It has been estimated that the US distribution of blood types is in the neighborhood of 44% O, 42% A, 10% B, and 4% AB. The combination most often paired in couples in my files/ experience is: O with A. I won't speculate as to why that is, but I have found that a brief explanation of the differences in health profile, diet, fitness needs and temperament, go a long way toward piquing O and A interest in Dr. D'Adamo's work. As I did last night, I tell folks:

You're O / Honey is A:
Honey expects you to cut back on your red meat and eat more rice and pasta than you'd care to. Honey might even be a vegetarian and thinks Dean Ornish's or macrobiotic dietary guidelines are Best for Everyone. But A's cooking and choices don't work for you; you feel sluggish after one of A's meals, as if you need higher octane fuel.
Honey's stress threshold might be lower than yours. S/he doesn't seem as hardy a specimen, as if there's something more delicate or high-strung about him or her that requires your protection and sensitivity. Your idea of a fun day together includes far more aerobic exertion than A would like. S/he enjoys golf or yoga - these bore the heck out of you. When you try tennis as your happy compromise, you may find yourself trying to work up a serious sweat while A focuses on perfecting strokes and self-competing, perhaps stressfully. If you two decide on a bike ride, you say, "Cool - Let's ride across the bridge, brunch in Sausalito, and come back," while A would be more comfortable with a leisurely ride around the neighborhood.
Sometimes you feel you're carrying all the weight of the household/family/relationship, but you admit your A is responsible, though not necessarily obviously passionate or energetic.

You're A and your Honey is O:
Honey drives you hard - can even seem a nag or taskmaster, but wears it well, and you're often grateful for the challenges and inspiration. O can give you the "kick in the pants" you need, spurring you to greater career engagement and satisfaction -- or can wear you out trying to reach ever higher, even beyond your capacity.
Honey has a temper. It can shatter your peace, and you just might take to occasionally tuning it out. S/he might appreciate your even keel, but you must consciously explore ways to deal with O intensity.
Honey is more naturally, constitutionally competitive out there in the world; it's more important to O self-esteem to make a splash, and s/he loves knowing the ropes and the right names. You're more comfortable in a somewhat more circumscribed domain, wherein you're happy to keep to your schedule/ routine and work out the fine points. You may be more mental where O is physical. You may fancy chess or puzzles or crafts where O has little patience for these.
Sometimes you may wish your O would relax, act more like a yogi or Buddhist. But if you read Dr. Atkins instead of Dr. Ornish, you'll see what works better for Honey than for you. It's not that s/he really despises Veganism or tofu-eaters; it's just that O can't relate to a way of eating that makes him/her feel unwell. Don't take it personally or ply your O with literature and references versus Meat, or with soyfoods. Rather, read Eat Right 4 Your Type ...and Vive la Différence.

Once O and A understand the intrinsic constitutional differences, this is a complementary pairing that runs the gamut of personality, interest and style, modeling a variety of approaches for any children born to it. And, Good News for the O/A couple: Any biological children will be O or A -- no additional types to consider in the household.
O/A relationship guidelines can be applied to parent-child and sibling-sibling relationships, too.
"Sheesh - you're just like your father!" might find some explanatory foundation in blood type.

Some version of the above Diversity Explanation has interested many I've told in the bloodtype work. It brings a practical, real-life solution directly to points of curiosity and even vexation in the actual day-to-day lives of many couples, and individuals. Where the D'Adamo work is thus brought down to earth for someone, s/he is not likely to easily scorn it where it is derided, but might instead say, "There may be something to it."

Try it out.

When I was pregnant with our first child I was working as a commission sales person for a radio station. I would schedule my morning appointments close to home so I could sleep late except for the mornings we had sales meetings. If I was wiped out in the afternoon, I would go home and take a nap. I was not cheating my employer because I continued to meet my sales quota. I was, however, able to listen to my body, and in the first trimester my body wanted lots of rest.

Before the end of the first trimester, my Honorable Husband said I could quit my job if I wanted to. We had saved enough money to pay for the baby. I was planning to be an at home Mom. If I continued working there would be extra expenses of a professional maternity wardrobe. I had a head full of ideas for making all of the nursery decorations. I thought about his offer for a minute or two and said, "Yes!"

