Why Different People Need Different Diets

This was an article series originally published for Breathe Together Yoga. 

Have you ever wondered why discussions about what to eat can get so intense? And can be incredibly polarizing? Vegan versus paleo, cooked versus raw… One reason is that food is part of our tradition and our identity, and most people feel very strongly about this. The other reason is that people are different, and indeed need different diets. 

Part 1

One of the first people who wrote about this was Weston A. Price, a dentist from Cleveland. In the 1930s, after seeing photos of indigenous people with straight teeth, he traveled around the world to find out whether these people were as healthy as they looked. What he found was that indigenous people were extremely healthy with nearly perfect teeth as long as they stayed on their indigenous diet, and interestingly, these diets all looked very different. 

Many tribes ate a balanced diet based on plant and animal foods. For example, the basic diet of the Gaelic people living on Scottish islands consisted of fish and oats. On the other hand, isolated Swiss people lived mainly on cheese and rye bread. 

Diets of other tribes were more targeted towards animal or plant foods. An example of a more animal-based diet are the Inuit people, who ate mainly fish and seal oil. The native Masai and the Muhima Tribe of Uganda are primarily cattle-raising people who lived mainly on milk, blood, and meat. Meanwhile, other African tribes, such as the Baitu Tribe of Ruanda and the Wanande Tribe of Begian Congo, lived largely on a lacto-vegetarian diet based on sweet potatoes, cereals, bananas, and dairy products from cattle and goats. The South Sea Islander ate more of a vegetarian diet supplemented by seafood. 

Despite their different diets and the fact that they did not brush their teeth (nor were there any dentists around), all these people had barely any cavities, they did not need braces or glasses, they could withstand harsh weather, were not prone to infections, and were happy people. The Inuit didn’t even know the word for depression. The elderly among the tribes that ate a traditional diet were mentally clear and still strong enough to contribute to daily tasks. 

But, once indigenous people started to eat a Western diet based on refined foods (white sugar, white flour, refined oils, refined salt), they started to have health problems like any other Westerner, including rotten teeth (which caused so much suffering, as the dentist profession began only after the exposure to modern food). In the next generation, deformed dental arches, mental disorders like anxiety, and low immunity against infectious diseases, for instance tuberculosis, were rampant. 

Dr. Price worked very academically to analyze mineral and vitamin content in the diets of primitive people. He also examined the acid-base content and found that some diets were more alkaline while others more acidic. This was a fact he did not look into further, as his belief was that the high mineral and vitamin content of the diet alone guaranteed optimal health. 

Part 2

While the diets of the primitive people Dr. Price examined were very different (some alkaline-forming, others more acidic, etc.), he still found certain common principles those diets followed. Besides being a whole-food, organic diet with no refined foods, such as white sugar, white flour, refined oils, and refined salts, the quality of the food was superior. For example, dairy was always raw and full fat from cattle and sheep grazing on grass, exposed to sunlight. While pasteurization kills enzymes and beneficial bacteria, fermentation, or souring, increases the amount of enzymes and beneficial bacteria, partially breaks down lactose, and pre-digests casein (a difficult-to-digest protein in dairy).

Sweeteners and salt were unrefined, meaning they came with vitamins and minerals needed for digestion. While our modern table salt consists of 98 percent sodium chloride and 2 percent fillers, natural salts consist of around 15 percent of other, much-needed minerals besides sodium chloride, with sometimes 80 or more different trace minerals.

The diet of primitive people was very nutrient dense. Dr. Price analyzed that in comparison to the average American diet, traditional diets contained 10 times more fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K2, and four times the minerals and water-soluble vitamins.

Primitive people put great care in preparing grains, seeds, and legumes. Soaking, sprouting, and fermenting not only neutralizes anti-nutrients (like phytic acid) and enzyme inhibitors, but also increases certain vitamins, especially B-vitamins. While breads raised on baker’s yeast are produced much quicker, a lengthy sourdough fermentation pre-digests carbohydrates and breaks down gluten in some breads, even to the point that it is not detectable anymore. Some tribes even fermented starchy roots, like the Hawaiians do with the taro root to prepare poi.

All primitive cultures cooked some (or most) of their food, but they always ate some of their foods raw (such as cheese, kefir, cured meats, sauerkraut, chutneys, and egg dishes). This guaranteed a high level of enzymes and beneficial bacteria.

Traditional cultures never ate a high protein or low-fat diet. If carbohydrates were low, then the fat content was high. Dr. Price found that the fat content varied between 30 and 80 percent of calories. For instance, the isolated Swiss people ate a lot of animal fat in the form of dairy, cheese, and butter daily, but they only ate meat once a week. The high animal fat was a source of the fat-soluble vitamins.

When eating meat, indigenous people ate the whole animal, including organ meats and broth made of bones. Organ meats are very nutrient dense and were very much appreciated. For example, Canadian Indians prevented scurvy by eating certain organ meats of the moose they hunted. The amino acid profile of bone broth compliments the acid profile from muscle meat, both being building blocks for the whole body. And, not only does bone broth deliver collagen for healthy bones and joints (our bones consist of 28 percent collagen!), but collagen also improves gut health, which, overall, improves immunity and mental health. (This is why we turn to chicken soup when suffering from the flu.)

Very nutrient-dense foods, including fish roe (Andes), bone marrow (Alaskan natives), butter produced from cows grazing on spring pasture (Switzerland), and fermented shark liver oil (South Sea Islanders), were considered sacred and often reserved for growing children, parents-to-be, and pregnant women because of their high vitamin and mineral content. They were considered essential building blocks to guarantee perfect health in future generations!

