Hello, Heidi!! I have 2 questions: 1) I am doing ok on the BTD however I feel very Irritaded/angry when I do not eat carbs at all. I have no patient with my lovely husband and I am not that kind of person and I don't like to be that way.

My energy level goes so down some days that can I sleep the whole day and still wake up tired. I have been very strong to work out most of the days ( I a really do it like 60 minutes intense aerobics or more and some abs etc. I also warm up before and after working out). I always liked to work out but I don't like the feeling of lack of energy to start doing it.

Is irritable feeling and that level of lack of energy normal??? 2) I am short and did not loose the weights that I would like to. I know that I may have more muscles and lees fat and the muscles are heavier than fat. But I think that I used to be more lean with my muscles well defined and now I feel that my muscles are getting bigger (specially my arms and legs)- that is what I do not like. I don't wanna have a Masculine body in a "petit woman frame". Is that true that too much protein can make my muscles bigger when I work out?? I do not and never took any kind of protein shake or someting like that. What can I do to stop it and actually to re-verse and have my muscles lean again? Love,Bcha.

Hi there, Bcha! Sorry you're having difficulty with moods & energy! Don't worry, this is only a transition phase and will pass more quickly if you stick with it!

When you say 'carbs,' do you mean grains? You do not need grains at all, but you DO need carbs from vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and having some bean dishes will also give plenty of carb and fiber. You need those GOOD carbs, along with good fats, for nervous system health.

Weaning yourself off grains and sugar can produce irritability and energy sags. Although uncomfortable, that is a GOOD sign. It means the sugar-dependent organisms in your gut are dying. They are kicking up a ruckus because THEY WANT THEIR SUGAR (including grain, which converts rather rapidly to sugars as well). and you want to make sure they don't get it. ;->

It's possible your muscles (and your body in general) look larger because the fat layer is being pushed out by the muscle development. It is not a matter of the food you're eating, and the more active tissue mass you have (muscle) the more quickly you will metabolize the excess fat you're carrying.

I'd suggest for now that you try one weight-training (anabolic) session per week and only three sessions of catabolic activities like jogging, skating, kick boxing, "aerobics," etc. On the food side, follow the portion/frequency tables carefully and include plenty of pure water with a squeeze of lemon daily (1/2 ounce for each pound of body weight).

From here, it is a little difficult to determine whether your natural healthy weight is a little higher than the goal weight you're aiming for. Could you tell me (again) how tall you are, what you weigh now, and give me an arm & leg measurement: length of inseam (top to floor length of the inside of your leg), measurement around knee, top of thigh, waist, elbow and wrist -- and length of arm from armpit to longest finger. I'm sure we'll figure this out, Bcha, don't give up hope! Write again soon!! :-D

Hi Heidi-it's Susan again following up. First, let me echo the sentiment said over and over by others in the column....it is sooooo wonderful to have you as a resource to turn to for suggestions, knowledge and guidance...thank you for being so wonderful!

You asked that I follow-up with you. I was puzzled by how I was feeling with a long list of symptoms and no luck at getting pregnant (0 negative, secretor, 38 years old with an AB positive, non-secretor husband).

Despite being on Synthroid for 12 years due to Hashimotos I had not resolved all of my ailments. My recent test results indicated that my adrenals are low in cortisol, DHEA and testosterone, (the estrogen was fine) and we are waiting for the pregnenolone results as well as the recent thyroid panel and progesterone results.

The DR. recommends low doses of DHEA, adrenal support, glandulars and gave me a choice of licorice root or hydrocortisone. She said cortisol would give me the immediate boost, while giving the adrenals a chance to relax and rebuild, and I could go off it when it repairs itself in perhaps 9 months or so. The licorice root will take longer. So, my question is which route to take...cortisol hormone or licorice root? Do you have any resources that sheds more light on the advantages of either to help me choose the right course of action or any experience with either?

I would like to feel better right away of course, but I am hesitant to take another prescription (but willing if needed). I did take one capsule of adrenal support with licorice root in it (as well as ginseng) and I developed a welt and itchiness. From past experience my body is very sensitive to most everything.

