How to Find the Perfect Diet

In the first three blogs on the topic of how to achieve optimal athletic performance, we talked about misconceptions and shortcomings of what we think “training” encompasses, the most important aspect of athletic performance and how and why each person is unique. Today we talk about how to find that perfect diet, made for your unique biochemical makeup. This diet will be designed for you and you alone. When I use this system for my clients, it’s the first time in their lives that they know exactly what to each and in what ratio of carbs, fats, and proteins to have each meal. Remember the quote from Hippocrates; “One mans food is another man's poison.” Even at the dawn of medicine, he knew that food was not the only key, but that each person is different and must be approached as such.

Metabolic Individuality shows that there can’t be a “One size fits all diet” plan approach to nutrition, or the allopathic approach of saying that one particular food can give anyone energy, or utilizing specific nutrients for energy, strength, endurance, etc. The question is, "What is the optimal diet for my needs? What diet is right for a female tennis player, a football lineman, a hockey player or a golfer? The system I use provides an answer to these questions and more. The reality is that some foods that build energy in one kind of metabolism will suppress energy in another. What causes one type to put on fat, will cause another type to lose fat. What will increase speed and reaction time in one person will deplete it in another. What enhances and speeds healing in one type will slow it in another. Nutrients that stimulate aggression and high emotion in a hockey player may cause lethargy, poor concentration and a loss of competitiveness in another hockey player.

Every athlete, professional or amateur, of any age and from any sport can benefit from an understanding of his or her type. Every aspect of athletic performance is influenced by diet and nutrition. Proper nutrition for each's type assures peak performance. Just as important, it also ensures tissue integrity and will thereby maximize protection against injury as well as maximize healing and the rebuilding processes. Not only are the kinds of foods important, in the proper balance of nutrients for the individual's requirements, but also the quality of meals is critical for performance and should not be overlooked. Junk foods, being devoid of natural nutrients, provide "empty calories." They are typically full of chemicals and sugars. An undefined palate will find them tasty, but they are poor sources of energy and disrupt the natural balance and efficiency of the body's energy-producing systems. You are not only what you eat, but you are also what you ate! How can you think you will get healthy from eating a sick animal or chemical laden vegetables? You should at least start eating organic, especially animal sources and especially for females! Just as any intelligent person would only "feed" the proper kind of fuel to his automobile's engine, so too should the intelligent athlete understand his or her unique nutritional requirements and feed his or her body's engines of metabolism accordingly.

What I use is the systematic, testable, repeatable and verifiable scientific means whereby each athlete's optimal nutritional requirements can be determined. Only by supplying each athlete's body with its own specific and unique "fuel supply" can training and conditioning come to maximum fruition, can talent be fully utilized, and full potential is maximized. Hopefully, you now see how anyone giving you a diet that isn’t based on YOUR specific, biochemical needs is just guessing. Guessing is a dangerous game that a serious athlete should not be willing to play. Years and years of building the best engine to only put cheap, crappy fuel in it, or the wrong type of high-quality fuel, will inevitably lead to poor performance or breakdown.

Now that you know you have to find the right foods and nutrients for your unique needs, we can go deeper into athletic performance. We will go into what the best lab tests are to identify and eliminate foods that are causing inflammation. We will go into detail on the best hormone test in the world and why it is so cutting edge. This is a must for females but valuable to males as well! Also discussed are gut tests to identify and eradicate parasites, viruses, bacteria, and fungus. Included in these tests are neurotransmitter balance which affects emotions, focus, learning and some other traits that may surprise you. Remember, without the proper nutrition, anything else you do will be in compensation for a poor diet for your needs. So, to minimize nutrient protocols and to speed healing of any lab findings, we must have the base of nutrition as a solid foundation to build the house.

Did I mention we will have a significant discussion on how we use your genetic results with your biochemistry? I will expose how most Practitioners are using genetic effects wrong and wasting your money, time and most likely will cause problems down the road.