¶ Functional Medicine Expert and Metabolic Typing
Welcome , friends , to the Telewellness Hub podcast . I'm Marta Hamilton , your host . It's a space where listening is not just a simple passive act , but it's an act of self-care . And today we get to check in with Martin Patella , who is a proven functional medicine expert and metabolic typing coach . His mission is restoring vitality to you and the planet .
He uses his vast knowledge and experience to help thousands around the world discover how they can improve their health . Martin has coached over 12,000 clients very impressive since 2011, . And his courses have over 19,000 students . Natural healing is an art and not an easy feat .
In today's fast food society that has us eating foods grown in depleted soils , overcooked , over-processed or hormone injected and loaded with antibiotics , foods in our supermarkets can't give the body what it needs . Even if we eat only organically grown raw vegetables and organically grown meats , the nutrients are simply not there .
So today's supplementation is a necessity , and so , martin , welcome . I'm so excited to talk to you today .
I'm really happy to be here .
Yes , my background is as we shared before we hit record is in health psychology .
I'm a counselor , but I'm also really as a parent , as a person who grew up with a father in agriculture , his PhD in agriculture when I saw you , your background , what you offer , and just when thinking about the concerns about our diet , our nutrition , the intersection between what we eat and how we feel and what we think , I just I'm so grateful for you
taking the time to share your insight and your wisdom . And before we dive into some of that and I shared , I should preface by saying that I shared before we hit record . Like this might need to be a multi-episode series , so we'll try to get as much as we can now , but there's so much knowledge here that I'm excited for everyone to hear .
Before we dive into that , I'm curious if you don't mind sharing with us a little bit about why do you do the wellness work that you do .
Right , you know , classic typical wounded hero journey . I grew up happy . I grew up my dad was a veterinarian . I believed in science and the medical method and all of that , and I trusted the professionals . And I came in naive and at 25 years of age , with freshly earned health insurance and dental coverage .
I walked into a dentist's office and I said I haven't had a checkup in a couple of years . What do you want Check me out ? And the first question out of their mouth was do you have dental insurance ? I proudly said yes , I do . I didn't realize that was oh yeah , he won't care what we do . And I didn't .
And so I trusted this guy with white coat and diploma on the wall . And well , they told me that I needed 12 fillings because my teeth were not right and the insurance plan covered mercury amalgam fillings not the fancier back when this was 1977 , composite fillings . And so I said , oh sure , go ahead .
And in four sessions they put in 12 mercury fillings and then my health took a total nosedive .
Wow .
My original education is computer science and business administration , so I was working in the field of computer science and that then emerging personal computers .
I was there and we were teaching people what computer aided drafting and publishing was at the frontier yeah , oh yeah , young , young days , and so I was earning well , but my health was taking a total nosedive .
First my body started breaking down Carpotanol , plantar fasciitis , dental problems , periodontal disease , and then allergies and then metabolic problems , like it was piling on and I kept seeing professionals for it . I saw an orthopedic surgeon that didn't help Chiropractic .
I became quite addicted to chiropractic because , as my body was falling apart , they were always able to put it back together . But it wouldn't hold , so I had to go in every three , four days to put it back together . Or it wouldn't hold , so I had to go in every three , four days to put it back together , else I became very debilitated .
And I saw naturopaths for the allergies and , and I started learning things and at some point I think it was about seven or eight years in I had this realization that there's no way that these professionals are going to help me . So I went and started reading .
Wow .
Which is long before internet . This is like early 80s , yeah , to late 80s , and so there was libraries and books , and I have a whole lot of books .
Yeah .
More than what's behind of that . I've read and reports and studies and the name it , and so at some point I finally had this illumination . In business consulting , you do always ask if there's a problem , you ask what's causing it . In medical world , they don't . They say oh , you have a symptom , let's work on that .
So all these people would you know oh , you have a symptom , let's work on that . All these people would you know you have a back problem , we'll put the back together . Oh , you have an allergy ? Well , we'll take some antioxidants or antihistamines or whatever . I remember the doctor telling me yeah , yeah , we have Benadryl for that .
