Two questions please. Number one: Is it better not to eat any carbs at the evening meal if I want to lose weight, I am a type "B". Also, when I eat out, which is fairly often, what kind of bread is acceptable if I want a sandwich. I know the resturants don't carry spelt bread! Thank you for your reply. Cheryl

Hi there, Cheryl! If you want to lose weight, choose something other than a sandwich when you eat out. Salad, soup, a selection of appetizers, or plain broiled meat or fish and some greens. You're right, it's rare that a restaurant will offer any bread other than one which contains wheat. That's definitely not what you want to help your weight loss along.

A little carb at your evening meal won't do any harm. Choose a vegetable carb rather than a grain or sugar. Or have a little fruit as your late-evening snack.

Good luck to you, and let me know if other questions pop up! :-)

Since protein is highly beneficial to type o's and helps us to loose weight, then how much protein should be consumed with every main meal per day? oh, and because of our stomach acids being more acidic-like and meats being digested easily and quickly, is it highly likely that we should pick up weight if protein is consumed too much daily? Liz : )

Hi, Liz! It's highly unlikely you'd be able to overeat in the meat department, since the stomach gives very noticeable feedback when enough's enough. Nausea will tell you if you've crossed the line. ;-)

We don't specify how much protein goes with each meal. Instead, we give guidelines for the week. Even within the type O plan, there is a range of allowed proteins (beans, nuts, seeds, fish, poultry, eggs, red meat), as well as variants which affect suggested frequency of those proteins, such as Rhesus factor and secretor status.

As a very rough reckoning, one serving of meat daily is adequate for secretor Os. However, an Rh negative nonsecretor might require twice that much. Fish, eggs and the vegetable proteins have their own suggested frequencies, and the vegetable category should see action at least three times daily. All this information is available in Live Right 4 Your Type -- a great resource on all aspects of the blood type plans!

thanks for your note, Liz! :-)

Hello, Heidi!! It has been a while that I don't write to you!! I have been folowing the BTD for 3 months now and my husband, too. We are enjoying it very much. We both are Type O+ but we don't know if secretor or not.

I ordered Chinese Bitter to start the process to clean my colon and liver. Do you remember when you told me about that site from Julia Chang? I believe that Chinese Bitter is not avoid for O, right? Besides the diet, this last days I have not feeling well with my digestion...

My belly is hard, kind of big on the region of my small intestine. I am not feeling confortable. I also have been eating a lot of figs, prunes,and plums because of the season and I love those. Coul it be the problem?

I can't remember when was the last time that I had my period... but I do not care that much about it because I am like this for my whole life... I am almost 30 years old now. I do have energy to workout - something that I LOVE to do!! However days like this make me feel said. I want to know what do you think that could be causing this hard and big feeling in my belly? I feel like I have tones of food inside of me that is not digesting...

I try to eat a lot of green leafs to help, kelp, dulse, olive oil... could it be the beef the problem? That's why I decided to do the colon/ liver cleaning. Do you think that I am going to the right direction? Should I do it with Chinese bitter? Also is Buttersquash good for Os? What about passion Fruit? Have you heard about passion fruit flour? Bcha!

Hello, Bcha!! Very nice to hear from you!

I would definitely get some pancreatic enzymes from a supplement store. Carlson makes a good one. Take one after the first bite of your meal, and let me know how that works after two weeks.

Make sure to eat three times the amount of dark and light leaf vegetables with every protein serving. If you eat dried fruit, soak it in a bit of water first (and have some flax seed, ground & soaked in some water, in the evening after your dinner). Are you managing to drink 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight? with a squeeze of lemon or pinch of sea salt in each quart?

The liver flush should work well for you, if you can get your bowels moving in this way before starting it.

Butter squash? Is that "butternut" squash? It's a large, pale orange/tan winter squash, and it's fine for type O. We don't yet have a value for passion fruit -- and no, I hadn't heard that they're making flour from it! Will wonders never cease! :-)

Keep in touch, Bcha! :-D

Dear Heidi, What are the yeast/fungus protocols allowed for a nursing mother of a five month old baby. I have managed over the years to keep my candida under check but know that I am not free of it yet.

After following the btd - 80% compliant - (love coffee) - this was the only pregnancy (out of seven) that I did not get a yeast infection nor any heartburn. I am not sure which of the things recommended are allowed while nursing.

