Dear Readers,

How can you discover which foods are most supportive for you? This month I provide tips for exploring this topic and improving your nutrition.

Myrrh Essential Oil is native to the Arabian Peninsula and often associated with Christmas.

Are you a Balanced body type? Take the quick quiz to see if you might be a Balanced body type.


As always, I hope and trust that these newsletters help you enjoy a happier, healthier life.


Health and Happiness,
Dr. Carolyn Mein

How Do I Know Which Foods Are Best For Me?

Are You a Balanced Body Type?

Myrrh Essential Oil

Knowing what foods are best for you is a very individual question. What works for your friends or family members probably isn’t optimum for you.

At times it may seem there is a plethora of conflicting information about what foods are most supportive and which diets work, but the reality is that people have very different nutritional needs and they tend to write about what works best for them.

My own journey to discover what foods work best for me took me off the path of conventional thinking of the time, and into self-experimentation. I then worked with patients in my private practice, discovering that people with the same body type share the same nutritional patterns. This journey culminated with the release of “Different Bodies, Different Diets.” Let’s explore some ideas you can try yourself.


Listen to your Body

How do you feel after a meal? If the meal was nutritionally supportive for you, then you should feel alert, energetic and focused. If you’re yawning, or feel lethargic, then it wasn’t supportive, or is too much work for your body to digest and assimilate. Gas, bloating, stomach pain, body aches, and belching are clues that something you ate is causing digestive difficulty. Craving sweets shortly after a meal is also a sign that your body is having difficulty digesting.

So, how do you interpret these signs? Being a little lethargic after having chicken, rice and broccoli for lunch does not necessarily mean that one or all 3 of those items are “bad for you”, so don’t rush to conclusions. There are other factors as I will discuss below.


How to Experiment

If you are listening to your body, you can experiment with different foods. To reach solid conclusions, consider these factors:

• Time of day – foods that are stressful to your digestive system in the morning may actually be supportive if eaten for dinner. Time of day makes a difference. And it may apply to a category of food rather than a specific item. For example, some people have trouble with all forms of dense protein (meat, fish, etc.) at breakfast while others have difficulty consuming them later in the day.
• Food combinations – I’ve discovered some surprises when it comes to unsupportive foods becoming supportive when combined with certain other foods – more on that below.
• Cooked vs. raw – I have found that some people show sensitivity to vegetables based on whether they are raw or not; so if you think that specific vegetables are not supportive for you when raw, then try them steamed.
• Quality – foods that bloat or tire you may actually be supportive, but problematic for another reason. For example, some people are especially sensitive to chemicals and will experience these side effects because of the chemicals, not the meat or produce itself, if not organic or “clean” (chemical free).

Let’s look at each of these factors in more depth.


Times of Day

The best time of day to eat certain foods is the biggest factor for most people. We do not share the same metabolic patterns. Digestion takes energy, and different body types have different amounts of energy throughout the day.

Fruit is a prime example. While fruit is a whole food, it’s also high in sucrose (sugar). Do you experience a “crash” after having a smoothie made with fruit juice? If you eat fruit just before a workout, do you tire more quickly? Try fruit at different times of day to see what works for you.

Protein is another food category where I see a range of responses. Some people get an energetic boost after having dense protein – such as steak and eggs – for breakfast, while others will find it stimulates their adrenal glands and results in their snacking and hungry the rest of the day. Some people can thrive on having a salad for lunch, while others will feel like an afternoon nap unless they have dense protein at lunch.

So when experimenting, consider the time of day, and look for patterns based on food type in addition to specific food items.


Food Combinations & Variations

Interestingly enough, I have found that foods that are otherwise unsupportive become supportive in certain combinations.

Most food combinations are specific to body type. For example, while turkey is supportive for most, one body type needs to have celery, mustard or bacon with it in order for it to be supportive, while another body type needs to add cranberries (that body type also needs to add tomato, salsa or ketchup to eggs). And there is a body type that has difficulty digesting beef – except when it’s combined with egg.