And I asked so is that going to cure me ? And he said , no , that's a lifetime .
Yeah , that's a very hopeless place to be , yeah .
Yeah , that's not how I was trained and that's not what I was going to accept . Right right . At some point I gained enough understanding and I figured out what the problem was , which was my entire metabolic system in the body was breaking down because of the high levels of mercury and I had some lead too .
So once that set in , I figured out how to undo it and I figured out the whole methodology , the whole methodology . So at some point I decided to pay it forward . I wanted to . I switched my careers from being a business management consultant to being a health nut and talking to people .
I'm sure , very transformative process you went through . Transformative process you went through , but I imagine how rewarding to see the transformation and healing on a root cause level , like you mentioned , for thousands . I mean what a way to spread wellness into the world .
I mean truly , and that's why , I'm just so fascinated when people turn their pain into the opportunity to share with humanity . You know .
Yeah , this is where your schooling kicks in . I also , along the way , became quite educated in the way of how the head works . Right , it's not what happens , it's what you do with it , it's how you respond to the inputs , and I absolutely refused to be a victim .
I decided that I had to own the problem , and that's actually the single one thing that differentiates a person with a chronic health problem the one who gets better and who does not is how they perceive themselves . The victim perception is not very helpful .
So , speaking of that , I'm curious if we could dive in . Oh , there's just so much I want to ask , but maybe for those listening in for the first time , they've never even heard of this idea of looking at like your metabolic type . Can you share a little bit about cause ?
I'm anticipating a multi-series on this , so if we could start there just to share a little bit about how this experience led for you to deep dive into research , use your skills , your training to to put this knowledge and and create something , a path forward , a plan it sounds like for you to find healing .
And how did that become a core of looking at how your genetics and lifestyle can intersect for health ?
Right , yeah , in 2010 , 2011, . I fell upon this
¶ Impact of Macronutrients on pH Levels
. This whole thing was published in 1987 . Based on a whole lot of previous research .
It was known that people are more acidic or more alkaline , but it was not really understood that it was actually affected by how we eat foods , and it's the macronutrients carbohydrates , fats and proteins and the combination of those will affect how the internal works , react and creates a pH shift and creates a pH shift and the internal pH venous blood pH is either
more alkaline or more acidic in response to what we're eating , and so we knew we had these terms from before . There was this term called oxidizer . We had a fast oxidizer and slow oxidizer . The fast oxidizer is somebody who's really good at converting food into energy . They're typically the hunter , genetics hunters and fishermen .
And the slow oxidizers were people who were poor converters of food into energy . They needed to be fed the farmer food or the tropical food type of things .
And then we had another system which was known as the autonomic nervous system , which is the control mechanism of all things related to the digestion and metabolics and whatever , and we had either sympathetic side or parasympathetic side dominant , and they actually control whether you are in the fight or flight the sympathetic side , or repair and digest the parasympathetic
side , and that also regulates all the pH , or is affected by the internal pH . And so here comes the important bit when you're overly acidic , when you're overly acidic , let's define the middle . The middle is 7.35 on the pH scale or minus 25 millivolts on the ORP scale .
If you're drifting into alkalinity , you're going to be procrastinating , and if you go further out , you're going to be despondent .
And if you go further , further out , you're going to be despondent , and if you go further , further out , you're going to hit depression on the acidic side , first you'll be impatient , then you'll lose your social graces , then you hit anger and road rage and if it's outward directed , that that's the rage out .
If it's inward directed , you'll be anxious , and that would be . You could be anxious about your past , reliving your failings and going over that , or anxious about your future , just painting pictures in your head just how bad things are going to turn out right and so we , and this is then affected .
This way the fast oxidizer is made more alkaline , or actually all oxidizers are made more alkaline by fats and proteins , and they're also made acidic by carbohydrates . But the autonomics are flipped . They are more alkal , outlined by carb , and more acidic by fats and proteins .