The main symptoms that I have not been able to clear up toenail fungus and a persistently lightly coated tongue with many cracks in it. I am desperate to rid myself of these things and would not want the fact that i am nursing at the moment for the yeast numbers to get out of control again.

I really appreciate your column and look forward to reading it every morning while I feed the baby. (have gotten real good at surfing and nursing at the same time. I recommend the diet to everyone I come into a conversation with over their health problems (love the skeptics and can only say "prove it wrong") I commend you for your dedication and care. Annie

Gee, thank you, Annie! :-) That's great news about your latest pregnancy!!

I'm not sure of your blood type, so I'll offer some general suggestions. By the way, the BTD Complete Blood Type Encyclopedia has yeast/fungus resistance protocols for all types on pp. 492-93.

I would certainly avoid dairy, grain and all forms of refined sugar absolutely and without exception. Taking your blood type probiotic (PolyFlora) along with some ARA6 will help your system re-establish its proper balance. Both of those supps are safe to take while you're nursing.

Oil of oregano and grapefruit seed extract are two powerful anti-fungal substances, but I will put this out to the group as to whether nursing moms are advised against them.

Toenail fungus is best treated to a twice-daily vinegar application. After scrubbing and drying your feet thoroughly, put two drops right at the base of the nail, and let it run around and under the nail (ALL the nails). The cheapest supermarket white vinegar is the perfect product for this treatment. Go barefoot whenever possible -- let those toes breathe.

Congratulations on your seventh successful pregnancy, Annie! and thank you so much for your kind support!! :-)

saliva vs blood -- dear heidi been doing the btd for 3 years and its been not only fun but it makes you feel so good.

for past six months i have been eyeing the noni list and kept saying to myself this really feels like what i should be eating. i had my blood tested and was typed a secret- tor. then read on your sight that saliva takes preference over blood test! i sent off right away a saliva test.

well my feel- ing were right i am non-secretor and this was an amazing confer- mation. heidi i think that the importance of this should be posted more. anyway keep up the great work (don't what i would do without your colume every day) peace, bob (a1+mnnoni)

GREAT! Welcome to the nonnies camp, Bob! Funny how the intuitions can steer one in the right direction, eh? I'm pleased you're going to be having even more fun than before -- that's kind of how I look at it, too, when I'm not grumbling about some lucky type A vegetarian and how I'll never be one... ~;-D Have a splendid day, friend! :-D

hi heidi, i have a tip! for all the breast feeding type A mums out there with colicy babies. i stuck to dr D's advice in eat R4Y baby and eliminated milks (including soy) garlick, onions, spices sugar etc. however, my little fella still got colicy for no apparent reason.

i worked it out! us A's who are succepitable to stress was the problem. i found that while he was asleep id run a round like a chook with its head cut off trying to get everything done. the bub would wake up and id feed him. 2 hours later the screaming would start!

i found if i rested for 1 hour before feeding time he was fine! this is probably why dr D says to drink cammomile tea while feeding. anyway, i just thought id pass it on- relaxing is the key.

now for a quick Question- my type A friend has a cyst on her left ovary of 8 cm wide. she doesnt want to have surgery to remove it. are there any supplements you can reccomend? thanks, ros xoxo

Superb tip, ros!

About that cyst: laparoscopic surgery is also commonly done, which does not involve the removal of the ovary. She might discuss this option with her doctor.

I ran across some interesting notes in an article about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) by Bryan R. Kurtz, MD, FACOG, FACS, which may shed some light on your friend's situation. Here is the relevant section of the article (here on the Net):

"However, recent research has shown that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia may be the culprit which initiates the imbalance in ovarian hormone production. Women with PCOS, although not usually diabetic, require higher levels of insulin to maintain their blood glucose levels. Studies have shown that, if insulin levels in the blood are high enough, the ovary will produce more testosterone. This disrupts the "feedback loop" between the ovaries and the pituitary gland, and the pituitary gland produces too much LH, leading to the production of even more androgens. Ovulation doesn't occur because the egg couldn't develop properly, and the immature egg, instead of being released from the ovary, becomes a tiny cyst that starts producing its own supply of androgens, which in turn interferes with next month's developing follicle. Subsequently, the tiny follicles accumulate in the ovary along its surface, giving the typical "polycystic" appearance. When treated with medications that lower the insulin levels, the hormone imbalance is often corrected, symptoms improve, and ovulation can occur with subsequent pregnancy."

