differences in opinion and would each be likely to identify a different cause for the same mental issue. Furthermore, the identified cause would likely be blamed on something outlandish such as repressed sexual feelings towards a parent during the patient’s childhood. How could something so subjective be accepted in such confidence while completely disregarding the actual evidence of nutritional influence?
Not Much Has Changed
Although it’s unlikely today for a psychiatrist to tell you that your problems are the result repressed sexual tension toward your mother or father, the dominance and subjectivity of psychiatry hasn’t changed much. The American Psychiatric Association has basically invented many of the hundreds of mental disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders which is currently the golden standard for psychiatric diagnosis.
New disorders are suggested by members of the APA and are then brought to life and added to the DSM through nothing more than a majority vote. In 2006, a study revealed that 56% of the APA members voting on the disorders to be added to the DSM were financially tied to the drug industry. Unfortunately, it’s become extremely common for an average person to complain about sadness or stress and be given a long term prescription and maybe even some kind of permanent diagnosis. This flawed approach is encouraging more and more people to become dependent on dangerous medications and is limiting the awareness of safer natural solutions that may be much more effective.
Fuel for Proper Brain Function and Balanced Emotions
A balanced and healthy mental state is dependent on proper brain function which, in turn, is dependent on the ability of brain cells to consistently metabolize an adequate amount of energy. Without a steady supply of energy, brain function is likely to become impaired and abnormal emotions are likely to result.
There are two major processes that lead to the production of cellular energy. One is glycolysis, which is responsible for about 20% of energy production, and the other is the citric acid cycle, or Krebs cycle, which is responsible for the remaining 80%. As such, the citric acid cycle is a critical part of cell metabolism and is therefore an important aspect of optimal brain function and mental wellness.
Glycolysis is basically the metabolism of glucose. As stated above, it directly provides a small portion of total energy, but more importantly, produces the acetate and oxaloacetate required by the citric acid cycle. However, because glycolysis is a poor source of acetate, the citric acid cycle must rely on other sources of it as well.
While carbohydrates are the primary source of the glucose needed to support glycolysis, fat and protein provide the additional acetate needed by the citric acid cycle. In addition, neither glycolysis nor the citric acid cycle can effectively produce energy without a sufficient supply of specific vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. As such, the food we eat has a significant influence on our energy production, and in turn, our mental wellbeing.
Nutritional Individuality
The two types of metabolic tendencies discovered by George Watson are primarily based on glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. Slow oxidizers metabolize glucose slowly and need to consume more carbohydrates to increase glycolysis and balance acetate production. In contrast, fast oxidizers metabolize glucose quickly and need to consume more fat and protein to provide the additional acetate needed to balance the high rate of glycolysis. In either case, the proper nutritional adjustments will help to keep the citric acid cycle running smoothly, provide adequate energy, promote proper cellular function, and ideally, result in a balanced state of mental wellness.
George Watson’s research along with the work of William Kelly who discovered the effects of nutrition on the autonomic nervous system represent the two primary aspects of individuality that Metabolic Typing is based on. Although Watson and Kelly were both able to help a majority of the people they worked with, they both encountered cases in which their approach was ineffective. Metabolic Typing greatly reduces this gap by incorporating both approaches and determining which one is best for each person. Furthermore, Metabolic Typing expands upon the mental focus of George Watson’s work and is designed to be a holistic nutritional approach that promotes optimal health both physically and mentally.
We All Experience Mental Dysfunction to Some Extent
We’ve all experienced unhealthy emotions such as anxiety or depression at one time or another. Although these emotions can sometimes be caused by a true genetic disorder or a traumatic event such as the death of a family member, they are much more likely to be completely unjustified.
What George Watson has shown is that the unwarranted occurrence of negative emotions can be prevented through nutritional measures. In fact, Watson’s work has shown that even clinically diagnosable cases of mental disorders such as schizophrenia and severe depression can be completely reversed. If nutrition alone can have such a dramatic influence on serious mental dysfunction, imagine what it can do for the more mild emotional disturbances that many of us experience on a regular basis!
A Disappointing Reality
One of George Watson’s more memorable research clients was diagnosed with schizophrenia and catatonia. She had been through many rounds of extensive psychiatric evaluation and treatment, but to no avail and was one last try away from being admitted into a mental institution.
Watson identified her as a slow oxidizer, and by having her take a specific combination of vitamins and limit the high protein and high fat foods that cause trouble for her slow oxidation rate, her symptoms of schizophrenia and attacks of catatonia slowly but surely became minimal and allowed her to live a relatively normal life.
Five years after her recovery, she paid Watson a visit to thank him for giving her new life, but was quite frustrated to report that “when I tell people I used to be a catatonic, that I used to have schizophrenia, they just laugh! I get so mad, but they won’t believe me.” This is such a shame, and unfortunately, not much has changed. Almost 40 years have passed since the publication of this book and most people would still be likely to dismiss such a story.
What’s Your Type?
If nutrition alone can eliminate the symptoms of serious mental disorders, imagine how much impact it can have on the common and more mild forms of emotional dysfunction such as depression and anxiety? It’s truly amazing how much of an impact optimal nutrition can have on your physical and mental health. I know this because I’ve experienced it myself. If you feel that there’s room for improvement in your diet and your health, I highly recommend that you consider trying the Metabolic Typing program.
