Eat Right for Your Metabolism, Not Your Blood Type -- Dr. Rowen

Eat Right for Your Metabolism, Not Your Blood Type -- Dr. Rowen
Dr. Kelley cured himself of pancreatic cancer, which to this day is still incurable by conventional medicine, by eating an almost totally vegetarian diet, along with spiritual elements and supplements. When his wife became very ill, he tried the same diet on her and she became much sicker and almost died until he tried a last-ditch effort of giving her a lot of meat. She quickly recovered. Dr. Kelley spent many years investigating various metabolic types of people and what types of foods and supplements would keep each type in optimum health. You might have heard that everyone needs to alkalinize their bodies to recover from cancer by eating certain “alkaline” foods. Some types, such as parasympathetic dominant people, are actually too alkaline and need to be acidified!
Atkins, Pritikin, the “Zone Diet,” the “Blood-type Diet,” it’s all enough to make you crazy, yes? It made me a bit crazy, too. For years, I thrived on a diet of vegetables and complex carbohydrates with eggs and occasional fish for protein. I’ve been the ideal weight for my height (5-10/155) ever since high school and rather healthy at that. So I thought if all my patients ate like me, they also would be healthy and fit. Problem is, when I taught patients to eat my diet, many came back saying, “Dr. Rowen, I’m doing everything you recommended to the letter, but not only can I not lose weight, I don’t feel very good either.” Low energy was the most common complaint.
I was perplexed. Then I read about Robert Atkins’ high-protein / low­ carbohydrate diet. Yes, it did indeed work for some, but for others (including myself), I knew it would be a disaster. Why didn’t one diet work for everybody? After all, we’re all human.
In the 1980s, I became aware of the work of Dr. William Donald Kelley — a man who helped patients with cancer in an extraordinary way. He worked on the principle that meat and protein caused the body to acidify and fruit and vegetables made the body more alkaline. By altering the patient’s diet for the patient’s metabolism, he could bring their pH into proper balance and very often the patients went into remission.
Several years ago, I heard a lecture from another researcher, Rudolph Wiley, PhD, author of the book Biobalance. Wiley claimed meat and protein were alkalinizing and fruit and vegetables in general were acidifying. This flew in the face of everything I had been taught regarding the effects of food on pH, and directly contradicted Kelley’s work.
Then, two years ago, I was given a rare book that’s now out of print called Nutrition and Your Mind by Dr. George Watson. He found (two decades before Wiley) the same findings Wiley published (that meat is alkalinizing). Watson showed how subtle shifts in pH through diet and supplements would normalize pH in mentally ill individuals and, when corrected, the patient’s mental disorder completely cleared or at least improved.
All three men had done impeccable research, but all their theories couldn’t be right? Or could they?
Today, we have several competing and conflicting diets, which must work for some or they never would have gotten off the ground. Yet none of them works for everyone. How does one make sense from all this?

In his book, “The Metabolic Typing Diet”, William Wolcott, a protégé of Kelley, explains his dominance theory of individual metabolism. There are two competing determinants of metabolism in the body: the autonomic (unconscious) nervous system (ANS) and the oxidative system. Foods and nutrients have opposing effects on body pH in each. For example, everyone knows that potassium and magnesium are alkalinizing — or are they?
The ANS has two parts, sympathetic and parasympathetic. The latter controls digestion, tends to unwind the system, and promotes alkalinization of the body when it’s active. The sympathetic branch winds us up, gets adrenaline pumping, and tends to acidify the body when active.
Potassium and magnesium are required to activate the parasympathetic side, promoting alkalinization of the body. But here’s where the science gets tricky. In the biochemical cycles of energy production, the oxidative system, these two minerals tend to speed up reactions, which lead to acid production in the body. Therefore, the two systems tend to balance each other out with regards to pH. Wolcott teaches that, “The net effect of pH depends on which system is dominant in the given individual!”
All of a sudden, it made sense to me how and why one diet that worked so well for one person would fail miserably for another, and why my vegetarian-style diet made me feel great and made others feel terrible. We are all different, and the same food may have opposite effects in two different people. A seminar by Hal Kristal, DDS, of California, confirmed what I had discovered.
While living in Alaska for almost 20 years, I watched the Alaskan natives, so robust and healthy just two generations ago, slowly become heavy and riddled with diabetes and chronic diseases of “civilization.” When I first moved there, they were predominately meat eaters, living off the land. Now meat is supposed to be bad, isn’t it? But for them, they thrived with scant degenerative disease. Now they are eating out of local stores which have all the carbohydrate-laden foods for which their systems were never designed. And their metabolic type can’t handle it. But for others, including me, such a heavy meat-and-fat diet could spell ruin.
