Todd Moody wrote:
>How does one determine whether one is a fast or slow oxidizer,
>and is this a fixed fact or something that changes according to
>environmental demands?

First, I confess that my last post was somewhat irresponsible, as it made no
distinction between fact and theory.  Initially, Dr. Watson noticed that a
supplement could improve the condition of one psychiatric patient, and
worsen that of another.  Further research allowed him to categorize
supplements into two groups; subjects were retrospectively categorized as
Type 1 or Type 2 depending on which group of supplements benefitted them.
His measurements included each subject's blood sugar, total lipids,
dissolved CO2 + H2CO3, and venous blood plasma pH, both before and after
treatment.  He learned that a subject's categorization was strongly
correlated with venous blood plasma pH and dissolved carbon dioxide.  So, he
ran a pilot study in which he classified his subjects a priori according to
their venous blood plasma pH, and then checked whether they responded
favourably to the appropriate regimen.  Rudolf Wiley continued Watson's
research, and emphasized the importance of venous blood plasma pH.

This is a long-winded way of saying that venous blood plasma pH is a
reliable means of determining whether someone is a fast or slow oxidizer, as
long as he or she is eating a fairly average diet (a fast or slow oxidizer
who eats an appropriately extreme diet will have a balanced pH).  For most
people, it is more practical to simply experiment with a range of diets, and
determine which one makes them feel better; since each diet will profoundly
affect one's metabolism (notably energy production), only a few days are
needed to make an assessment, typically.

Metabolic type seems to be mostly fixed, with some important caveats.
First, it can change at puberty or when you stop growing (mid-20's or so);
for women, a shift can also occur after a pregnancy.  The most stunning
exception is that 50% of women cycle metabolically throughout their
menstrual cycle.  Finally, there are people who cycle from one day to the
next, or even within a day, but this is extremely rare; Watson was stunned
the first time he encountered such a subject.

According to Wiley's survey, about 85% of (U.S.) men are slow oxidizers,
versus only 50% of women.  This finding suggests that metabolic type may
be influenced by sex hormones.

Cheers,
-- Aaron Wieland