MY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE DOCTOR WOULD LIKE ME TO TAKE A GREEN FOOD SUPPLIMENT OF EITHER; WHEAT GRASS, BLUE GREEN ALGAE, SUN CHLORELLA OR BARLEY GRASS. I AM O+ AND I AM NOT SURE IF I AM A SECRETOR OR NON-SECRETOR TYPE. I AM ORDERING THE BLOOD TEST TODAY TO DETERMINE. PLEASE ADVISE WHICH OF THESE WOULD BE GOOD TO USE FOR O TYPE BLOOD. THANKS CRISSY





Hey there, Crissy! Go with the wheat grass, the Sun chlorella, or the barley grass. They're all great for all types -- but do avoid the algae products. Thanks for writing, and best wishes, dear!

Hi, I'm an O with reactive arthritis. I have been on the diet for nearly a year and have had a couple of months reprieve during that time. However, while I'm sure the diet was a large part of this improvement, I am once again doing quite badly and am wondering if there is anything specific O's should consider in relation to my condition. For e.g. is there some foods on the O list that are fine if you're healthy but should be avoided for reactive arthritis? Thanks Travis



Hello, Travis! Specific to foods, I'd discontinue bell peppers of every color, and tomatoes, for now. If you're eating the same diet as the one you followed during those months of improvement, I strongly suggest you pick up Live Right 4 Your Type and the BTD Complete Blood Type Encyclopedia, and order your secretor test without delay. I'd also seek out a physician knowledgeable about the BTD, including supps, etc. If naturopathic doctors are licensed in your State, that would be the area in which to start looking.



I strongly encourage you to use every holistic measure possible to calm your immune system. It appears that this is an autoimmune disorder triggered by certain kinds of infection. In attacking the invaders, the immune system goes into overdrive and keeps strafing when the enemy's already daid, if you know what I mean. I would use PolyFlora-O and Deflect-O (available in the Store here) daily, as well as one teaspoon of fresh ginger juice away from meals, three times per day (made in a juicer), and one or two 500mg cayenne capsules with meals, three times per day. I'd also make liberal use of a plain 500 mg quercetin supplement -- take them at will throughout the day. There are many additional suggestions in the Encyclopedia protocols, and I'm sure that following the diet strictly according to your secretor status will be of great help as well. Best wishes to you, Travis! Please drop me a note and let me know how you're doing!

Hello Heidi, I love your column; it's in my daily 'favorites' list. I am an A-non and have been on the diet for 5 years now, refining it constantly with your updates. Last fall for the first time in my life (I'm 65) I fell ill with an inhaled mold allergy which was further aggravated by copier ink fumes; all this led to a diagnosis of Reactive Airway Disorder. I'm off of all meds now and taking quercetin and Respiratone--and PolyFlora-A, of course. Things are improving slowly, but I still have to be very careful what I breathe. My question, though, has to do with menu. You have said that your husband is an A-non, and, if it isn't too much trouble, I would love a sample of his daily menu. I read a book a couple of years ago about circadian rhythms (based on research to help people adjust body rhythms to jet lag, working off-hours, etc.). The research indicates that the optimum time for our bodies to eat protein is for breakfast and lunch, to keep those brain cells working all day, and the optimum time to have carbs is for dinner, so that our bodies can make tissue repairs while we sleep. So I've been following that protocol as much as possible. What I have the most trouble with is sticking to the portion requirements of beans (soy, mostly) and grains (brown rice, mostly). I also eat beneficial beans, like pintos and lentils, spelt pasta (Vita-Spelt is delicious; comes in a lighter version than whole-grain, called Pasta D'Abruzzo; get it at natural food stores), and lots of winter squash and sweet potatoes. And I love oatmeal for breakfast occasionally, with fresh ginger, cranberries, and walnuts (yum!). Keeping up with the weekly portions of all these is sometimes mind-boggling. I'd just like to know how another A-non does it! I was fascinated to hear that his after-Thanksgiving breakfast was coffee and leftover apple pie with Kamut crust. Made my mouth water! Thanks for your hard work and excellent column! Sarah