Between high doses of Vitamin B6 and lots of sleep, I didn't have morning sickness, just occasionally a queasy feeling.

DD did not have that luxury in her first trimester. She works in advertising and marketing. She must be at work on time. She has a one hour commute from home to office. This meant she got up early - about 5:30 and got home late - about 7:00. There was no way she could get eight hours of sleep, much less the amount of sleep that BC wanted.

One day I got a text that said, "I cannot get enough sleep. All I want to do is curl up and sleep for the next 2-3 months." On Saturday afternoon I got another text: "Sleeping until 11 makes us feel so good."

She came up with several creative ideas that let her get a little extra rest. Some mornings she would leave for work extra early to avoid the traffic. Then she would sleep in her car until time for work. Her office has a fitness center for employees. Every day at lunch she would curl up on the mats and sleep for an hour. Often in the afternoon, she would go to sleep on the mats giving the traffic time to thin out. It meant she got home late, but she spent less time sitting in the car and got extra sleep.

Friends warned her about sleeping on either her stomach or her back. Those, of course are her favorite sleep positions. Last week I got this text: "I have a new pregnancy problem. Sleeping on my sides is making my hips, knees, shoulders, and elbows hurt. Not my joints, but pressure points on my skin. I tried pillows. No luck."

The next day she said, "I went to sleep sitting up. At some point in the night I went to my side. It was better, but now my neck hurts." Obviously sitting up was not going to solve the problem.

HH and I went to see her last weekend. We took an egg crate from our camping equipment. That worked great on the pressure points. No more sore spots in the mornings. I showed her how to put pillows behind her back when she was on her side. She can lean back on them so that she is technically on her side, but she feels support on her back. That seemed to help as well.

Now that she has entered the second trimester, she isn't as tired. In fact I would say that last weekend she was a little hyper. It was good to see all of her energy.

Modern women certainly have many advantages in terms of opportunity, creativity, and income. Our grandmothers and great grandmothers worked from home. They contributed to family economics in many ways, but rarely got recognition. The advantage they had was being able to listen to their bodies and accommodate their unborn baby's need for rest.

De acuerdo a Jung esto es lo que él denomina 'individuación'. Los lineamientos de swami cambian la vida de quienes los siguen. Cuantos pacientes en la clínica nos traen sus tests de intolerancia alimenticia y tratan de convencernos de que tal o cual alimento benéfico en su reporte swami por ningún motivo lo puede consumir por culpa del test de intolerancia previo a swami. Por cierto que quede muy claro que no somos partidarios de dicho test al igual que D'Adamo. Estamos convencidos que serán los alimentos apropiados a cada quien de acuerdo a swami los que permiten una remisión y sanación y no al revés. Quienes buscan nuestro consejo de acuerdo a los lineamientos fisiológicos del Dr D, en su mayoría tienen trastornos digestivos y por ende un test de intolerancia alimenticia les deja muy pocas opciones.

Swami logra llegar a la raíz de toda patología, que viene siendo causa de un estado inflamatorio crónico de aglutinación causado por lectinas presentes en los alimentos tóxicos erróneos, no compatibles con la fisiología y genética de la persona. Llegan a la clínica o me contactan por Internet sufriendo de fuertes dolores de estómago o diarreas crónicas. Victimas la mayoría de la medicina convencional, visitas a urgencias y tratamientos interminables con gastroenterólogos, alergólogos y más ólogos habidos y por haber. Son sometidos a todo tipo de exámenes e incluso los operan de la vesícula, del vaso, del páncreas, les radian la tiroides, les extirpan hasta gran parte del intestino y las molestias continúan y no hay disminución alguna más que de su patrimonio.

Esto afecta la vida diaria ya que dejan de acudir a clases los jóvenes o al trabajo los adultos, evitan salir y obviamente su vida social disminuye, así como el humor, el mal genio y la impotencia de no saber qué hacer ni cómo lograr tener una vida plena y saludable. Cuando se enteran de que su grupo sanguíneo y fenotipo son la clave para diagnosticar no solo el genotipo al que pertenecen sino también una vez con el swami en la mano les arroja que alimentos tóxicos han contribuido al estado inflamatorio crónico en el que se encuentran y entienden el porqué salen siendo alérgicos hasta a los alimentos súper benéficos.

