I copied the food lists off the genotypediet.com website. I'm putting them into a format that I can more easily use, and I'm studying the changes. There is lots of interesting information, and in the next few days I'll write about how those changes will affect my lifestyle. But today I'm going to point out two big problems I see with the Genotype Diet.

First is the issue of confidence. I have blogged from time to time about how excited I was when, at 23 years old, I read my first book on nutrition. I made radical changes in my eating habits, and saw positive results. But as I read more, I realized that nutritionists didn't agree on anything. Some were low carb; some were low fat. Some focused on vitamins; some focused on herbs. Some said everyone needs protein; some said everyone should be a vegetarian. Each nutritionist had studies and statistics that proved they were right. It was very confusing, and I lost confidence in all of them.

What I loved about the Blood Type Diet was that it explained the contradictory studies. Some people need protein, some are natural vegetarians, some need low fat, some need low carb. Your blood type was a simple and accurate predictor of what you needed to eat and how you needed to live.

The Genotype Diet seems to me to be a completely new paradigm. Your body shape and the lengths of your bones determine your type. Blood groups are mixed together in genotypes. The food lists are very different. Here's one example. On the Type O diet, fava beans are neutral. In the BTD Menopause book fava beans are super beneficial. The Gatherer Diet says fava beans are avoid. This is not three nutritionists arguing with each other. This is three books by the same man - three books written since 2002, no less. How am I to have confidence that I am doing the best for my body when the programs appear so different? (See, I told you that I was not sweet)

The second issue is credibility. When my husband and I eat with friends, they notice that I do not eat a typical American diet, and they ask about it. I have a simple one-line explanation. "The same blood type antigens that give you your blood type are at work in your digestive system, and are the best predictor of what you should eat." Some people quickly change the subject. Others tell me their blood type and ask what they should be eating.

I can imagine myself in a similar situation now. What do I say - "The hormone levels when you were in your mother's womb determine how you should eat. I have a tape measure in my purse. Let me measure your leg and finger bones." No Way!!

Even worse is the credibility problem with family and friends. After nearly 5 years of talking with enthusiasm about blood types, am I to say, "Sorry, the Blood Type Diet is no more. It's been replaced by something entirely new." This is going to be embarrassing.

I'm going to give the Gatherer Diet a fair shake. It may turn out that I feel even better on it than I did on the Type O Diet. But the conflicts are confusing. Now, I'm going to go fix myself some lamb for lunch - - since beef is no longer beneficial.