Why Paleo (or any specific diet) Might Not Work For You
Not Gonna Sleep Tonight
In this day and age there are so many diets available to follow. We get told that following a particular diet will help us lose weight, get six pack abs, and feel blissful 24/7.
The truth is that we all have different aspects of our physical and biochemical makeup that relates to how food will impact us. Science backs up this claim.
One example of how our individual physical and biochemical makeup can influence how we react to food is the enzyme amylase. Amylase is an enzyme found in our saliva that helps break down starch. We all have different levels of amylase and those of us with high levels can break down starch quickly and those of us with lower levels have difficulty breaking down starch. If you have higher levels of amylase, you will most likely be able to tolerate a diet higher in carbs. If you're an individual with lower levels of amylase in your saliva, your body will react poorly to carbohydrates including putting on weight easily, feeling lethargic and sleepy, as well as physically feeling ill.
The least-expensive way to figure out what type of nutrition will help you thrive is to pay attention to how you feel after you eat. If you find yourself feeling tired, putting on weight, and just not feeling motivated, it's time to readjust your nutrition. Our ways of eating influence us physically, mentally, and emotionally and what works for one person may not work for another person.
The wave of the future is individualized nutritional diets based on your individualized genetic make up, your hormone levels as well as enzyme productions, and many other biomarkers. The average consumer many not realize it but you can (and I did) have a genetic test run to give you feedback on what type of diet and exercise will optimize your health and longevity markers. Although, if I look at the results, I could have predicted many of them. Example: I'm ultra sensitive to caffeine. I already knew this due to the fact if I drink coffee after 10:00am I can't sleep that night. It's up to each of us to pay close attention to how we feel, think, and physically react to the foods we consume and make our choices from that feedback to optimize our health.
Paying attention to how food impacts you physically, mentally, and emotionally is very important for your health, maintaining a healthy weight, and also performing and feeling your best. Understanding what works for you and what doesn't is the basis of finding freedom in your diet and health.
Do your research, pay attention, use a food journal, talk with someone who specializes in this stuff and figure out how to find freedom from the mass marketing of diets and make your own individual diet to create your most healthy, thriving life!