Nuestra estrategia inicial es enfocarnos al sistema digestivo fortaleciéndolo con ayuda de la flora correspondiente a cada fisiología el ecosistema, así como ir restaurando el daño causado por lectinas presentes en la dieta anterior por medio del azúcar sacrificial contenida en la formula deflect, estudiada a fondo por el Dr D Adamo en sus pacientes ayudándolos a sentirse bien y con más energía ya que mejora la absorción de nutriente a nivel celular evitando aquellas ganas de dulce que viene siendo un llamado del sobre crecimiento bacteriano ya que de dulce se alimenta y se fortalece (candidiasis). Los pacientes van experimentando mayor vitalidad, suben sus defensas y vuelven a sentir alegría de poder disfrutar de la vida sintiéndose bien. Sin duda, somos lo que comemos, y de ello están convencidos todos nuestros pacientes.

Sale sobrando mencionar que aquellos con sobrepeso u otros achaques, llegan a lograr su peso ideal y aprenden a mantener su peso ideal de por vida y a escuchar a su cuerpo. Comentan que seguir sus lineamientos ha sido hasta liberador porque ahora que saben qué no comer, tendrán la oportunidad de realmente perder el peso no deseado y mantenerlo para siempre! En la clínica nos dedicamos a la salud y el bien estar personalizado, ensenando acerca de la individualidad que nos hace únicos. Recalcamos que no hay un plan machote que vaya con todos y que tome en cuenta aquello físico único que nos caracteriza. Los conceptos que aplicamos acerca de tipo de sangre y genotipo ofrecen los planos sobre aquello que te hace lo que eres sino también un mapa hacia dónde dirigirte. Este aspecto del reporte final personalizado swami les resulta liberador y permite puntualizar y dejar a un lado el temor que llevan acerca de la herencia física familiar de cada quien. Aprenden que a través de sus dietas y estilo de vida estipulado pueden llegar a resetear dicha genética para bien. Han podido superar una variedad de cargas fisiológicas tales como cardiovascular, aumento de peso en edad madura, preventivo al máximo llámese cáncer, tiroides, artritis, diabetes, candidiasis y más como problemas de intolerancia, que se traducen en ocasiones en problemas sicológicos ya que repito, nuestro cerebro está íntimamente ligado a nuestro sistema digestivo (el segundo cerebro).

Otro aspecto muy importante en nuestra consulta es el de la densidad ósea. durante toda la vida ocurre el proceso tanto de reparación como de descomposición ósea. El calcio es un mineral esencial para la salud osea y dentaria. El resultado de un desequilibrio mineral es la fragilidad del esqueleto, y los huesos se vuelven delgados y quebradizos (osteoporosis). La pérdida ósea ocurre con el tiempo, acelerándose con la edad y la menopausia. En cierta medida, cada persona, varón y hembra, experimenta un grado de pérdida de masa ósea con la edad. Pero esto es un problema mucho menos grave para los hombres, puesto que ellos empiezan con alrededor del 30% más masa ósea que las mujeres y tienden a perderla más lentamente. También es menos severa en las mujeres de piel más oscura; porque tienen sobre 10% más masa ósea que las de ascendencia europea o asiática o de piel clara.

Siguiendo la escuela del Dr D Adamo mostramos a nuestros pacientes de que manera tan sorprendente su salud ósea esta vinculada a su fisiología, controlada por su tipo de sangre. Las fracturas de cadera en mujeres mayores son una costosa y devastadora epidemia en gran parte del mundo y se asocian con alta morbilidad y mortalidad y las que sobreviven, el 50% no vuelve a caminar de manera independientemente. La capacidad del cuerpo para absorber el calcio se ve influenciada por la forma en que se toma, su interacción con otros nutrientes y la manera que es absorbida dentro y expulsada por el cuerpo. Todos estos aspectos ya vienen calculados dentro del sistema swami y a cada quien le otorga la justa ingesta de nutriente para su optimo funcionamiento. Además, las personas con más alto grado de ácido (IAP) tienden a absorber el calcio de manera más eficiente, estando los grupos A y AB, con naturalmente bajos niveles de dicho ácido (IAP), en desventaja. El Calcio existe en una especie de equilibrio dinámico con otro mineral, el magnesio. DAdamo ha demostrado que la relación óptima de calcio a magnesio tiende a variar según el tipo de sangre y el estado secretor.

