So, Health Canada has recently come out with a new food guide. In my opinion, this is well overdue and is a great improvement from the old food guide. The old food guide recommended 6 -8 servings of grains a day! In today’s society most of these products are now filled with sugar and wheat products that are very hard on most peoples’ digestive systems. So, in my opinion the old food guide was a great way to help you gain weight and feel bloated.
Keeping the majority of your meals made up of vegetables and fruits is a great guideline to follow as well as keeping your grains to a quarter of your plate. In the end, remember that this is always just a guideline. If every person in the world was to follow the exact same thing would we each individually feel our greatest and perform our best? NO. I am sure for a majority of the population that eats highly processed foods and refined sugar products they would see drastic changes since any change in the right direction from that type of lifestyle would be beneficial.
If we really want to focus in and eat properly I believe there is no one size fits all when it comes to nutrition. If everyone was vegan would we all feel amazing and perform our best? If everyone was paleo would we all be at our best? I truly believe we must eat depending on our OWN unique primal pattern diet type. What does Primal Pattern Diet Type mean? Primal Pattern Diet Type is “a system for identifying your optimal starting point for fine tuning your macronutrient (animal to plant food) ratios. Today, this not so easily done because in the past 1,000 years there has been an increase in racial mixing as we’ve become progressively more mobile. Only a few hundred years ago, it was normal for people to live their entire life without meeting any other significantly different race (and therefore genes which affect your diet type). Today, people in coldest climate thrive on about 90% animal foods: 10% plant foods could mate with others in warm climates eating the opposite ratio of about 90% plant foods 10% animal foods. Their offspring could have a phenotype akin to the mother, the fathers, or require a range of nutrients far broader than either parent alone! This can create some interesting dietary challenges because of the variances in phenotype among races with such radically different environmental demands on their genes” (Paul Chek). This is why one specific approach to nutrition does not fit all.
The Three Categories of Diet Type:
Polar Type
The Polar Type come from regions closer to the North or South poles of earth. These people had higher requirements for animal flesh (as fat and protein sources) because ground freezes and typically plants don’t grow on ice! These people can be Eskimos, Scandinavian, English, Scottish, or Irish people to name a few. Polar Types are more protein type and typically have a meal plan that provides two servings of flesh foods for every serving of plant based food.
Equatorial Type
These are the people who live in warmer regions where the ground is unlikely to freeze in the winter. These people have year-round access to fruits and vegetables that makes them less dependent on animal flesh. The equatorial type is more of a carbohydrate type and primarily live on plant foods and little flesh foods. This type should start by eating equal plant and animal foods.
Variable Type
These people come from mixed families and often have a wide range of nutrient needs. Factors such as weather and stress can have an effect on what type this individual will be at certain times of the day. They may be a protein type at breakfast and a carbohydrate type at dinner.
All in all, the new food guide is a great start but just like a workout or training plan … one size does not fit all. Find the fit that works for YOU.
Next Steps?
If you are looking for more information on what Primal Pattern Type you may be or how to start creating a better lifestyle for yourself check out our NEW Holistic Lifestyle Coaching Program on our website!
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