Cooked vs. Raw Vegetables

When it comes to vegetables, cooked vs. raw is a surprisingly important factor, which varies greatly by body type.

Some do best with cooked vegetables for lunch but raw vegetables at dinner, and for others it’s the opposite. Some need to consume fats with raw vegetables in order to assist digestion. And with some, it varies depending upon the specific vegetable.

Why is this true? Because the cooking process changes the chemical composition of vegetables. When raw, they contain a higher ratio of potassium to sodium; after cooking or steaming, the sodium is more prominent, and that is problematic for certain body types.

When evaluating vegetables, try them both raw and cooked, and at different meals, to see what works best for you.


Or … Take the Easy Route

If you don’t want to do all this experimentation for yourself, I have good news for you. All the factors described above are consistent by body type, and 40 years’ of my research has produced the 25 Body Type SystemTM. For less than $20 you can take the body type test and receive a 60-page ebook detailing the specific foods that are most and least supportive for you, best times of day to eat (or not eat) certain foods, sample menus, how to lose weight (one diet does not “fit all”), and even a personality profile. The body type test can be purchased as a gift for a loved one.

Determining your body type is easy using my online body type test

Oils Lookup Subscription as a Gift

Oils Lookup was designed as a quick, convenient way to see how to clear an emotion based on "Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils." It's accessible on-the-go from your phone, tablet or computer. Not familiar with Oils Lookup? Try it yourself for free.

Women with Balanced body type can range from petite to tall, with small to medium bone structure, and a defined waist. They characteristically are either long-waisted with short-to-average legs, or short-waisted with long legs. Buttocks appear somewhat flat due to blending into thighs. Initial weight gain occurs in upper thighs, lower abdomen and waist, and hips.	Men with Balanced body type can range from average to very tall, often with wide hips. They are characterized by either a long torso with short legs, or short torso with long legs. Shoulders may be even with, to moderately broader than, hips. A natural abdominal layer may hide muscular definition in the torso even with exercise.
Pictures of Women's Body Types	Pictures of Men's Body Types
Celebrities with Balanced Body Type include Alicia Keys, Jessica Biel, Ryan Seacrest, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bradley Cooper, Katy Perry, Bill Clinton, Deepak Chopra, Chelsea Handler, Jamie Foxx, Fred Astaire, Tina Turner, Liberace, John F. Kennedy, Ryan Reynolds, Justin Trudeau, and Jessica Simpson.

Don’t know your body type yet?
Determining your body type is easy using my online body type test:

Women's Body Type Video

Men's Body Type Video

The Myrrh tree is native to the Arabian peninsula, and produces an aromatic sap. Myrrh essential oil promotes spiritual awareness and reflection. Its rich, smoky, balsamic aroma is helpful during mediation and yoga.

Myrrh is an ingredient in many skin care products, as it moisturizes and cleanses the skin.

Myrrh is a powerful antioxidant, is anti--tumoral, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-parasitic and analgesic/anesthetic. It is used for diabetes, cancer, hepatitis, fungal infections (Candida, ringworm, eczema), tooth/gum infections, and skin conditions (chapped, cracked, wrinkles, stretch marks).

Myrrh contains sesquiterpenes which stimulate the limbic system of the brain (the center of memory and emotions) and the hypothalamus, pineal and pituitary glands. The hypothalamus is the master gland of the human body, producing many vital hormones including thyroid and growth hormone.

Emotions associated with Myrrh are fear of Facing the World and Difficulty. The fear of Facing the World is stored in the Adrenals. The adrenals are the strongest glands in the body and come to the rescue when the body is under stress. They secrete adrenaline which is known as a stress hormone. The Life Lesson for the Adrenal body type is to embrace the world which is the positive side of the fear of facing the world. The way to embrace the world is knowing that you are safe. The affirmation that enables you to be safe is simply, "I am safe".

Difficulty is generally associated with any challenge that is a significant challenge. The gift of difficulty is getting to the other side which is Knowing. Knowing comes from life experience, so the affirmation is, "I move with life." Difficulty is stored in the pelvis, often associated with low back pain.