What do y'all think of Mercola's theory of people falling into different "nutritional types"?

[Elizabeth2008]

I was on his website and went though his nutritional analysis and it told me that I was a "mixed type" - mixed between protein nutritional type and veggie.  He claims that for some people a traditional died heavy in meat is good and for others it is not.  Has this been anyone's experience here?  I was a vegetarian for 20 years and generally felt very healthy.  I have been following a more TF diet for the last 2 years and while I feel pretty good, i have put on some weight.  I'm wondering if it's possible that my body just doesn't like that much fat and meat??  Should I, gulp, be looking at low fat milk and yogurt, etc...?

[lifeguard]

I haven't read this particular author but I do believe. I know for myself my body does NOT respond well to carbs at all. I have to keep carbs very, very low where I know people who eat almost exclusively carbs & don't seem to have any difficulties with it.

[Brightside]

I'm somewhat familiar with Mercola. I take him with a grain of salt just because I think he tends to be a bit paranoid about everything, lol. 

The nutritional typing has been helpful for me. I'm a protein type, and I feel crappy with carbs. I have had some weight gain too, but that was due to my sedentary lifestyle and eating some junk foods. I started the C25K running program, takes you from the couch to running a 5K in 9 weeks, and I've been dropping weight and feeling so much better!. I think you need to make sure you feel good and have an exercise regimen, which he stresses for optimum health as well. 

You can look up articles on his site about dairy. I would vote going without instead of going low fat, just consume less often or something if you want to reduce caloric intake. Here's one article - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/21/why-you-need-to-avoid-low-fat-milk-and-cheese.aspx

Good luck finding what works for you! 

[JamieCatheryn]

I'm with the TF crowd about lowfat dairy, it's over processed and an unbalanced non-whole food. Much better to eat a little less regular dairy and increase the veggies and fruit. For dairy maybe a little whole milk yogurt and almond milk the rest of the time.

I just did a metabolism quiz like that since you piqued my curiosity, it basically asked what I like and what I feel best doing and said mixed type too. Then it said cut out dairy, carbs, and starchy veggies for a week, then slowly introduce a little back in. The questions also pointed out to me what I like: moderately heavy breakfast, light snacks all day, a good deal of lean meat and veggies at dinner, and a snack/healthy-ish dessert before bed.

[1love4ever]

I havent read mercolas theory on this, but I do believe that certain people do well on certain diets, others do better eating different things.  Our bodies are not all exactly the same in what foods we do best on, or what foods we should avoid.

[BubblingBrooks]

I stand fully behind traditional foods. BUT! This is different for everyone.
You have to factor in your climate and your ancestry.
Here in Alaska, I have to eat a great deal more fat in winter time, then say a person that lives in Texas.
Many do better with fish then with red meat, others just do not do well with dairy.

You and you alone must find out what your body thrives on! Just be sure its real food, and that you are fairly balancing fats, proteins and carbs according to the season.

[gardenmommy]

IME, it's true.  I find that I need much more protein and fat than, for example, DH does.  I do better on a lower carb diet (although not totally carb-free, I just need a few).  DH, on the other hand, does better with more fish and less red meat, and more carbs.  I have a friend who does not do well with red meat at all.  She really needs a lot more carbs and less protein.  Like a PP said, we're not all exactly the same.  You have to figure out what works well for your body.

[Storm Bride]

I think Mercola may over-simplify it, but I definitely believe that different people do well on different diets. I'm not even sure why this is a question, except that we tend to have a very size fits all kind of culture. I've seen couples where both are very healthy, but one eats a ton of meat and dairy and the other eats vegetarian, or close to it. I've seen people who don't seem to thrive, even on a whole foods diet, until they add or eliminate meat or dairy or whatever. People vary.

[FarmerBeth]

Haven't read this, I got Mercolaed out from too much past exposure!  Personally, when I went very Weston Price to the letter, it flared up kidney problems due to SLE and I was more tired.  I didn't go low fat dairy (I've never really believed there's any use to this, I was healthiest growing up on the dairy farm on full fat, unpasteurized milk) but I did cut back on the meats and replaced with nuts, traditional legume dishes, fish and eggs.  For me, it did the trick, and it turned out I just wasn't doing well on land meat.  I think listening to you body tells you more than any exact program or quiz, but they can be fun to try.

[gardenmommy]

I kinda feel like it is more of a continuum between between being heavy on the meat/protein and heavy on the carb/starches, iykwim, moreso than just the three types/profiles of dietary needs.