How's her diet, ros? ;-) I don't know her blood type, or her general condition, but that doctor's explanation of the latest research into causes certainly dovetails nicely with what we know about poor diet, insulin resistance and hormonal imbalances.

Natural progesterone is one nonsurgical treatment used successfully by some doctors. This site has some (admittedly commercial) information about it, and quotes Dr. Lee extensively. She should take a look through it right away, and do some further digging on her own. It's certainly worth a shot, and no prescription is necessary if she wants to try it.

Best wishes to you both, ros! Spectacular findings on maternal stress and its connection with a colicky kid!! very nice work!!! :-D

Heidi, I saw your note to Helena on Bette Hagman's Cookbooks. I own the first four and looking to get the rest soon. I have usede the arrowroot starch in plach of cornstarch and it just produces more of a gel like texture. But I need to know the other alternative subs. Spelt has not been agreeing with me as of late, So I need to drop it (O SEC), My husband is the lone Nonnie in the house. I am trying to use more Kamut(if I can find it) and Amaranth Flour. I need a subs for Tapioca Flour, Potato flour, Potato starch, Sorghum flour, garbanzo bean flour, gar(banzo)-fava bean flour combo.

I am also asking for your opinion on the mail order Gluten free (GF) providers (bread, bagels, and other not so good things for type O). I would like to occassionally be able to use products that are Good or OK for added variety, not as a main stay.

You had a teacher approach you for materials to teach in her nutrition of her Home EC class I would also like that as I am Homeschooling my children and am teaching them about their blood type diet (all O Sec-Thank goodness only one oddball my husband O-non). I will also give you an update later on my BTD food storage We hit a snag. Thanks -- Angel in UT

Hello, Angel! Shiloh Farms (P.O. Box 97, Sulphur Springs AR 72768) is the producer of the amaranth and kamut flour I buy. They also bake bread (including a number of sprouted varieties) and have a website -- http://www.users.nwark.com/~shilohf/index.htm -- unfortunately, the flours aren't listed there. Kamut stands in beautifully for wheat, has a better gluten response than spelt, and tastes great. Whole kamut makes fine bread, and I've used kamut pastry flour to make simple, freezable/storable flatbreads.

For two 12" or four 6" flatbreads:

1 cup kamut pastry flour

1/4+ cup water

1/4-1/2 tsp salt (as desired)

Mix the salt and the flour together and then dribble in some of the water. Use a fork to start mixing the water & flour together. When most of the flour has formed clumps, reach in and press it all together in a ball. Wipe up any excess flour with the ball. If it easily forms a wet ball, add more flour. If it won't quite press together, add a few more drops of water. Knead right in the bowl, about five minutes, until smooth & elastic.

Divide into two or four pieces, roll into balls, and let rest for five minutes. Then roll out the pieces with a rolling pin.

Heat a nonstick skillet to medium high. Put the first piece in, and let it sit until the edges just start to curl (less than a minute). Flip it, and give it another 30 seconds.

Using tongs, set the bread onto another burner set at medium-low. It will puff right up. Move it and flip it constantly until it's specked with brown and has been allowed to puff up in all areas of the bread. This takes about another 30 seconds.

These make great wrap sandwiches, and the small ones are perfect for making mini-pizzas. They can be frozen, and they thaw out in minutes.

I never buy "gluten-free" products, as they invariably contain potato, corn, both, and/or other avoids such as gums (which enhance the lectin activity of the avoid flours), and look & taste like bland, dry, gummy white bread. Can't recommend any of those.

I know you're very into doing things yourself at home -- which is a VERY good thing for everyone, but especially type Os who want to bake breads. How about fine rice flour instead of potato? Finely ground flaxseed, soaked to make a gel, as a binder in wheat-free breads? 100% rye flour, combined with kamut for lightness? And have you tried dehydrating well-cooked beans (or sprouted beans) like northern, white, black or cannellini beans or black-eyed peas?

I'll look forward to your food storage question, and hope I can help! :-D

Heidi - Thank you so much for your column. I have read almost everything in the archive for your column as well as the old chat rooms. So Informative!

