Monday, December 14, 2009

Metabolic Meal


Meat Eater Type Meal

Since before the contest when I was on a very strict calorie restricted diet (somewhere between 1900 - 2300 calories a day), and consisting of a limited range of foods, I've decided to go back to the way I was eating before I started to diet hard, which was eating certain foods that fit my metabolism. That's to say that based on how my ancestors ate generations and generations ago, that these are the foods that my body has become able to digest and make use of best.

The fact is that nutrients not part of a persons cultural heritage are incompatible with that individuals biochemistry.

This has a lot to do with one's balance of blood ph between being acidic or alkaline.
Before I continue, let me first tell you about the nerves of the the autonomic nervous system, which extend from the brain through the spinal cord, and from there to the organs, are composed of two branches, the parasympathetic and the sympathetic, each regulating a different set of organ systems. 

The parasympathetic nerves ensure the survival of the internal body environment by accelerating the process of digestion and assimilation of food, and the repair and rebuilding of body cells.

The sympathetic nerves, on the other hand, protect the body from danger in the environment outside the body by speeding up the flow of hormones from the thyroid, adrenals, and pituitary. This makes the heart beat faster, the blood circulate more rapidly, and more oxygen to flow into the lungs, actions that speed up the thought processes and supply the body with bursts of energy needed in earlier times for fighting, hunting, and outmaneuvering enemies.

The sympathetic  and parasympathetic, however, not only speed up the functions of the organs over which each has control, but act as a brake on the other half of the autonomic nervous system by slowing it's actions.

I am a parasympathetic dominant individual (determined by answering a few short questions of which I'll come to a little later on), which means I am a fast oxidizer, and should eat foods such as beef, lamb, and venison because the body burns them up slowly, forcing the parasympathetic nerves to slow the rate at which they normally use up energy.

Now, I'm sure like I was at first, when reading this I was a little unclear as to how this impacted which foods I should be eating, and perhaps more importantly, which foods I shouldn't be eating, but with a little more research into the acid/alkaline diet, I soon uncovered a new level of understanding of how the body responds to certain foods, which will serve me well in continuing to build on my success as a natural athlete. And don't worry - I'll be making this all available for you to follow!

As a parasympathetic dominant individual, my body has large quantities of acid for the digestion of meat, and should limit my intake of of certain acidic nutrients such as Vitamin C, lemon juice, and vinegar so as not to speed up my already too rapid digestion of protein. An important factor to bare in mind when trying to build muscle because if your body is digesting protein too quickly, your body will be excreting higher levels of amino acids instead of your muscles uptaking much of what you think they are. Ask yourself this - Have you ever increased your protein intake whilst lifting heavy weights expecting to build muscle, when all you truly experience is a stronger smell to your urine, and perhaps even a little indigestion. 

In individual's with a slower digestion (sympathetic dominant individuals who are typically grain eaters, and usually blood type A), they are left with undigested food particles that turn into acidic waste. These find their way into the blood and lymph vessels that feed the insulin-producing glands in the pancreas. As these vessels become clogged with waste, they block the transport of insulin form the pancreas to the blood. Lack of insulin in the blood means that sugar doesn't get burned up, so that blood sugar levels become elevated and produce diabetic symptoms.

Ok, so back to the meal in the picture. This was a strip steak cooked on a George Foreman grill, and sprinkled with cayenne pepper, which stimulates good digestion, including the breakdown of fats. It's also a good overall body tonic. I cooked several root vegetables (bok choy, kale, and sprouting kale), in a closed pan with little heat, and instead of cooking in water, I used organic (no added salt) peeled tomatoes from a tin, so that much of the nutrients from the vegetables were not lost in the water when it was strained (unless you keep the water and drink it once cooled). Limiting my carbohydrate sources, I added a salad of organic endive leaves, romaine lettuce, green beans, plus spinach leaves - all of which provide an excellent source of roughage and rich in digestive enzymes. I added two tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which aside from increasing the flow of bile, olive oil assists in the breakdown of long-chained fatty acids.

Aside from water, there is more fat in the body than any other substance. Cellular membranes that surround the cytoplasm of each cell are made up of almost entirely of fatty acid (the form of fat into which the fat we eat is broken down), and the brain is more than 60% fatty acid. Moreover, fatty acids, along with protein (in the form of amino acids) play a vital role in the manufacture of energy. Transportation of oxygen by the red blood cells would not be possible without the fatty acid and protein membrane of the red blood cell through which oxygen gains entry into the cell.

I also added a handful of mixed berries (blueberries and blackberries), and mixed nuts (raw and natural almonds, cashew's, and walnuts), for added fiber and fats. (The combination of nuts and legumes - peas, ensure all the complete amino acids that the body cannot synthesize itself).

This is just a small glimpse of how I'm going to be changing my diet from now on, and I'll show you the results by posting my newly designed training program and progress pictures shortly on my website (which is also being rebuilt and launched early 2010).

If you are interested in having your own metabolic typing diet created for you, I have created a link of my store for only $99:  http://www.robrichesstore.com/personalized-fat-burning-diet-plan.html

To keep up to date on all my workouts and meals, plus more on metabolic typing, make sure you sign up to follow my blogs.

Until next time - stay fit and strong, both in body and mind!

Rob Riches