So it's sort of like being left-handed or right-handed right , you can't play a left-handed guitar . If you're a right-handed person , it's just not going to work . The strings are in the wrong places and everything . Yes , fascinating to explain it further . So we now have people reacting to a meal depending on how it's combined .
If it's rich in carbs , you could be drifting into alkalinity or acidity , depending on your genetics .
Wow .
That's the bottom line . So here you are eating food and one of us is becoming anxious . Another person is becoming despondent from that same meal .
Yes , I'm really thinking about my own personal life . My husband and I have talked about this . I feel like I had no idea there was a whole world that would study this .
And that makes sense , because we've done the genetic ancestry map and we know we shared no genetic overlays and we've talked about well , probably your ancestors ate totally different foods than my ancestors , right , and I think our reactions to it would be different , but we're sharing the same meals , right , and that makes sense .
And then add the layer of probably now the way our food is made Like that's another layer . Yes , yes .
Yeah , so the best example I can give you is a cocktail party where alcohol is made Like that's another layer , yes , yeah . So the best example I can give you as a cocktail party where alcohol is served . The people who get acidified by alcohol those are the oxidizers .
They will start getting louder and then argumentative and then , if they keep going , they'll actually pick a fight . Keep going , they'll actually pick a fight .
The autonomics they start with being a little too emotional , they start oversharing , saying things they wish they didn't say , and then they start crying about things and then they go to sleep wow , yes so you can watch next time you go to a cocktail party where there's alcohol .
Be watching yes .
You watch . This person reacts to carbohydrates by becoming more acidic . And this one by becoming more alkaline .
That's fascinating . How do you even go about figuring out what type you are , or if you tend to go more acidic ? I mean , I'm sure it's .
You can do it . You can do a direct challenge like eat some fat , like take a spoonful of coconut oil and lick it right off the spoon and within 15 minutes you will have your reaction to fat . And so if that drives you into the anxiety kind of thing , then you're autonomic dominant .
If it drives you into feeling more peaceful and calm , then you're an oxidizer . And then you can do an opposite challenge . You can just do a glucose challenge .
Like I mentioned , alcohol that's a fine source of carbs , but you can go eat a banana and drink some orange juice or have a bowl of porridge or something like that , right , and that's a straight hit of carbs and you will have your answer
¶ Empowering Health Through Metabolic Typing
out .
The way I react to carbs is Wow , and this is huge , then , in terms of your food choice , for your mental health and your mindset and everything .
And also now you know your antidote . So if you are , for example , feeling anxious and you know that you're an oxidizer , you know you must reach for some fats to calm yourself down . Or if you happen to be just totally lazy , not wanting to do anything , and you know you're an autonomic , you know you're too alkaline , you need to hit yourself with some fats .
So it's always oh yeah , it's a very empowering thing too , then it's an empowerment for the individual to take also some sense of control , if you will , over their own health .
And here it goes . 75% of all prescriptions that are filled are for mind-altering substances , either dealing with anxiety or depression . Let that sink in .
Wow , that's a huge .
Probably 80% of that is correctable with diet alone , not diet Choices Right .
Okay , you can have a potato .
That's a straight carb . Yeah , you can have a potato , that's a straight carb . You can put butter or sour cream or bacon bits on it . That's fats and proteins . They are balancing each other out , okay a bowl of rice with a salad . That's all carby . Pile on some olive oil , pile on a piece of fish , salmon , something like that . That's fats and proteins .
Now you're steering . All of a sudden , you have a tool that lets you stay in the middle of the road rather than being in the ditch .
Wow , I'm just thinking of all the implications for our own , of course , mental health , but also the statistics for children . Children are showing some really concerning rates as a therapist myself who's worked in schools and with kids for anxiety depression . It's huge .
ADD behaviors are largely food driven .
Yeah .
I've seen the emerging research on sleep and ADHD . Right , maybe there's sleep apnea or maybe it's sleep , but we don , you have to get out of it and you need to switch into the rest-repair parasympathetic , otherwise you will not fall asleep . You'll be sitting there wired .