Almost immediately from the onset of the diet, I have noticed a wonderful reduction in my mucous production, I used to go through 1 1/2 boxes of tripple thick tissues a month... constant running and sneezing. That has been so encouraging and I won't stop the diet because I love that benefit.

I have been on the diet for just over two months now and have a few questions about weight loss. I'm a type A, stay about 70% with Beneficials and 20% with neutrals. (My husband is type AB and the neutrals help us eat nearly the same meals.) The times I stray into the Avoid category has been primarially due to Birth Control Pills and the inadvertant items that one runs into at work and family events and when one is not used to reading EVERY label. :o)

I'm getting used to it and taking my own food. Good thing I'm an excellent chef. I'm ending the Pill usage this week so hopefully that will help.

I do a yoga inspired streching program as well as Oxysize (a breathing/isometric-isotonic program) and take walks with my husband.

Anyway, enough rambling and to the point. I'm 150 lbs over weight. I know that the weight will come off slowly... I've already lost 5 pounds... but I was wondering what I can expect with regards to time frame. Are there any things I can do to speed my progress? Have there been other As successful with this amount of weight? I've read Morrisa's entries and your responses and I'd love to correspond with her if she'd be interested...or anyone else in the same boat. Thanks in advance for any advise! Susan

A very warm welcome to you, Susan!! I am quite certain that dropping the Pill will speed your weight loss. Bear in mind that it will take a bit of time before your hormone rhythms return to normal, so that's another little wait which will pay off handsomely.

I want to give you a huge pat on the back for your exercise program. It sounds absolutely perfect for you!! Yes, there have been many other type As who have shed significant poundage -- I think Shirley Stonehouse reported nearly 200 pounds *poofed away*.

Here are some suggestions to work with for now: warm lemon water in the morning on arising; small, frequent meals; tempeh, green vegetables, mushrooms, fish (particularly cod, mackerel, red snapper, sardines, trout) regularly; walnut, flax, and olive oils; limit grains to one serving of whole grain daily (oatmeal, amaranth, buckwheat, rice, 100% sprouted grain bread); drink 1/2 ounce of clean water per pound you weigh, daily, with a squeeze of lemon or pinch of sea salt in each quart; PolyFlora and ARA6 daily.

While I'm sure your husband is pleased with it, you've no idea how happy I am to have a chef on board -- keep an eye on us here, and offer some cooking tips to the needy, eh? :-) I'll certainly put you in touch with anyone who offers to correspond! Very best wishes, and keep in touch with us! :-D

Hi, Heidi I'm writing to say that I think I was missed when you had that computer problem in late July. My first name doesn't come up in the search engine, and I can't remember my exact question, but I think it boils down to wanting to know which bacterial strains are beneficial, neutral, and bad for the Type A digestive tract? Part two regards echinacea for Type A's, as the descriptions in the blood type store imply that it's not the best for all types. And last, could you go into more depth on why you don't recommend spirulina and blue-green algae. Thanks for all your time and effort Antonio, Santa Fe

Hi, Antonio! Yep, I must have missed you! sorry about that!!

The beneficial guys for type A would be:

Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus plantarum, L. reuteri, B. infantis, B. longum, B. breve, L. caseii, L. salivarius, L. rhamnosus and S. thermophilus. Type As benefit nicely from these. I wouldn't use others.

What was the question about echinacea? It works well for As, but isn't advisable for type O, for example. It is an immune "upper" -- handy for those types who can use it, but contraindicated for other types who are prone to auto-immune and other hyperimmunity conditions.

We have no plans to recommend spirulina or blue-green algae supplements. I think they'll soon be dropped from the food lists altogether, as their presence has prompted a great deal of fluster among people who sell and/or are attached to using them. To learn more, try separate searches for "algae," "spirulina," and "plankton" in this column.

Thanks again for writing (and for re-submitting your Q! my apologies for the lapse!!) Best wishes to you, Antonio! :-D

Heidi: Do you know anything about the 4 mini baby blood type books coming this fall? brian

They're news to me, brian! Tell me more! ~:-D

HI Heidi! Well, I finally bought some lamb and ate my first piece yesterday (I'm a . It tasted pretty good, and both my sons (A tried it and liked it too.

I've been growing lots and lots of tomatoes (I only planted 4 but they've gone wild!) and finally tried some last week - I couldn't believe how tired I was the next day - I needed, and took, a nap, and it seemed to take a few days to recover. Now I am giving my tomatoes away and dehydrating them for gifts.