Sarah, thanks for all your kindness! Well, I'm not sure Bryan's diet would help much ~~ yours sounds much more highly-developed. ;-) Anyway, here's a basic outline for any light it may shed:



Monday-Friday:

Breakfast ~ oatmeal, sometimes with fruit (could be fresh or preserved)

Lunch ~ a large salad with salmon, turkey or chicken

Dinner ~ more like a snack. Some kind of bean thing ~ like alt-hummus wrapped in romaine lettuce, lentil soup, or tempeh ~ and small dish of cooked veg

Snack ~ fresh or dried fruit, vegetable juice, or fruit juice (juices made at home)



Weekends:

Breakfast ~ scrambled eggs or buckwheat crepes with fruit

Late lunch/early dinner ~ turkey, lamb or fish with lettuce & tomato on sesame Ezekiel bun, or rice pasta with a mix of onions, garlic, green veg & chicken or turkey

Snack #1 ~ tiny salad with cooked green beans, black beans, raw red onion ~ big variation here

Snack #2 ~ almonds or walnuts & dried plums



Daily, one cup of coffee, glass or two of red wine, lots of water, mineral water on occasion. And a combo veg juice or fruit juice or smoothie, one each per day.



He definitely has that "starvation-proof" metabolism, since he needs very little food and does best with quite small portions. Lucky stinker! He really prefers very simple, absolutely fresh food made perfectly one minute before it's served. That's why he does the cooking around here! ;-D If left to my own devices, I'll make up several kinds of stews or "gourmet glops" and live out of the fridge and freezer for weeks without complaint ~ and I'm always the one to "finish things up," since he is no friend of leftovers. Hey! I'm easy! ;-) We do have loads of fun doing special dishes around the holidays, but for the day-to-day, it's very plain stuff. So, I do hope this helps a bit! Maybe other type A nons could share their weekly menus? thanks for writing, Sarah! :-D

Dear Heidi, Thank you for answering my questions so thoroughly! I appreciate your help so very much. Of course I have some more questions -- it seems the more that I read, the more questions I find! I am type O, I don't know my secretor status yet, as I'm saving up for the tests (I want to test my 2 daughters as well, age 3 and 5). 1) I am lost in all of these vitamins, nutriceuticals, minerals, supplements -- polyflora, bladderwrack, quercetin, polyvite, phytocal, deflect, larch, dgl licorice, rhodiola......help!! Where do I start?? Do you take them simultaneously, or try one at a time?? Let me add that I'm a stay-home-mom, and although my husband has a good job, we don't have a lot of money for additional expenses. But if it is something necessary to my health, I can rearrange the budget a bit to accommodate. Is it okey to follow the diet, and slowly add the supplements? I am just a bit overwhelmed by all of the options. 2) I bought spelt flour, when I got home, I found on the side of the bag a note that says spelt is not considered a wheat-free grain and is not safe for wheat-free diets. Argh! I thought that spelt was okey for us! Did I just find a bum brand? What are your thoughts on this? 3) I am looking for something crunchy to satisfy my cravings for pretzels. Sometimes, I just need something salty and crunchy....I haven't been able to find a wheat-free pretzel at my local HFS. I've found some wheat-free pretzels on the internet, but once you add in shipping and handling, they become cost prohibitive. I'm wondering if you can think of any acceptable alternatives. Thanks again for your time and input! Fondly, Ruth



Hi there, Ruth! I'm glad I could help!!