And you think , about everything .
You're tired but wired .
Yeah .
Yes , yes , yes . So with food , you need to first know am I autonomic or am I oxidized ? Oxidizer must push fats , autonomic must push carbs to calm down . The most calming mineral , of course , is magnesium . The most calming food is chlorophyll , which happens to be also rich in magnesium .
Wow , yeah , be also rich in magnesium , wow , yeah . So when you talk about things like magnesium , I'm thinking also like supplementation , right , so ? And this is one of your areas of expertise , so what is the role of supplementation in achieving ?
this . Look at this one . Yeah , so the autonomic nervous system is driven by calcium magnesium balances . Calcium is the driver towards sympathetic magnesium , toward Paris . So with every muscle contraction , calcium is the contraction , magnesium is the relaxation . Right , so your heart , your heart , 60 beats a minute .
Calcium , magnesium , calcium oh wow , yeah , and calcium magnesium calcium magnesium .
Oh , wow , yeah , and I'm even thinking the brain , I mean there's all kinds of there's so much involved , to have our thoughts to make , to move our body wake up , push calcium .
If you have a overly active elimination peristalsis , something like diarrhea calcium will slow it down . Magnesium will speed it up . If you tend to be constipated , you need to push magnesium . If you're nervous , you need to push magnesium . If you're overly sedated , you need to push calcium wow , yes and then , of course , there's more right .
So there's the eating for your blood type , peter the atom . Oh , he put that out so we have blood type o , a , b and a b . What he discovered is that there are genetic misses , as in you do not have the equipment to digest certain foods .
So , in short , like , for example , blood type O's do badly on grains and dairy cow dairy , the blood type A's don't do great on chicken , blood type B's don't do great with pork and shrimp . Well , go figure , people from Middle East , like Jewish and Arabs , they are mostly blood type Bs .
It's right in the Old Testament do not eat pork and do not eat shrimp . Well , I can confirm for you that you don't have the equipment to do well on that .
Right , yes .
So that is also part of if you tell us your blood type , we'll tell you how to structure your immune system , as in what you delete , what you don't need .
Wow , can I ask so ? Because you've helped so many people and you have courses . I forget the platform you have your courses on Udemy Udemy . You have helped so many I mean truly thousands of people . What does it look like for someone wanting to do a session with you or start this journey and they decide you know what I want to be healthy .
What would that look like ? I know that every individual is different . Right , because I'm excited , because I feel like I could refer clients who don't have a clinical diagnosis right , so we can get into like looking for problems and help .
I've been someone who's had to work through insurance as well and do I get a session or have to prove that they need sessions and looking at ? Yeah , that's for that's probably like a series two on that , but I'm so excited about what you can do . What does that look like for someone who wants ? To work with you do .
What does that look like for someone who wants to work with you , right ? So well I have . The philosophy is if you want to do the work yourself , I'll give you the tools .
Yeah .
Or if you want a shortcut , if you want the , do it for me . Okay , I have some tools . They will cost you money , but I'll get you to the goal faster , yeah . So if you don't have the funds , but you have the will , I offer you all the bits and pieces that you can actually learn and figure out what you need to figure out .
And if you're one of the executive types who wants to , just hey , come on , just tell me . I say , well , it'll cost you . And here we go , and it's not expensive . I mean hundred dollars . Buys you the test and an initial orientation oh , wow then we need to you can .
We don't charge lots , we charge no , because even if I'm thinking of even if you have insurance .
I mean , I've had to pay at least that just for to meet my , you know for a visit . You know , just for a visit , yeah we're , we're about to copay , yeah .
I always laugh because people contact me and say well , I met this functional doctor and he says yeah , yeah , yeah , we can do this . Please come up with six thousand dollars , we'll do the tests and I have all the answers for you . I talked to people who spent $30,000 and didn't get any further ahead because they just kept testing and testing , and testing .