With today’s epidemic of obesity, knowing your metabolic type is of paramount importance. For example, if you are one with a parasympathetic dominance and you are already alkaline, eating foods that further stimulate the parasympathetic system (vegetarian based) will only push you into further imbalance. If, on the other hand, you are oxidative dominant and a “slow” oxidizer, your alkalinity will be balanced by a vegetarian-based diet. It will provide the vitamins and minerals you need to speed up oxidation and generate more acids to balance you out.
Herein lies the secret of why one diet works for some but not others. And why a holistic doctor like I can recommend a heavy meat/fat diet for some of my patients, instead of the vegetable/grain diet that’s supposed to be “good for everyone.” What makes one more alkaline might make another more acidic.
But why does this work? Two reasons: First, for some, their metabolism is heavily weighted toward certain fuels for energy. Genetics play a significant role. If the need fuels are present, combustion within the cell furnaces proceeds optimally. If the wrong fuels are present, substances pile up and throw the cells off balance. Consider an auto assembly line where four wheels are needed but eight show up for each car: eventually, the whole factory backs up. With many generations of a given people living in one place, they develop metabolisms that matched their food supply.
Second, the hormone insulin, which controls blood sugar, has to be considered. Some genetic types were granted a “thrifty gene” that stores fuel to pare the body in times of famine. This gene is great when food is scarce, but when a food is plentiful, it causes the body to become loaded down with stored fat. The gene works through the overproduction of insulin, which quickly clears blood sugar (from carbohydrates), converting the glucose to triglycerides and fats for storage. As long as insulin is around, carbs are headed into the fat-storage depot. The only significant stimulus for insulin is ingestion of carbohydrates, with refined carbs and sugars being the worst of the insulin stimulators. (The body has an abhorrence for high blood sugar since it causes damage to blood vessels.) For these people, there are only two alternatives to get rid of the fat-storing insulin: cutting down or completely eliminating the carbohydrate stimulus, or burning the carbs through exercise.
How do you know what type you are? There are four basic types: Sympathetic Dominant; Parasympathetic Dominant; Oxidative Fast; and Oxidative Slow. The good news is that there are only two basic diets, the degree of adherence which is determined by the degree of dominance of one of the above. Oxidative Fast and Parasympathetic Dominants need a Group II diet, or one heavily weighted toward heavy protein and fat as a preferred fuel source. Sympathetic Dominants (myself) and Oxidative Slows need a Group I diet, which is more heavily weighted toward light, non-fatty proteins, an abundance of vegetables and a greater tolerance for carbohydrates, although neither group should be eating refined carbs. Some people are blessed to be balanced and have much greater dietary freedom.
A quick way to tell for many people is a simple look at a fasting blood test at the value of triglycerides (fats). While the “reference range” may go from 0-160, I believe that any value over 80 suggests excess insulin activity converting excess carbs in that individual to fats, with higher levels ever more strongly pointing to the same. These people would most likely do well on a Group II or low-carbohydrate diet.
For those with triglycerides lower than 80, a metabolic-typing test developed and taught by Dr. Kristal, which involves some simple pH and blood-glucose testing in response to a glucose challenge can identify your type. The metabolic-type testing is unnecessary if your triglycerides or fasting glucose are high, since you already know that your body will do much better carbohydrate free. (These are the people with the “thrifty gene”.)
For those without these lab markers, the metabolic-typing test can easily identify one’s metabolic type for about another 60 percent of the population. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of dieting. Further, the testing can, long in advance, identify those headed toward the dreaded adult-onset diabetes (type 2). The paradox of the thrifty gene is that in times of scarcity, those blessed will survive much easier than will I, who must eat every day since my body does not store energy very easily. Yet in times of plenty, they are cursed if they do not recognize their gift and sharply reduce their intake of carbs because they will store fat everywhere including in the blood vessels. Their bodies prefer fat for optimal and efficient energy production.
