|
|
GenoType 2
The Gatherer
Peter D'Adamo, ND, MIFHI
Copyright 2007,2008. All rights reserved.
Portions excerpted from The GenoType Diet (Broadway Books, New York, NY)
|  |
'Metabolic Type'
(Thrifty Worldview)
GenoType
Mostly Blood Type O
Some Blood Type B
 |
Gatherers carried humanity on their backs during times of famine and scarcity. They are Nature's ultimate survival strategy. Vulnerable to conserving calories as stored fat, the Gather's modern challenge is to fit their survival programming to the realities of today's overabundance of fats and sugar.
Gatherers often skirted wastelands and deserts. The genotype stretches along a broad continuum of landforms, a sort of 'junction genotype,' connecting the variations of a number of gene systems to changes in rainfall and temperature. This is what makes Gatherer so efficient and thrifty; it is able to survive the lean and sparse interregnums between migration and relocation. Because of this phenomenal adaptability Gatherer cuts a wide swath across ethnic and geographic distinctions, connecting diverse groups together via two basic reaction norms: A marked ability to survive famine, and outside of that environment, a tendency to gain weight gradually throughout their lifespan.
Gatherers are endomorphic to endo-mesomorphic somatotypes, which is not that same as saying that they are fat or obese. Endomorphic types have a greater percentage of endoderm tissues, the germ layer that goes on during fetal development to produce the thyroid, the lining of the whole of the digestive tract, the lining of all the glands which open into the digestive tube, including those of the liver, pancreas which and the follicles of the thyroid gland. Endomorphs can easily become overweight, but being and endomorph in itself is not a state of obesity. Endomorphs often have soft and round body types but that does not always mean that they are obese. Anyone can become fat --even an ectomorph, a somatotype most often thought of as long and skinny.
The combined influences of nature and nurture give Gatherers a complex psychological profile. Let’s face it, our attitudes are formed in large part by social feedback, and in Western cultures there has been a reversal of fortune for Gatherers. One hundred years ago, even industrialized societies revered voluptuous women and portly men as symbols of affluence and fertility. Today the opposite is true. Being slender is viewed as a sign of success and affluence.
Physical Profile
Gatherers are not usually very tall, and their lower legs are shorter than their upper legs. Thrifty genes tend to inhibit the activity of insulin-like growth factors, both in utero and in early childhood. Growth factors are molecules that are involved in many key aspects of development. Among their many functions, these growth factors cause the elongation of lower leg bones, and Gatherer’s typically shorter lower legs are a sign of their inhibition.
The lower leg extremity space is typically smallish and closed, usually a sure sign of a gynic endomorph. Gatherers often have very wide gonial angles which tends to give the women an oval like appearance to the face, which in combination with their voluptuous body shape often make for stunningly beautiful people. Not surprisingly, since in the days before our current fat phobia, these women would have been viewed as highly fit and desirable, most likely since they possessed above average fertility and could survive in a host of potentially life threatening environments.
Gatherers are typically 'gynic,' exhibiting tendencies associated with above average estrogenic stimulation in the womb. Gatherers almost always have long index fingers compared to ring fingers, indicating high levels of estrogen in the womb. Other signs of estrogenic influence are the narrow interior space between the legs, and a wider, rounder jaw angle. Asymmetry is another characteristic of the Gatherer. These often show up by one hand having different fingerprint and palm patterns than the other. In particular, Gatherer women tend to have visible differences in the size of their breasts. The index fingers are typically longer that the ring fingers in most Gatherers.
Gatherer is closest to what is called Kapha in the Ayurveda system of body classification. People with the Kapha constitution have a strong tendency to have regular appetites and carry excess weight. Their chests are expanded and broad. The veins and tendons of Kapha people are not obvious because of their thick skin. Kapha often have good complexions with soft, lustrous skin. Their hair is often thick, dark, soft and wavy. Their eyes are very intense, the white of the eye generally very white. Psychologically, they tend to be tolerant, calm, forgiving and loving. Their comprehension is consistent and deep: once they understand something, that knowledge is retained.
We’ve all seen how Gatherer genotypes loose weight. Just think of any person who you knew both before and after a period of extreme weight loss, the folks who looked and felt miserable after loosing all that weight were Gatherer genotypes, especially if after their big weight loss they develop darkish puffy bags under their eyes.