I'll give you an illustration . A lot of problems happen because of the industrial age . People are toxic . There is a lot of heavy metals and volatile organic compounds and plastic type of things in us and they cause a lot of dysfunction , dysregulation , they block normal expression of the internal systems , of the internal systems .
So nobody is going to get right until they detox .
So you can spend a lot of money testing whether you are or aren't toxic or how toxic you are . Yes , or you can just do the detox In general . You can spend $300 on an ICP-MS urine test that tells you what's in you , or you can spend $150 on a hair trace mineral analysis . And then you need to do the actual detox , and that's usually about $300 , $400 .
And then , if you really need to know , then you need to spend the test again .
Like if it was effective .
Yeah , but at the end of the detox you'll feel better because your functionality or functioning , is going to start improving .
Right , right , yeah , that's fascinating . So yeah , the detox .
So the process ? Yeah , you asked me how do we do that ? Yeah , I was just so . Yeah , the detox we do a session how to now teach you to understand what's going to go on after you eat a specific meal , and then we have these tools that help you steer better , and we keep narrowing until you are pretty clear .
You will know how to run your life with that .
Wow , that's incredible and so empowering . I think that's huge . Unfortunately , sometimes medical model can be very disempowering and I love that you're bringing empowerment to people about your metabolic type and things for weight and I mean this is so much more than weight . It sounds like it's so much more than weight .
Yeah , we didn't get to mention or I didn't get to mention the second part of the test . We will also answer . What's your endocrine dominance , of which there are four thyroid , adrenal , pituitary and , in women , also could be ovarian . And the thyroid types usually crave starchy foods and gain weights with carbs and lose weight with fat .
So the thyroid types on a keto diet will be skinny , but the adrenal types on that same diet will be gaining weight because their food attraction is usually savory and they gain weight all over , not on the belly but everywhere .
And then the pituitary they are attracted to start to creamy foods like whipping cream , ice cream , fluffy stuff , brain foods they tend to be the nerdy types , their body type is sort of like a cabbage patch doll model and for them the most healthy food are off . All as in the brain , heart tongue , all the hype you're in food .
Oh wow , that's very cool .
Now we of course have all of these glands , all of us right . So , the dominant will push you into one of the four corners . You still have the whole picture , but you will have a preference how your body will act in its most . What is it common mode ?
I'm going to ask a question that may be a little bit loaded , but it's a topic of conversation , a hot topic of conversation , which is Ozempic . What are like all those for weight control ?
What have you seen ?
in research when it comes to people trying . Yeah , because it's pretty new .
You know you're throwing in a very , very big question . I don't know just how deep I want to go with it .
Okay , yeah , I realize there's a lot there , yeah .
¶ Impact of Industrial Complex on Health
Well , the starting point is this the industrial complex which consists of banking , food , agriculture , fertilizers , insurance , medicine , all of that they all are motivated financially to keep you sick , heal person , lose a client or a customer . They don't want to heal you , they want you sick and on the drip .
So they grow foods , food-like substances , that keep us quite sick . I mean , the data is showing it clearly . The rates of obesity , heart disease , autism , all of that , those are all rising . They're rising mainly because we have such crappy foods sold in stores that are then cause for illness , which is then healed not healed , treated by the medical system .
So Ozempic is a fantastic solution for overeating . So the the food industry is producing highly addictive food , like substances that are ultra processed that you end up eating and they force you to eat more than you should have , or then you naturally would have . So you're now gaining weight .
So now we're going to use a technological solution in the form of this thing that numbs or blocks your stomach from working right . Stomach paralysis is a common side effect of taking a zempig . Well , don't get me started on the side effects Thyroid cancer , pancreatitis , blah , blah , blah . The problems that are going to come with this are huge .
But our society has been training people to demand an easy button . Push the easy button . Don't make it hard . Help me quick .
Right , and probably too , like you mentioned . Oh , I'm sorry to interrupt , but also , like you mentioned , martin , in the beginning , we trust people who have the diploma , the white coat , and there are wonderful physicians out there .