My other question is I read that according to Dr. Mercola "pregnenolone is the grand precursor from which all the other steroid hormones are made including DHEA and cortisol." If that is the case, wouldn't it be wise to take that instead? Or is it not that cut and dry? And, would cortiguard be helpful? I've been on the blood type diet for four years, 99% compliant and I am currently taking chromium, cyto-redoxin anti-oxidants, B complex and O probiotic. I do drink green tea and dandelion tea and add astragalus liquid to the teas and eat prunes to help the liver detox. In addition, my acupuncturist gave me a blood toning herb with dang gui, bai shao, chuan xiong and shu di huang to take up to ovulation. So, what should I stay with and what should I add? I'd like to feel better soon! Thanks for your help, Heidi! Susan

Hello, Susan! You have a wonderful doctor, please keep her!! :-) Onething I'd suggest you discuss with her is the pregnenolone INSTEAD of the cortisone. There is no harm in trying it for a month to see if it will do the job of both the DHEA and the hydrocortisone, in my (very unmedical) opinion. It's also cheap, OTC, and may hold some answers on your thyroid issues. Show her the Mercola pages, and look around for others using "pregnenolone, adrenal, exhaustion, thyroid." If your DHEA is low against your cortisol levels, Cortiguard is a GREAT thing to take to lower cortisol. It's for all types, not just Os. And it is the balance of cortisol against DHEA which I believe your doc's looking for.

I would also ask her about seriously considering switching to Armour (although many docs don't like to do this), and carefully monitoring your dosage during your progress as you stick to the diet and the supplements. If your thyroid is still intact, this approach is the key to a lot of potential healing. Following your AB diet and EXERCISE plan is crucial -- every interaction with the "world outside" engages through the gut and respiratory mucus & ganglia and their ABO "sentinels and administrators." I would use those basic strategies as the foundation, and never waver from daily adherence to them. They'll serve you VERY well.

Back to pregnenolone -- there is a trial period at the beginning, but with the right dosage you should feel better right away just as you would with the drug. That is, again, if the Cortiguard doesn't resolve that particular issue for you.

OH! And I noted that since we last discussed your pregnancy situation on May 20, you and your husband both found out your secretor status. You know what? This is great news! Since your husband is a nonsecretor, your ABO secretions don't "see" any pesky foreigners to rout out -- so when your health issues are resolved and barring any hubby-side problems with sperm production and delivery, you're in a better position to get pregnant than we first thought! Yippee!! :-)

Do think about all this, and discuss with your wondrous doc! Best wishes to you, and I look forward to hearing how it goes with you, dear!! :-D

On pages 26 and 27 of the book, "Blood Type B Food, Beverage, and Supplement Lists", Barley is listed under both the Neutral and Avoid catagories. Which one is correct? Thanks in advance for your time. Wanda

Hello, Wanda! Barley is neutral for all type Bs. If ever you are wondering about the rating of some other food, just go to the main page (www.dadamo.com) and look for the TYPEbase 3® link. It is also mentioned at the bottom of this column. Thanks for writing!! :-)

I am a type O. I am trying to lose weight and wondered if drinking a soy protein shake, made with soy milk, to replace two meals a day would be helpful or harmful. In addition to this I would try to get as many veggies and a few fruits in each day, as well as another protein source and probably a serving of rice. Your advice would be most appreciated. Lisa

Hello, Lisa! Well... in short, I'd say it would be harmful. Here's why:

If you are a type O secretor, your minimum-for-health meat/poultry frequency is six servings per week, for fish is three per week, veg approx five per day, fruit three per day.

Just on this point, how would you fit all this food in when replacing two meals per day with soy shakes? It would certainly defeat your purpose which I assume is weight loss. Additionally, if you are Rhesus negative, add two servings of meat/poultry and two of fish to the numbers above. Woof! I don't know about you, but that's a wee bit beyond my capabilities if liquid soy concoctions take up two full meals out of three.

Second, your maximum allowance in the beans category (where soy fits) is only three servings per week... whoops. Soy -- well, beans in general, actually -- are just not the ideal protein foods for us (nor effective weight-loss aids) that they are for type As -- although the makers of soy-protein powders and other soy products advertise their virtues as if EVERYONE will benefit from them, of course. ;->

To make matters yet more interesting: if you are an O NONsecretor, minimum animal protein requirements rise further, bean allowances sink lower.... and who cares at that point, cuz soy becomes an Avoid, so that option's shot altogether anyway.

I'm going on and on here (a great surprise to regular readers of this column, no doubt) because I'm trying to make large & real to everyone the difference between using the food lists alone, and using them in the framework of the portion/frequency tables and the greater understanding of our metabolisms provided by the texts of the books taken as a whole.

actually, Lisa's just getting picked on because she hit me on a chatty day. ;-)

For weight loss, don't look for meals in a bottle. Instead:

(1) use the portion/frequency tables and feel free to eliminate grain, bean, and dairy foods altogether.

(2) the more closely you stick to the beneficials, the faster your weight loss. 100% beneficials for two months can move anyone's scale in the right direction. ;-)

(3) Breakfast like a king, lunch like a squire, and dinner like a pauper. What do I mean by "squire?" I dunno... just think "medium."