Part 3

While the work of Dr. Weston A. Price is well known (albeit, often misinterpreted as synonymous with a purely-meat diet), findings from other scientists in the nutritional field are less known.

For instance, Physician Francis Pottenger, Sr. was a pioneer describing the function of the autonomic nervous system, around the same time as Dr. Price’s career. The autonomic nerves directly control all internal organs and its functions; including, heart rate, immune function, endocrine system, and all digestion. It consists of two parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Each branch contains its own nerves connecting to the same organs and glands; however, each produces opposite effects. Simply put, the sympathetic branch activates the fight-or-flight response, increasing heart rate. This results in more blood pumping to the brain (for quick thinking) and muscles (for quick movement), while the immune system and digestion slows down. When the parasympathetic nerves fire, the opposite happens: heart rate slows down, and the immune system and digestion is turned on. This is the regeneration system of the body which is especially active during sleep and rest. In reality, this is a very complex system with both branches working together in synergy and allowing us to adapt to any situation in life.

Over many years of close observation, Dr. Pottenger found that not all people were born with a balanced autonomic nervous system. Some of his patients were born sympathetic dominant or parasympathetic dominant. He observed that these three different groups (the balanced type, dominant sympathetic, and dominant parasympathetic) reacted to different nutrients – such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium – in different ways. Dr. Pottenger used these three nutrients to bring an imbalanced autonomic nervous system back into balance, which helped his patients’ conditions improve.

Dr. William Kelley, a dentist that cured himself of pancreatic cancer during the 1960s, went even deeper into nutritional healing. He had so much success with his nutritional approach that he became somewhat famous – not by the mainstream media or medical system, but by health-seeking patients that had given up on by the allopathic medical system. Continuing the work of Dr. Pottenger, over many years of clinical observation, based on the autonomic nervous system, he defined ten different metabolic types.

Not only did Dr. Kelley distinguish between balanced, sympathetic dominant, and parasympathetic dominant patients (and their different nutritional needs), he also took into account the efficiency of the autonomic nervous system. While he observed that some people thrived on a nearly all-raw, plant-based diet, he had patients who needed most of their food cooked to heal from their ailments. Some couldn’t tolerate leafy greens or citrus, but regularly needed fatty, red meat; while others thrived on unlimited fruit with barely any meat but lots of plant-based foods.

Dr. Kelley’s belief was that the sympathetic dominants originated from warm regions with a long growing season, for which the land produced a rich supply of grains and vegetables, plus a lot of pasture for dairy products. These people did well on a more vegetarian diet. On the other hand, the parasympathetic dominants came from northern regions with a very short growing season, and these people survived and thrived on a meat-based diet with little plants. The balanced types originated from the regions between, where a wide variety of foods, including grains, roots, meats, and fish, were available. [quote]People from different regions adapted to their local food supply with their different nutritional profile, and, as long as they ate what their ancestors ate, enjoyed optimal health and well-being.

Part 4

To answer this, it may help to look back at our great, great ancestors. Where did they come from? What did they mainly eat? Grains? Seafood? Meat? Dairy products? Sometimes the information about our heritage isn’t available or too in-depth. Or, perhaps we are a mix of different cultures. In that case, we can check-in with ourselves: What do I like to eat? True vegetarians hate the thought of eating meat. On the other hand, if omnivores don’t get enough meat, they dream of bacon and pot roast.

Our diet depends on our state of wellbeing. If we are healthy, then it is good to check-in with how we are feeling on a daily basis. If we are unhealthy, we’ll notice that our cravings can be misleading. According to Ayurveda, you tend to eat what state you are in. A healthy person craves healthy food, while a not-so-healthy person might crave unhealthy food. This is why our dietary history can be a reason for not eating what our body really needs to thrive. For instance, if we’ve avoided fat for a long time, our body is not used to producing enough bile because it was not needed. Once we slowly introduce fat again, the body will become better able to digest it.

Occasionally, the quest for finding our lifestyle diet leads us on a detour where, in comparison to what we ate before, we might feel much better for awhile, and also heal certain conditions. But, long-term, we might run into other problems such as chronic fatigue, demonstrating that something is missing from our diet. Typically, people who need both complex carbohydrates and animal protein are the ones to experiment with more extreme diets – which are not a sustainable solution.

An example of a detour can be going vegan for awhile, for instance while detoxing. Generally speaking, vegan food has more of a cleansing property, while animal foods are more nourishing. (*Note: Animal food, such as bone broth, can be cleansing, while vegan snacks can be strengthening.) Another example is someone who suffers from a candida overgrowth are likely to crave sweets and simple carbohydrates, as that is what the candida feeds on. An out-of-balance microbiome, or dysbiosis, can be the reason for many cravings (not to mention, a wide variety of mental and physical disorders). One solution might be to try the GAPS diet or the Autoimmune Paleo diet, focusing on easy-to-digest proteins like bone broth and cooked meats, and avoiding complex carbohydrates.

Besides our ability to physically digest food, we should also ask ourselves whether we follow certain dogmas (i.e. fat, meat, dairy, grains, or legumes are “bad,” etc.). However, as outlined before, indigenous people thrived on all kinds of food. There is no such thing as a “bad” food; there are only a few questions to ask: What is the quality of the food? Is it right for me, and if so, to which quantity?

For reference and further reading, check out Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price, D.D.S. and Nutrition and The Autonomic Nervous System by Nicholas J. Gonzalez, M.D.