I know that there's a place , a space of course , but I think sometimes , like your experience , where you present with an issue and you are trusting their suggestion and you had the long-term effects of that , I hear your protective heart for people who may come to a provider , and this is the best for me , because this is what it's what I've been told and it's
easy and it's the path that's I can check off and for insurance maybe , and but , but I hope .
Yeah , well , you know to say this , most doctors probably go to school thinking that they're going to be helping people . Yeah probably go to school thinking that they're going to be helping people .
Yeah , but because the entire education system and the prescription system and the pharmacies and whatever is owned by the cartel , they really just become salespeople for drugs . And the only thing they're taught in their school is not nutrition , they're taught prescription .
So they diagnose a problem and prescribe for it , and they do not go for the cause , they go for the symptom . So if your symptom is obesity , ozempic is a wonderful solution , but you should be asking what is the cause of this obesity ? And it is food that's too rich in calories and too poor in nutrients Food-like . I call it food porn .
It addicts you because it feels in your mouth that you want to eat more of it . It's designed that way .
Right . So it's not your fault in a way , right , and what you're saying now , now that we have the technology to measure what's going on in the brain , what's going on in the body with these foods , it's really what you're saying .
I'm sure it was like very radical when you first started diving into , like you said , there was no Google to go search up a lot of these articles .
I mean , we now definitely have the technology to show what you're saying to the point where , well , some of it right , but to the point where , you know , I , I look at like for me , as a , I'm thinking as a mom with young kids , I look at what's in the cafeteria , I look at what foods are in the grocery stores here that are banned in other countries
because of their ingredients , because , yes , they can become altered to be more , like you mentioned , addictive or I mean there's no carcinogenic or toxic ingredients and it's alarming . It's alarming . So we need people like you to bring some of this information . Some people listening right now . This might be the first time that they've heard some of this .
For me , I didn't know about looking at your metabolic type and looking at your blood and look at the alkaline . I hadn't . It wasn't until I started doing research for this episode that I learned more . So you , this might be blowing someone's mind , if you're listening and it's blowing your mind , I mean it's I'm sure there's so much to look into .
What would you say for those , especially like parents I'm thinking parents and because we tend to , you know , do things for others before we might do for ourselves , especially as parents yeah , yeah , very good .
Well , you have the right instincts . If you're a mother , you're going to die for your child right . You're going to do everything . You will kill yourself trying to make sure your child is right , which is the correct instinct . The dna is programmed to procreate right . The next generation has to survive . If they don't , we're done .
Well , the dna is done right so , uh , what do you do ? Well , number one , you need to realize that the system is rigged against you . Products like hygiene and laundry and furniture and car and everything those are all made with no regard to how it affects you .
The number one environment you need to protect is the microbiome within within you and within your child , and if that microbiome isn't developed correctly , the whole thing goes bad . One of the worst things are why do we put chlorine in water ? To kill microbes ? If you drink chlorinated water , you're killing the internal environment .
The other really horrible antibiotic is called Roundup or glyphosate . That thing is now used on foods . It's used on wheat , lentils , chickpeas and probably other things . So , if you are taking even just trace amounts of this thing into you and you are , because this thing is water soluble and it's on foods . Therefore you are killing the microbiome .
If you're killing the microbiome , you'll have dysbiosis and , for example , go find the study autism or ADD or whatever is associated with specific microbiome misconfigurations .
¶ Exploring Diet, Environment, and Wellness
Yes , I am seeing some of that emerging research . It's there In peer-reviewed journals . It's there too , you know it's there , and with anxiety is a big one too .
So there is a lot to be said about the diet and environment and how you treat yourself and what you know about yourself and how you start interacting with your family , with your food , with everything around you , but it's a big story , so maybe we should just pause here and start at the beginning next time .
Absolutely . Thank you so much , martin . Stay tuned , listen in on the next episode , where we're going to dive into what you can do in your home , in your environment , looking at the big story of how this impacts our life . Thank you so much , martin , for being a part of our wellness journey today .