Let me go through your questions: First, there's no need to pile into the supps. The foods do the main work; the supps are there for special needs, and the only one I think everyone should have daily is the probiotic: PolyFlora-O in your case. The other two which are handy and very effective are Deflect and Phytocal. If you want the three basics, them's the ones. ;-)



The spelt confusion is on the part of the manufacturer who labelled it that way. You see, spelt is an ancient relative of our modern, jazzed-up, protein (lectin)-enhanced "WHEAT." Technically, it is "a wheat," but it is NOT "THE wheat." And it is quite safe for almost everyone, except celiacs (it does contain gluten), as it does not contain the lectin that is so abundant in wheat. Anyway, many people (including that benighted manufacturer) got a little turned around about the relationship between wheat and spelt, and producers are using protective labelling to distance themselves from irate half-informed folks who become aware that the two plants are so closely related. Spelt is neutral or beneficial for everyone except type O nonsecretors. So enjoy! (unless you find out you're a nonsecretor, that is, at which point we can start talking about kamut! :-D)



One way around your pretzel problem is to cozy on up to your HFS grains manager and see if they might order something for you. The price may be lower (they'd get a wholesale discount), or close to the Internet price if they add a big markup, but hey! You just saved all that money on the supps you didn't buy!

;-D While they are not pretzels, the rice crackers made by Edward & Sons ("Brown Rice Snaps") in about six or seven different flavors are a fabulous way to ease the crunchy-salty jones. They're organic, and nearly all of them are O-OK as I recall. Try to find the tamari-seaweed and/or the 'vegetable' varieties. REALLY tasty, besides being good for you! Good hunting, and do write again, dear!

Dear Heidi, I am confused with the information available on salmon. In the original BTD book it is beneficial for A B AB and O. In Peter's tapes, he says it is an avoid for B and AB because of the bovine connection -(explanation would be good on that please) In The Encyclopedia it is beneficial for A. B and AB and neutra for O In LR4YT it is beneficial for A. B (secretor) and AB and neutral for O. Can you please tell me what is correct. There is nothing in the Errata either. Thank you so much. Also can you tell me how i get my phone number on the Practitioner Registry, it only has my address and Saxham is missing the "h"! My clinic phone number is 01284 760020 (Great Britain) Thanks Heidi for all your help Regards Sarah



Hey there, Sarah! Well, he'd originally found salmon WAS beneficial for those types. Then he discovered some rather ominous news, and for safety's sake he published the new ratings. Later on, we found that the problem applied only to a specimen of salmon roe, so salmon shot back up to Beneficial again for B secretors and ALL ABs. If you have any questions about food status, they're all updated in the TYPEbase database, also linked on our front page.



A bovine connection? Could you tell me which tapes & help me find that section? There shouldn't be any connection between salmon and beef.



And I'll be glad to fix your practitioner entry. Thanks for writing! :-D

Hello! Jennie (B+ secretor) here...I've been reading a lot about these MN blood types, but I have searched endlessly in the book and website, and have not found out how this is determined. Should I just go to the doctor to find out, or us there a test I can purchase? Is it true that if I tested MM, I would follow the non-sec diet? By the way, since I wrote last, (remember, I had been tested allergic to milk, have candida, etc.) I have been eating lots more meat, fish and veggies and feeling much better. When I eat too much bead--Ezekiel or otherwise--I get really bloated. I've cut down on milk but I eat yogurt and that works well for me. Yesterday, I was sort of forced to eat at McDonalds and I had a chicken sandwich (BAD idea). Just wanted to test things : ) Well, I woke up at three in the morning and could hardly breathe!! I'm fine today, but I won't be eating chicken or fast food again. I guess those lectins are the most important thing for me to consider. Thank you so much for all your help! Jennie



Hi, Jennie! Give a call to 602-970-0000 (the SouthWest Medical folks) and order the seropanel collection kit. Then, go to your doctor or clinic and ask them to do the blood draw for the kit, and just send it via FedEx with the label included in the package. SWMC's fee for processing it is around $90. They provide full serotyping, including ABO, Rhesus, Lewis type (that's the one that indicates secretor status), MN, and subtyping for type As. And some food lists, but I prefer to follow the ones in Live Right.



Whoa! A fast-food chicken sandwich! That must have landed like a bomb! ;-) People don't believe me at first when I tell them this diet "does itself" after a while. Your experience in fine-tuning your diet is just the kind of "natural feedback system" I've seen at work in myself, and so many others. Kind of nice to know what to expect, eh? :-D thanks for your message, Jennie!