We’ve all seen it. A friend tries a new diet. She loses all sorts of weight, finds renewed energy and zest for life. At her urging you try it and nothing, or worse yet, you gain weight and feel more tired than ever. What gives?
I recently found a very good answer to this question after many years of searching. It’s called your disease type. Traditional healing systems see disease as an expression of imbalance. Thus, by eating and caring for yourself in a way that keeps you in balance, you stay healthy.
There are eight disease types, or ways in which your body can go out of balance. Everyone has one of them. Simply put, there are eight ways of eating and taking care of you. Only one of them is right for you. This explains why the diet that works for your friend doesn’t work for you. She just happened to find a diet that keeps her disease type in balance.
How Fast Does Your Motor Run?
One clue to your disease type is the speed of your metabolism. There are three metabolic types, catabolic, anabolic and mixed.
• Catabolic types have a speedy metabolism. They need adequate protein in their diet to slow their metabolic rate, maintain their body structure and feel grounded and centered. These types are often hungry soon after eating or like to graze throughout the day. They generally do not do well as vegetarians.
• Anabolic types have a slow metabolism. They often easily skip meals. Too much protein makes them feel heavy or gain weight. They are often natural vegetarians.
• Mixed is exactly that, a blend of the disease types that change with the season.
The Eight Disease Types
The three metabolic types break down into the eight disease types or ways of going out of balance. Each disease type has acupuncture meridians that tend to go out of balance, a tissue type and season that tends to be affected.
|
Disease Type |
Metabolic Type |
Meridians |
Tissue |
Season |
|
Heat |
Catabolic |
Heart/Small Intestine |
Bone |
Summer |
|
Cold |
Anabolic |
Brain/Triple Warmer/Pericardium |
Blood |
Winter |
|
Light |
Catabolic |
Gall Bladder/Governing Vessel |
Bone Marrow |
Late Summer/Fall |
|
Heavy |
Anabolic |
Liver/Conception Vessel |
Fat |
Late Winter/Spring |
|
Dry |
Catabolic |
Stomach/Spleen |
Muscle |
Fall |
|
Oily |
Anabolic |
Kidney/Bladder |
Reproductive |
Late Winter/Spring |
|
Mixed |
Mixed |
Lungs/Large Intestine |
Lymph |
----- |
|
Karmic |
Mixed |
------ |
------ |
----- |
It’s a Matter of Taste
A key to remaining balanced is eating the right tastes for your disease type. Each of the six tastes, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent, has a unique effect on you. In addition to diet self-care practices such as homeopathy, acupressure, hatha yoga postures, breathing practices, aromatherapy, mantra and yantra can bring further balance your disease type.
Taste Metabolic Action Other Actions Example Sweet Anabolic Nourishing, builds structure Pumpkin, lettuce, milk, butter, most grains and meats Sour Anabolic Promotes Digestion and Elimination pickles, sauerkraut, miso, citrus and strawberries Salty Anabolic Cooling, increasing fluid flow (cleansing), stimulating digestion Seaweeds and salt Bitter Catabolic Detoxifying and lightening Kale, arugula, endive and dandelion Astringent Catabolic Drying, contracting Spinach, celery, green tea, chicken and fish Pungent Catabolic Warming Cinnamon, turmeric, basil, oregano, radishes, quinoa and tempeh.
A System of Self-Care with Many Roots
Disease type brings together elements of many healing traditions including Ayurveda, Vedic astrology, acupuncture, homeopathy, yoga and aromatherapy, yet does so in its own way. The founder of this method studied these methods quite deeply and drew new conclusions. The result is a highly predictive and effective method to health and happiness that does not always conform to the traditions from which it arises. For instance, the way of determining proper diet in traditional Ayurveda is different from disease type and may yield a different result than disease type.
How is Disease Type Determined?
Disease type is a human archetype, or pattern noted throughout human history. It is determined by the configuration of the planets at the time and place you are born. This goes to show just how much we are affected by energies around us. Disease type sometimes can be determined by medical history or pulse-taking. It is most easily and accurately determined by your birth information.
Learn Your Disease Type
Dr. Klug is offering consultations in disease type. Contact our office (left sidebar) to schedule. Have your date of birth, exact time from your birth records and place of birth ready.
This article appeared in Dr. Klug's monthly column, The Doctor Cooks, in the March 2008 issue of the Kansas City Wellness Magazine, www.kcwellnessmagazine.com.
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