Metabolic Profile
The Gatherer's metabolic thriftiness, such a survival asset in ancient times of scarcity comes with a price to pay. It doesn’t fit the lifestyle of the modern industrialized world, with its amply and inexpensively available carbohydrates and fats. The vast majority of these excess carbohydrates and fats will be taken out of the bloodstream and stored, stored. However, Gatherers are usually so good at taking sugar out of the bloodstream and storing it, that they essentially spend most of their time a permanent state of hypoglycemia. They suffer on two accounts: first the energy sources are stored instead of burnt, resulting in weight gain, and second they don’t get the 'reward' of having consumed these nutrients because they are removed so efficiently from the blood stream that the brain and muscle tissue fails to get their fair share second.
This eventually fractures the relationship between food and appetite to the point that Gatherer begins to eat simply to feel better rather than as any result of hunger signaling. The effects are chronic and serious. Gathererers can easily develop disturbances of their carbohydrate regulation and insulin sensitivity resulting in metabolic syndrome X and 'diabesity.' It is a slippery sloop from there leading to artery disease, kidney disease and premature aging. Gatherers usually manifest the physical signs of thriftiness.
Aging Profile
Because Gatherers are so good at storing fat, they can be more at risk of accumulating of man-made chemicals called xenobiotics -a term that literally means 'foreign to life.' Virtually all man-made chemicals are xenobiotic. Principal xenobiotics include drugs, carcinogens and various compounds that have been introduced into the environment by artificial means, such as pesticides, fertilizers and hydrocarbons. Periodic detoxification is a great way to prevent these complications from developing.
Gatherers are great 'glycators'. Glycation is a kind of caramelization process that happens in your body, greatly resembling the caramelizing of an onion or an apple. It occurs when a sugar molecule--such as fructose, from fruit, or glucose, from refined grains--binds to a protein and damages it. The damaged protein interferes with organ function, blood profusion, hormone receptivity, and kidney function, and it might cause cataracts and neuron damage as well.
This genotype ages moderately well, especially if they manage to keep their metabolic requirements met without the intake of unnecessary or other wise harmful calories and they manage to prevent long term damage to their assimilative systems. Their major challenge is to prevent of minimize the development of Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs), complexes of sugars and fats or sugars and proteins that were not the results of the body’s enzyme activity, but instead a byproduct of defunct cellular metabolism. The best know AGE are the results of what scientists call the Maillard Reaction, or what all those cooking shows term “caramelizing.” A genome programmed for thriftiness coupled with the abundance of simple sugars almost guarantees that Gatherers will reach middle age fully caramelized. AGEs tend to inhibit proper cell signaling and cause deposition of amyloidal compounds in the brain tissue; this can lead to cognitive problems later in life.
AGEs have been implicated in atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and Alzheimer's. Increased levels of AGE molecules also creates inflammation, as well as the universal symptoms of aging: reduced organ function, weakened lungs, compromised blood vessels, general reduction in blood flow, and a loss of collagen under the skin, a.k.a. wrinkles.
Immune Profile
Gatherers are typically blood type O, although a few type B's are also Gatherers, especially if the are type and either non-secretors or of African ancestry. Gatherers typically have strong immune systems. However, there are specific weaknesses which should be addressed. Because of the extra-estrogenic activity during fetal development, there are slightly greater odds of problems with the reproductive organs, especially estrogen-dependent cancers. When they do strike, reproductive cancers tend to afflict Gatherer women earlier in life.
We’ve all seen GT2 Gatherers on weight-loss programs. Just think of any person you knew both before and after a period of extreme weight loss. Those who looked the worst and felt the most miserable after dropping all of that weight were Gatherers, especially those who developed puffy darkened bags under their eyes as a bonus to go with their newly svelte figures.
To understand this we must first realize that the Gatherer's great thriftiness comes with a major metabolic price to be paid. As they scavenge and store every bit of carbohydrate and simple sugar that comes their way, two characteristics unfold. The first is that the vast majority of those carbohydrates will be stored, typically as triglycerides and glycerol, a type of anti-freeze; and the second that this tremendous efficiency at removing and storing carbohydrates from the blood will often leave Gatherers in a state of hypoglycemia. Thus they suffer on two accounts, the first is that the energy sources are stored instead of burnt, resulting in weight gain; the second that they do not even have the reward of having consumed these nutrients, since they are removed so efficiently from the blood stream that their brain and muscle tissue fail to get their fair share. Thus they need to eat more, but the same results ensue.