Por ende y retomando a Carl Jung y su meta en la vida siendo INDIVIDUACION, el realizar nuestro propio único potencial individual y expresarlo en este mundo, en salud y bienestar físico y mental.

I have so much I want to share about what DD is eating, how the BTD is benefitting her and her baby, how she is trying to resolve the annoyances of pregnancy, as well as her new exercise and sleep patterns. She is at the end of her first trimester. I got a text yesterday that said, "Just heard my favorite sound in the world - a healthy baby heartbeat."

I'm sure every prospective grandparent is flooded with joy when they hear those words, but I think I have just a little more cause for thanksgiving than most. I've been blogging on the BTD site since 2004. DD was in middle school back then. I wrote about how she liked my new eating plan because I no longer pushed her to drink milk or eat beef. We had never had a lot of junk food in our house, so she adapted easily and became a fan of this Blood Type lifestyle.

However, the summer before she was a senior in high school, she succumbed to an exercise/eating disorder. She was never anorexic - and often reminded me that she only missed one meal. She was never bulimic - she turns her head if someone vomits in a movie. But she exercised too much and lost way too much weight. She stopped having periods in November, 2007. Her thyroid began to malfunction in the fall of 2008 - both a direct result of low BMI. Her circulation was affected.

I blogged many times about DD during those painful days. She overcame the spiritual problems that led to this disorder, and began to gain weight. In the summer of 2010 she met SIL. One of the hardest things she has ever had to do was confess to him what she had done to her body, and tell him she wasn't sure if she could ever have children. They cried together and prayed together. He said that he loved HER, and that if she couldn't have children, they would find a way to adopt.

DD and SIL got engaged in the summer of 2011. In the fall of 2011 she began to have periods again. They gradually became more regular, but there was no way to know how much damage had been done to her reproductive system. They married in June, 2012.

Do you get just a glimpse of the joy and thankfulness we have for this precious baby growing in DD?

However, all of that joy did not make her first trimester any easier. One day we got a call that she was pregnant. The next day I got a text saying, "I am not actually sick-sick. But I am very queasy. I couldn't go to church last night. I felt horrible. This is the weirdest feeling. I am hungry and queasy at the same time. Although I know I need food, it is repulsive. This is going to be a long 2-3 months."

She found an obstetrician who accepted her medical insurance and scheduled an appointment. She told them about her morning sickness. The first question the nurse asked was if she was taking Vitamin B6. Right away I knew I liked this doctor. I believe B6 is very effective at relieving morning sickness symptoms.

However, DD is a working mother-to-be. She has a long commute in the car. She can't lie down and take a nap any time she feels queasy. B6 alone was not enough. The first thing the OB said to add was an over the counter sleeping medication called Unisom. DD was told to take 1/2 a dose once a day. The pills were so small and she felt so bad, that the first day she took a whole pill. The combination of B6 and Unisom worked. She felt good. But then she worried that she had taken a full dose. She worried about the baby on a sleep medication. She worried that she would fall asleep driving to work.

The OB's next suggestion was Zofran. It is a prescription medication that stops nausea and vomiting. It is given to pregnant women, cancer patients, and babies as young as one month. The dosage for pregnant women is one pill three times a day. DD found she could function with one pill every other day. She did not like any taking medication, and felt guilty about it part of the time. But in the long run, it let her eat and drink fluids. That, she decided, was better for BC than risking dehydration.

She quickly learned that one of the best things she could do was get carbs in her stomach at the first sign of queasiness. This has been a source of great amusement to me. DD, raised by a health food fanatic mother, never ate many desserts. During and after her eating disorder, she shunned desserts and breads, eating beneficial fruit, nuts, and vegetables instead.

Her first funny text said, "One of the ladies who knows of my plight brought me two oatmeal raisin cookies. Normally I would not eat them, but I tried a bite - and it tasted good. I'm going to eat one and save one." In less than five minutes I got another text, "Yummy, both in my tummy. My baby will love oatmeal!" A few minutes later my phone went off again, "Now I have my first craving - more oatmeal raisin cookies."

