Help people find out their nutritional type

These days many people want to try different diets for a variety of reasons. It can be ethical or they want to try something that will be more healthy.

However, we are all genetically different and tend to be suited to one type of diet or the other. This can be due to the genes we inherit. But it can also be influenced by what we are fed as a foetus. Our mothers diet when we are a foetus has a great effect on what genes are expressed as we develop. We get used to having access to certain nutrients in good supply and shortages of others while we are fed by the placenta. For example, if your mother eat lots of carbohydrate during pregnancy, then that will switch on the enzymes to breakdown carbohydrate while you are still a foetus.

Our DNA is made up of long coils which open up and close constantly. When we want to activate a gene, we open up that part of the coil so that the particular gene is exposed. What nutrients we get in the uterus, determine what genes get activated and what doesn’t. We are then more suited to digesting those types of foods. Especially if we are fed those same foods as we grow up.

By answering a few key questions, you can easily find out what nutritional diet your body feels most comfortable with

1) Do you like legumes such as lentils, chick peas and cashews?
2) Do they sit well in your body? (many people get a lot of gas, abdominal pain and bloating with legumes because of the sugars or oligosaccharides in them)
3) Do you eat grains on a daily basis?
4) Do you feel good on grains? (do a simple elimination diet for 1 month – no grains at all. Then do a 3 day ‘grain challenge’. If you get bloating, tummy pain or fatigue, then grains are not right for you).
If you answer yes to these 4 questions, then a vegetarian/vegan diet will be suitable for you

Next questions:
5) Do you crave meat?
6) Do you feel good when you eat just meat and veggies?
7) Does dairy make you feel nauseous?
8) Do you feel bloated when you eat a lot of starch or carbohydrate?
9) Does eating pulses such as lentils or grain make you feel bloated?
If you answer yes to questions 4-9, then a Paleo diet may be better for you

Of course, we should all eat at least 5 portions of vegetables per day, whether we are vegetarian, vegan or paleo. And that’s a really important point. There are many vegetarians who don’t actually eat many vegetables, but who snack on grains like pasta or cereal all day.

Another good way of working out which diet suits you best, is thinking about an important event, such as a job interview or exam. What would you eat beforehand? What would give you the best energy?

Many people eat too much processed food and so never realise what foods suits their body best – its masked by the food additives. At the end of the day, you can eat any diet you choose as long as you pay attention to the nutrients you need and what sits well with your body.