In reality, the best thing Gatherers can do for their dietary health is to eat enough food. However while Gatherers need to consume enough food, it also has to be the right kind of food. They must learn not simply how to cut calories, but also which specific foods do the healing -- and the GenoType 2 Gatherers diet and GenoType supplements will help them do just that. |
 |
Gatherer Supplementation
Gatherer Activator
Gatherer Activator is rich in herbs which minimize tissue glycation and healthy blood sugar control.
Gatherer Activator Supplement Strategy:
- Carnosine: Carnosine is a small molecule composed of the amino acids histidine and alanine. Carnosine is found in relatively high concentrations in several body tissues—most notably in skeletal muscle, heart muscle, nerve tissue and brain. Studies indicate that carnosine has antioxidant potential. Carnosine has been called a longevity nutrient since laboratory studies indicate that it can delay glycation damage and tissue senescence and provoke cellular rejuvenation.
- Yerba Mate: This Amazon herb contains theobromine, the mood-lifting xanthine also present in chocolate, helps to naturally enhance one's mood. Yerba mate is in extensive use in South America where it is used as a coffee substitute to enhance sustained energy, appetite control and mental clarity. Yerba Mate is also one of the best herbs at keeping tissue glycation at healthy levels.
- Salacia: The herb Salacia Oblogna Root has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of blood sugar imbalances. Salacia plays an important role in supporting natural carbohydrate metabolism and in maintaining the homeostasis of lipid metabolism. The inhibition of these substances is thought to decrease blood glucose levels.
- Quercetin: A powerful natural antioxidant, quercetin has beneficial effects on the proper processing of sugar, removing byproducts and enhancing tissue health.
Click To Purchase Gatherer Activator
|
 |
Gatherer Catalyst
Gatherer Catalyst is a combination of Coleus Forskohlii Root Extract, Magnolia Bark (Houpu) and Salvia (Dan Shen). It is designed to provide: A broad spectrum of cell normalization support, help the body's ability to achieve relief from occasional stress and provide powerful anti-oxidant protection.
Gatherer Catalyst Strategy:
- Magnolia Extract: Magnolia bark (Magnolia officinalis) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for thousands of years to treat "stagnation of qi" (low energy), help ease digestion, and support emotional well-being. Our Magnolia Extract is a standardized herbal extract made from the bark of the Magnolia officinalis tree. Research has indicated that magnolia extract has a calming effect and helps reduce occasional tension in part by binding to adenosine and GABA receptors. In addition, animal studies suggest that magnolia extract may promote positive mood and calm occasional physical and emotional stress. because of its cortisol modulating effects, Magnolia may help with contolling binge eating when stressed.
- Coleus forskohlii: Coleus forskohlii root extract causes a shift from a more fatty body mass to a more lean body mass, which improves overall health.
- Lipoic Acid: Lipoic Acid is found inside every cell of the body, where it helps generate the energy that keeps us alive and functioning. Lipoic acid is a key part of the metabolic machinery that turns glucose (blood sugar) into energy for the body's needs. Lipoic acid is an antioxidant, which means that it neutralizes naturally occurring but harmful chemicals known as free radicals.
- Methylcobalamin:This is the 'biologically active' form of vitamin B12. Methylcobalamine helps promote proper nerve function, helps strengthen the blood, and enhances DNA repair (methylation).
- Iodine: Iodine from kelp (Fucus vesiculosis) helps normlize the thyroid andenhance the metabolism. Many “kelp” and “bladder wrack” supplements are not Fucus vesiculosis, and are not as effective. Fucus blocks many lectins from attaching to the body's cells. Our Fucus product is the highest quality, organic, freeze dried, and unlike the tinctures, high in fucose.
Click To Purchase Gatherer Catalyst
|
 |
Gatherer Synergist
Gatherer Synergist was designed to offset their metabolic thrifty tendencies by enhance muscle growth and increasing insulin sensitivity. The best lipid source for this activity is Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA).
Gatherer Synergist Supplement Strategy:
- Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) CLA reduces fat and preserves muscle tissue. According to the research project manager, an average reduction of six pounds of body fat was found in the group that took CLA, compared to a placebo group. CLA has been shown to decrease abdominal fat and lowers insulin resistance. CLA also enhances the immune system -- many studies have shown that CLA seems to possess sginificant cancer preventive effects.
Click To Purchase Gatherer Synergist
|
|
1-866-373-6476