The next morning I got a text, "I am happily nibbling on my last piece of carrot wedding cake. There is something about baked cinnamon that appeals to us." A little later I read, "Goodness BC is hungry today. I go from not eating to wiping out a piece of carrot bread and moving on to cereal. My tummy actually hurts more when I'm not eating. Go figure. "

More pregnancy news next time. Let me close this long blog with one more expression of thanksgiving for health and humor and God's mercies in all things.

Yes, it's true. I'm going to be a grandmother. DD and SIL are expecting a baby. So, rather than blogging about turning 60, I get to blog about babies! I'm going to start by copying DD's blog announcing her pregnancy to her friends. In later days, I'll write about "Eat Right 4 your Baby" and the plethora of texts between DD and me about what and when to eat. After that…we'll see where this adventure in new life takes us.

Here's DD's Blog.

I already love the new life that IS growing inside of me! I am TEN weeks pregnant - and LOVING it.

Little Baby Cakes surprised us - not God - but us. Like most newly wedded couples, we were just "waiting..." I don't really know what that means... but we were. Waiting for my Heroic Husband to finish his Masters of Divinity... waiting for a full-time job, post graduation... waiting for a new car... waiting for the perfect house... But God had other plans. And now, we are waiting for mid-March. We are waiting to meet this beautiful, precious, miraculous, life growing inside me. Now, I cannot even imagine "waiting" for the "right timing" to have a baby. I cannot think of not having my tummy beginning to slowly pooch out. I cannot not think of going to sleep at night to the sound of HH singing softly to little BC. I love God's plan.

Some of the many questions I have been getting - almost daily
How are you feeling?
What are you craving?
Do you want a boy or a girl?
What will the baby's name be?

Here are my answers for all to read.

A. I did not realize I was pregnant until I was already SIX weeks along. So, until week six, I was fine. After week six, my pregnancy hormones began to rage.

I have two sweet acquaintances who have both dealt with infertility in the very recent past. Today, they both hold in their arms precious little babies. I have talked to both of them since I became pregnant. To hear them talk about their pregnancies - both pre and post - puts mine in perspective. Perhaps I do not feel like running a marathon all the time, but God has blessed me with this little life. Does it really matter if I don't feel 110%, 100% of the time? No. God has put this life inside of me to nurture, to cherish, to love.

So how am I feeling? Wonderful!

B. What am I eating - Meat (Turkey and Chicken). Fruit. Legumes. Peanut Butter. Whole Wheat Ritz Crackers. Yogurt. Cheese. And... Brownies...?

If you know me, you know I really do not like meat. As a child, my mother had to make me eat three bites of meat before I could get more green beans. Meat is something that I eat a little of because I know I need the nutrients. When I got pregnant, my hunger for meat increased. I will never forget the faces my Marvelous Mother and HH made when I asked for turkey bacon. It was classic. But it makes sense. I need PROTEIN. What is one of the best protein sources? Meat.

Fruit - I just love fruit. I am so happy BC does too. Same with Legumes and Peanut Butter. I just wish BC liked vegetables. Maybe they will taste better in the second trimester.

Ritz Crackers... I do not like Saltine crackers, but Ritz and Rye crackers hit the spot.

Yogurt, Cheese, and Brownies. One morning last week I was running late for work. I knew I needed something in my stomach before I attempted the 60 minute drive to work. But nothing sounded good - and I mean nothing at all. I tore through the kitchen looking for something that my body would accept. And then I saw it...my husband's birthday brownies. For some reason, they sounded good. I ate a few bites and went off to work. This was probably the first brownie that I have eaten in ten years. I asked MM what in the world was in brownies that my body was craving?! After some research, I think we figured it out - calcium and magnesium.

I tested this theory by eating some cream cheese on a piece of sprouted raisin bread. My stomach immediately felt better. This is weird to me. Usually, cheeses inflame my stomach, but right now, I need calcium and magnesium. For dinner, I had a provolone grilled cheese sandwich with ghee and sprouted bread. It was delicious.

C. Boy or Girl? We don't care. As long as it is a healthy baby, then whatever BC is, BC is. We actually are not going to find out the gender. We really do not care - and we want to be surprised on Delivery Day.

D. Name. We will not even tell our parents what our name choices are. We will say that the girl name has been picked out since we were dating, and the boy name since we were newlyweds. BC had a name before BC even existed.