If your lab does not disclose high triglycerides, you might be interested in getting tested. Dr. Kristal has trained many in his technique and a call to his office (800-772-0646) or visit to his website (http://meta-typing.com/bph/main.html) might help you locate a professional near you. There is also a home testing kit: it’s not nearly as reliable as the in-office testing, but very valuable nevertheless since it does provide very accurate blood glucose results that you will have in response to a sugar drink. It’s also a little pricey at $210, but well worth the cost. I strongly suggest you look at Dr. Kristal’s Web site (http://meta-typing.com/index.htm; old site: www.bloodph.com). Wolcott has developed his own method of determining metabolic type, and this information is available in his book. You can also find out more about Dr. Wolcott by checking out his website (www.healthexcel.com) or calling his office (650-325-1840).
To give you an example of how this works, Michelle, a 40-year-old female with cancer, tested herself using a home kit. Her blood glucose started low, peaked quickly and crashed, suggesting she was a fast oxidizer. I put her on a Group II diet (little carbs and heavy in meat), which is highly unusual for a cancer patient. Follow-up testing showed a significant correction of the blood-sugar curve and she felt much better.
Another one of my patients, Jim, a 62-year-old male, had battled his bulging waistline for years. “I’ve tried everything,” he told me. Yet when he came to see me, his triglycerides and cholesterol were high, indicating excess insulin and a need for drastic carb reduction. He fought me on my recommendation, but surrendered and within two weeks, was proud to announce an 11-pound weight loss to 200 (he is only 5’ 7”). His triglycerides and cholesterol likewise fell to the desirable range.
And then there’s me, the envy of many since I keep the perfect weight for my height so easily. I have always been drawn to a diet rich in veggies and felt sluggish after eating heavy protein. My triglycerides run about 30 and cholesterol is a low 155. Testing in Dr. Kristal’s office showed I’m markedly sympathetic dominant, hence my physical preference for the Group I diet and my ability to easily burn off carb calories. My body needs the minerals potassium and magnesium found in veggies to stimulate the parasympathetic side of my ANS to bring balance. Meat and fats will stress my parasympathetic side, which is already weak. This is the opposite of the thrifty gene, and those like me will do poorly in times of famine, but handle times of plenty much better.
We are living in a time of plenty. Unfortunately, for those who have thrifty bodies, the unbroken chain of storage leads to pathologic obesity and eventually to diabetes. The high levels of insulin in these individuals causes an undesirable medical condition now termed Syndrome X, excess insulin. High insulin is one of the greatest risk factors for the development of circulatory disease: it causes elevated blood pressure, deposition of fat all over the body, fluid retention, headaches, fatigue, abnormal cholesterol levels, and may directly age our DNA (genetic material). It’s likely one of the greatest aging factors. That explains why in countless lab test, the most reliable way to extend life in laboratory animals is simple calorie restriction. Low insulin slows the aging of DNA and maximizes lifespan. By burning fuel rather than calling on insulin to store it, exercise accomplishes the same as calorie and carb restriction, provided you do not compensate by ingesting more carbs.
One of the biggest problems I find is that people are eating out more than ever before and the portion sizes are huge (besides the fact that processed food is bad for you). The low-fat products you buy at a restaurant (or in the grocery store) may be low in fat, but they are not low-calorie. For instance, I recently saw that a regular 50-calorie fig cookie may have more fat, but its fat-free counterpart has 70 calories – which is what puts the weight on.
In order to lose the weight, you’ve got to eat a type that’s right for your metabolic type (not your blood type) and avoid the carbohydrates and calories (which means sugar and other foods high on the glycemic index).
Determining the best and worst foods for your particular metabolic type doesn’t have to be a guessing game. You’ll be amazed at the results.
The above is courtesy of:  Robert Jay Rowen, M.D., Golden Gate Health Association (GGHA), 2200 County Center Dr. Ste H, Santa Rosa, California 95472, 707-571-7560, Fax: 707-571-8929, http://www.doctorrowen.com/contact.html , or Email: drrowen@att.net
"Seeing patients keeps my skills as sharp as possible. I prefer to see the most difficult cases and those that conventional medicine has pronounced incurable. There’s nothing more rewarding than giving hope to someone who was told there’s no hope." -- Dr. Rowen
(Besides traveling out to see Dr. Rowen, he will also do telephone consultations with you or your doctor, and you can fax him your medical records). He is one of the best cancer doctors I know, and it's well worth getting his opinion. By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to his Second Opinions newsletter (from which this article came), go to: http://www.secondopinionnewsletter.com/
"Eating for one's individual metabolism is a time-tested truth. Common sense alone should tell us that the concept "one diet fits all" could not fly, anymore than one medical treatment could fit all. Celebrate your uniqueness, even if it is with foods shunned by conventional paradigms." - Robert J. Rowen, Second Opinion Newsletter