Brief history

Metabolic Typing has been scientifically and technologically developed throughout the last 80 years, however, it is important to acknowledge that 'individuality' or 'types' have been recognised for thousands of years. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayuvedic Medicine and the Ancient Greek and Roman Doctors all incorporated 'types' into their healing methods.

Brief History of Metabolic Typing

In the 1930's Dr. Western Price travelled the world to study foods eaten by isolated traditional cultures and tribes after documenting an increase in degenerative diseases in his patients in the USA. He discovered that, despite a huge variation in the types of diets, as long as people stayed with their traditional ancestral diet they would be free from degenerative diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

For instance, Eskimos maintain excellent health on a very high fat intake, while some traditional tribes in Africa and South America survived on a high carbohydrate diet with an abundance of health and equal absence of disease. There was no 'generic' diet that led to optimum health.

Through adaptation, people developed to thrive on their naturally available foods, over many generations vast biochemical differences developed between cultures. Although we may be able to go back a few hundred years, it is virtually impossible to pinpoint the location of our ancestors say 5000 years ago, so it is equally impossible to predict what our 'traditional' diet would have been. This is particularly true of Northern Europe, America and Australia, which are virtual 'melting pots' of different cultures and origins.

While the Palaeolithic or 'caveman' diet does warrant merit, it does not account for the great disparity in traditional diets from different parts of the world.

During the 1940's and 50's Dr. Roger Williams developed the concept of 'biochemical individuality' and determined that "metabolic profiles" were needed to effectively evaluate and treat patients with nutrition. Williams was a prestigious researcher of his time and his institute was responsible for many nutritional discoveries including some of the B Vitamins, sadly much of his pioneering work on biochemical individuality was ignored by mainstream medicine.

William Kelley then came into the picture in the late 60's and 70's. One of the primary topics Kelley addressed was the way the Autonomic Nervous System 'ANS' could be used to identify people's individual nutritional needs. Kelley developed on the work of earlier researchers Francis Pottenger and Royal Lee, who, during the 30's and 40's had conducted groundbreaking research on the ANS.

Kelley moved away form the traditional approach of treating symptoms, to one of treating people. He believed that isolating health problems and treating them independently would not offer a long term solution. Incidentally, Kelley was able to overcome pancreatic cancer in the 1960's with his dietary techniques.

By the late 70's he was using the ANS as a foundation for classifying people into metabolic types, each with varying nutritional protocols. His tremendous success brought him an excellent reputation, he was over whelmed with patients, many of whom the doctors had given up on, and set up the International Health Institute so others could learn form him and many more people could be helped.

Also in the 70's, a brilliant clinical psychologist, Dr. George Watson, come to the conclusion that biochemical imbalances were at the root of many psychological problems, and that he needed to address underlying metabolic disturbances in order to help his patients.

Watson, however, wasn't classifying people based on their ANS, but rather on their Cellular Oxidation. By prescribing foods and nutrients to balance oxidation rate, he was able to help with many conditions including depression, mood swings, agitation, erratic behaviour and concentration disorders.

William Wolcott, who had worked extensively with Kelley, combined the findings of Kelley and Watson to develop what is now known as Metabolic Typing. Wolcott's major breakthrough came in 1983 when he discovered what is termed the 'Dominance Factor', that EITHER the Oxidative System OR the ANS will have the greater influence on metabolism and will determine metabolic individuality.

Since then, through continued research and investigation, other pieces of the biochemical 'puzzle' have fallen into place and a further 7 fundamental homeostatic control system have been identified.

  • Electrolyte/Fluid Balance
  • Blood Type
  • Endocrine Type
  • Prostaglandin Balance
  • Constitutional Type
  • Acid/Alkaline Type
  • Catabolic/Anabolic Balance

Metabolic Typing exists because of the culmination of over eighty years of pioneering discoveries including works from physicians, biochemists, dentists, physiologists, clinical nutritionists and psychologists. It is a continually evolving and extremely exciting academic discipline.

For further details about these researchers and their work see resources page.