(4) Vegetables at every meal. It's no easy task to get all those beneficials in during the single day or week, so get thinking on how you'll spread them out between cooked and raw among the meals and snacks. Stuff on veg! In this Fellowship of the BTD, we are ALL vegetarians, my brothers & sisters! and most of us have a bunch of meat, poultry, fish and/or dairy to squeeze in along with our massive veggie intake as well, so make GOOD use of all those dark leafy greens (kale, chards, beet greens, collards, dandelion, escarole) that cook down from a two-foot sheaf to a serving for 2. Great base for meat dishes or cooked veg salads!

(5) Drink 1/2 ounce of water for each pound of body weight, daily. Add a squeeze of lemon juice or a tiny pinch of gray sea salt to each quart or liter. Drink the water at least 1/2 hour before and at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours after full meals.

(4) EXERCISE -- and use any excuse to get out in the early morning & get some sun in your eyes for a few minutes. Exercise puts the world and you on notice that you're a bundle of energy. Which is exactly what you are. :-)

Right now, Lisa's probably wishing she hadn't written, but I'm glad she did! It's so important we all remember how powerful FOOD and ACTIVITY are in accomplishing our health goals. ok, I'm done! ~~:-D

Hi Heidi: I am a Type A (Don't know my secretor status) and I have been using the diet for years (though not always as strict as I should because I feel so much better when I stick to it). I want to deeply cleanse my colon and have been investigating different detox programs like Renew and the Arise and Shine program (I was recently diagnosed with blocked fallopian tubes and wondered if cleansing myself might help). The programs seem rather aggressive with some strong herbs like cayenne that I know are avoids. Is there a Type A detox program that I might use in place of this.

I have a juicer and wouldn't might juice fasting as well as using the psyllium but since this would be my first time I don't want to over do it but I would like to cleanse my entire colon. I have also decided to use colonics and enemas to help. Do you have any suggestions or a Type A program that I might follow to detox and cleanse? I have the blood type encyclopedia but I wasn't sure if I if I should start with the Detox protocols and if I could use those for more than one month. Alicia

Hi there, Alicia! I'd start with the Detox protocols and use them with a two-week break between iterations. During the break, do one week of vegetable juice/fruit juice fasting, using as many beneficials as you can and following a good guide like Juicing for Life by Calbom & Keane. Never go hungry. If you're hungry, slog down a full glass of water, wait 20 minutes and drink more fresh juice. Your daily dose of psyllium can be taken first thing in the morning.

Don't forget a squeeze of lemon in all water you drink, and to do daily gentle exercise -- and sleep whenever you wish -- throughout the detox & fast. After the fast, slowly introduce whole veg again and work your way back to the Live Right 4 Your Type A diet -- now would be a good time to get your secretor status, just so you can plan your perfect diet for the rest of your life! It's a great opportunity to make those changes and set things up so you'll never have to dicker over it with yourself again. Best wishes, I hope you enjoy your fast! and write in & let me know how it goes! :-)

Hi, I am enjoying reading the questions and your responses here, so I thought I would send in some that have been nagging me. First, I have cravings for chocolate and nuts, (incl. carob chips) that are hard to resist, One bit of kchocolate and I will binge on it. Is there an ingredient in chocolate/carob that I could be addicted to? I have gained 5 pounds with these cravings. By the way, I am type O+. When I can fight these cravings I crave vegetables and other good stuff for me! Next, I need clarification on grains. So all grains cause weight gain anf other gluten reactions. I have no abdominal/intestinal/reflux syptoms since beginning this diet. So now I find I eat a lot os rice products and Ezekial breads. My wieght stayed the same with Ezekial breads but I wonder if rice products eaten almost everyday could cause me weight gain or other problems. The longer I am on the diet the more I am fine-tuning. I know it works and it is very healthy! I hope to here from you , Wendy.

Hello, Wendy! You may have a chromium or zinc deficiency -- check any supps you take, and if you see no chromium or zinc anywhere, make sure you get daily servings of brewer's/nutritional yeast, beef, eggs and pumpkin seeds.

This may sound strange, but it may be the grains you're gaining weight on rather than the chocolate. You mentioned you eat "a lot of" rice products and Ezekiel. If you're a secretor, your grain maximum allowance is 6 servings per week -- that would be any grain at all, so perhaps three servings of rice and three of Zeke bread in your case. Max. If you want to lose weight, the grains really should go at least down to the minimum (1 per week) or out altogether.

Restricting or eliminating grains will do good things for your sugar cravings as well, although there is an adjustment period in which you may feel tired, cranky, lousy, and crave like mad. That will pass, and you need never go through it again if you stick with it the first time. ;-)

I'm very pleased you're so happy with the diet! Nice, ain't it? best wishes!!