On August 8 I blogged about increasing my husband's and my calcium and magnesium after a one year experiment with lower doses lead to a series of muscle spasms for both of us. I am pleased to report that we are both feeling much better.

His back pain is gone. From the day I increased his cal/mag he improved each day. Last night he told me there is a some residual stiffness, but he has resumed all normal activity. I can reach both of my arms over my head. My right arm feels a little weak, but that's probably because I have been babying it for months. I need to start trying to rebuild my muscles.

If you take hard calcium-only tablets from the grocery store, you should probably read the study that warns about too much calcium and Arteriosclerosis. If you balance your calcium and magnesium and take Vitamin K along with it, ignore the study. Just my opinion. All I am is a volunteer blogger.

I reread my birthday blog. If it sounded negative to you, I apologize. That's not the way I meant it. On milestone birthdays people tend to get introspective.

I've spent a lot of time researching health since I was 23. I've spent a lot of money buying healthy food and supplements. When you are young, your body will take a lot of neglect, but when you are old you pay the price for neglect. I really do hope that I reap the rewards of living healthy.

Now (drum roll) I am going to change the subject of this blog, and future blogs for several months. More detail next time, but I'll drop a hint and say that I bought two copies of Dr. D'Adamo's book "Eat Right for your Baby."

I turned 60 years old last week. Now is when most people start to fall apart. Now we will see how much difference 27 years of health food followed by 10 years of the Blood Type Diet will make.

Our Strong Son started the celebrating. He said that he had planned a birthday surprise. We met him in Austin, and he took us to the Whole Foods World Headquarters. It is the largest Whole Foods store I've ever been in. They have a buffet with several food lines. You get a plate or a bowl and select the items you want. You are charged for your meal by the pound. My bowl was full after going to two cold food lines. I told SS we would have come back in the winter and try the hot foods. Everything was delicious, and I felt good about the way it had been prepared.

On my birthday, I went tubing with friends. We paddled along the shore of a lake near my home, enjoying the warm sun, cold water, and beautiful views of the shore. When we got out of the water, we had a picnic. I brought ground beef and collard greens topped with curry powder. I had also made a walnut torte to share with my friends. All of them know that I am on the BTD, so they were not surprised by the unusual birthday cake.

The day after my birthday I had a photo shoot. The theme of the event was Tex Mex. The band played Texas Country music. The food was fajitas. I took pictures until most of the guests were eating. Then I put the camera away and served my plate. I passed on the tortillas, selected beef, chicken, rice, beans, and romaine lettuce. Ok - I did get some guacamole - which is BTD avoid for Type Os, but is allowed in a limited amount on the GTD. I confess I sometimes switch back and forth between the two food lists when avocado and a few other foods are involved.

Another day my Honorable Husband took me out for my favorite meal - prime rib. I had a salad and a sweet potato as my sides. Every bite was delicious.

My Christian World View tells me that with sin comes physical deterioration and death. I have no desire to live forever on this earth. However I do want the time I have here to be productive and pain free. That's why I eat right and exercise.

Right now I would say that I'm in better health than most people my age. For that, I am thankful to both God and the BTD.

The CSA keeps on giving us new varieties of organic, locally grown produce every week. The farmers certainly don't know about the Blood Type Diet, nor that my type B son is away at camp!

We've been getting a bunch of cucumbers. My Mom took some, since she doesn't follow BTD. I gave some to my ex husband, since he's a B. But I got 4 rather large cucumbers this week. My mom still hasn't finished both of the cucumbers from last week, and my ex isn't seeing the girls this week because the girls are too busy with various activities.

I decided to make pickles, so the cucumbers will still be good to eat when Jack gets home from camp.

I spent quite a bit of time online searching for pickle recipes and techniques, and finally settled on one that called for salt, white vinegar, garlic, and dill. I substituted apple cider vinegar for the white vinegar called for in the recipe, and also put in some whole peppercorns. I already had fresh garlic in the house and I bought fresh dill for this purpose.

If I get more cucumbers next week, I think I'll try making bread and butter pickles. Those won't have the probiotics of lacto-fermented pickles, but I can make them with 100% compliant ingredients for a B and I know he'll enjoy them. I'm not sure just how many dill pickles Jack will want to eat. After that, Jack will be home and I may just serve cucumbers fresh- unless he asks me to make more pickles.