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Vin,
This is all very interesting, as usual! I really found that my anxiety, mood swings, etc. were virtually eliminated by the change in diet (although I’m still human and prone to grumpiness every so often! Just ask my husband!).
I also took the Metabolic Typing Questionnaire and, just as I suspected, am a “protein type”. Later I read some criticisms of the Metabolic Typing which left me confused, but I want to read up more on what you’ve written about it and try and learn more.
Knowing what I know about carbs and fat, it’s hard to believe that eating a “high-carb, low-fat” diet would be good for anyone. Could it be possible that the slow oxidizers were dealing with a specific nutritional imabalance that was causing them to be slow oxidizers? Just curious.
Fascinating stuff, this is! Great post; very scientific yet understandable to the laity!
Carrie @ Organic & Thrifty
Wonderful article, and I really like how it impresses the fact that so much of what our society thinks, does, and how we react to situations is tied to the big money-making industries such as the drug companies. It’s not surprising that the disorders invented by modern psychiatrics were just brought up and voted upon – and it’s that very thing that people in the natural and alternative communities are repeatedly accused of doing. Funny how many medical groups and communities criticize our methods and ways with that same line of thinking and then do it themselves.
Nutrition and good food with proper lifestyle really is the winning combination, thanks for proving that again with this article. I also liked the mention of the Metabolic Typing Diet, which I really believe in. I’m definitely a protein type, and feel best when I eat large amounts of protein from healthy meat and fish, and vegetables.
Unfortunately, this way of life we’ve adopted with processed foods, doctoring, and drugs has become so ingrained in the way we function as a culture, it does take some repeated exposure, education, and ultimately experiencing it for yourself to undo all the damage done by these bloated, powerful industries. But with sites like this and mine, I’m hopeful we can help more and more people to achieve better health.
It is really unfortunate that we have gotten to a point where people feel that they need to be diagnosed with something when the problem is simply the way they take care of themselves. To add fuel to the fire is the fact that many doctors have fallen into the trap of diagnosing anyone and everyone. So many things went undiagnosed in the past because they weren’t issues now they are and our dietary changes over the past 50 years seem to correlate closely with the increases in diagnosis. We need to step back a bit and start telling people that nothing is wrong with them other than the fact that they’re hurting themselves with poor diet and activity levels.
The DSP tells me I’m a Protein type using the questionnaire. I second the comments above mine!
Thank you all for the great comments! I see we have several protein types here, including me! Protein types are often the most appreciative of Metabolic Typing because their dietary needs are the most different from the typical modern diet, and as such, protein types often experience the most significant benefits.
Carrie – I’ve also experienced a significant reduction in anxiety and mood swings after changing my diet. We’re all still human and I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to eliminate unwarranted negative emotions completely. However, that’s not to say that we can’t come close!
I think the people who are most likely to criticize Metabolic Typing are those who do well on a standard diet. The benefits won’t be as obvious to them. Two great things about Metabolic Typing are that it’s based on natural whole foods and also your reactions to your meals. You can’t go wrong from this perspective! Personally, if I eat too much carbohydrate (which is not that much), I get weak, shaky, tired, and irritable. If I eat more protein and fat, as my Metabolic Type suggests I should, this doesn’t happen and I feel great. It takes time and effort to learn how to adjust your meals in response to your reactions, but for many people, it’s well worth it.
I agree that a high carb and low fat diet isn’t good for anyone, but it depends on what is actually being eaten. While a carb type, including a slow oxidizer, should eat about 60% carbs and 40% protein and fat, the average person today often goes well beyond this. Furthermore, the quality of carbohydrate and fat must be considered as well. Even on a protein type diet of 70% protein and fat and 30% carbs, if the carbs are from sugar and refined grains and the fat is from denatured vegetable oils, that’s certainly not good either.
A Metabolic Type can be either genetic of functional and a slow oxidizer can be either. Yes, someone could be a slow oxidizer based on a deficiency which would make it a functional type, but it’s also possible to be a slow oxidizer based on genetics. People with significant health issues often have a functional type and eventually change towards their genetic type as their health improves.
Raine – Yes, the drug industry is always finding more ways to make more people dependent on their medication. It’s very sad and is pushing us in the opposite direction of where we need to be. The concept of natural and holistic health is nothing new, but it unfortunately has been slow in overcoming the influence of mass media and big industry. With the internet now at our disposal, I believe that awareness is spreading more rapidly and am hopeful that it will continue.
Brian – While some people do need conventional treatment, I agree that most people are reactive to their health rather than proactive. It’s amazing how easy it is to get a prescription for cholesterol, blood pressure, anxiety, or depression and how rare it is to be advised of the healthy lifestyle that would likely prevent these conditions and the need for their associated medications. Even in the case where such medications are truly necessary, a healthy lifestyle should still be the foundation of any treatment.
This is very interesting info. I’m in the process of researching the best dietary habits for me and will be looking more into metabolic typing. I’ve tried the vegetarian diet and while I noticed many benefits it still didn’t give me the result that I thought I should get. Very useful article and comments as well – Thanx!
Hi Chris, thanks for your comment!
Some people are able to do well on a vegetarian diet, but many aren’t. Even worse, some people destroy their health by forcing themselves to maintain this type of diet despite not feeling well.
Any healthy diet should be based on natural whole foods, and from there, Metabolic Typing is great for customizing your diet to your individual needs. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask.