Metabolic Typing

I read Dr Natasha's latest blog post with much interest, because she addressed something very close to home for me.

First, some back-story...
We've been on GAPS since February. Hannah has had some lingering issues, but Nick, Audrey, and Tessa all nearly instantly felt amazing. I, on the other hand, felt terrible. Granted, some of that was candida issues, but even when die off subsided I still had nearly constant gas, bloating, and fatigue. When we started the diet I was still nursing Tessa (now 17 mos) often, so I made sure to get large amount of carbs to keep my supply up.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally emailed my ND (who is very supportive of GAPS, but doesn't use it in his practice at this point.) I told him that I felt terrible, didn't know what to do, and asked what he suggested. He responded that he wanted me to take a Metabolic Typing Test online. The test is $40, money we didn't really have to throw away. I looked up this concept on the GAPS help board, and it had gotten mixed reviews. Some said it could be helpful, others thought it had no scientific basis. After talking it over with my husband, we decided to go ahead and pay for the test. The results I got said:

20% Sympathetic
16% Balanced
63% Parasympathetic
24% Slow Oxidation
75% Fast Oxidation

Along with those results, you also get a suggested meal plan, a list of recommended foods, and some other suggestions regarding food preparation.

When I communicated my results to my ND, he laughed and said, "You're practically an Inuit!" My body is currently asking for large amounts of fat and protein, and very few carbs. So I started eating that way immediately. One small serving of usually a green veggie at each meal, covering everything with oil, filling up on fatty meats. Within one day, the gas and bloating were gone, and I had normal amounts of energy!

I had tried everything I could think of. I was taking HCL with all my meals. I thought I must be reacting to some food I was eating, but couldn't figure out what in the world it could be. I even made some turkey vegetable soup this week, and it gives me gas - too many veggies!

Dr Natasha's blog post was very interesting to me, in light of this experience. If I had been able to follow my body's signals through taste, smell and satisfaction, it could have told me what I needed to know. But so many things can distort that signal - candida, habit, what you think you "should" eat... The test recommends retesting in three months, to allow for adjustments your body will make with time and different circumstances. Maybe because my current type is more extreme, I was not able to stumble across the right fat/protein/carb proportions, like most people are able to do? Regardless, I finally got that breakthrough I've been praying for! And just in time...