My question is regarding tiredness. I am still nursing, and get woken up several times a night, but I still think I am sleeping too much. I seem to need about 9-10 hours a night, but really need to get that down if I'm going survive when my oldest start kindergarten in two weeks. We do eat our main meal in the evening, between 6 and 7 (this is going to change to between 5 and 6 in the next 2 weeks). We are coming from a vegatarian diet, (and my husband is an A) so we still have some heavy starch meals, although I'm trying to make them vegatable starches more than grains these days. Thanks for any help, Ann.

WHOO-HOO!! Hey, I'm THRILLED you all enjoyed your lamb!! That is one powerful healing food for Bs & ABs. :-) Good going!! :-D

For your sleep schedule? Go with the flow. Ten hours is only needed because you're likely struggling to get back to sleep after feedings when your circadian rhythm would benefit by staying up for a few hours at certain times of night (and taking a nap in the afternoon when the baby does). Take a walk outside if you can. Bring the baby along. Or do the Five Tibetan Rites, or a short visualization session. Have a tiny snack, maybe a piece of fruit, or some water or calming herbal tea. Read for a while, write some notes, record your dreams, do whatever you feel prompted to. You'll find your own best schedule -- perhaps three hours sleep, a feeding, another two hours, a feeding, get up for a while, then sleep for an hour or two when your little one naps during the day. It is actually far better for you all round to maintain a staggered sleep routine rather than one big session of sleep followed by one long wakeful day. Once the babe's weaned, a 5- or 6-hour sleep and two naps (one before dawn, one in the afternoon) would be ideal.

Once your grain meals have been reduced to once daily or less, you'll find the tiredness will fade rather quickly. Grain sugars tend to excite the nervous system, then drop it into a creeping sluggishness. You're doing fine on that front, too -- just keep up the great work!

By the way -- save some of those sundried tomatoes for the soon-to-be-kindergartner. They make a great fruit-leather-like snack, and ABs are fine with them. ;-) Warm wishes, dear -- talk to me about how the sleep thing works for you, OK?? :-D

I've been on the diet for 2 weeks and could tell the improvement of my weight, though I'm not too much overweight, 135lbs, want to get back to 125 (I'm going to weigh myself on Mon. after 2 weeks).

My blood-type is an A and have been a vegetarian before I started the diet, but eat fish. I'm trying to eat more of the Beneficial fish instead of neutral, which the bene. has some fish I've never eaten before. I love Cod which is on the Beneficial, but when I went to the fishmarket to get the cod the guy said that Haddock was the thing. So I bought it and brought it home and saw it is on the avoid list. How could the same species of fish be on two different lists? Any other good fish choices? I bought the whiting, but it's too fishy looking. I like the steak-type fish like tuna, sword, which are on the neutral. I eat salmon, but I'm trying to vary my diet alittle more. Of course most of my favorites are on the avoid, shrimp, lobster, etc. Please, let me know! Love the diet! Laura

Hey there, Laura! Welcome in!! Haddock, hake, and cod are quite different. The fishmonger was probably trying to suggest his "best" fish of the day. The oilier fish, like whiting, tuna, salmon, mackerel, etc. benefit from broiling with lemon, olive oil or light broth, and onion or garlic -- they're VERY tasty that way. Of course, when you buy a fish, it should never smell fishy. The eyes should be clear and bright, and gills should be a very bright red. If you love lobster, try monkfish! It's remarkably similar in texture and taste. Hope this helps!! And take a trip to a big bookstore, and browse through the cookbooks to find a couple good ones about fish particularly. They'll be a big help building your confidence in shopping & cooking for those beneficial fishies!

:-D

For Helena in Sweden, received my Deflect-O and -B in the mail yesterday from Stacktheme - in a nice padded envelope an anonymous as they come! Besides a thougth struck me - if it is prohibited to sell in Sweden it isn't prohibited to buy LOL !!! Smiles from Ingrid

Smiles back atcha, dear!! thanks for that note! :-D

A note to Maddy with high mercury levels.... I have not read the web site she mentions, but I am currently taking several things for mercury detox: chlorella, cilantro tincture, and bear garlic tincture - plus high doses of selenium and zinc (I don't know if the doc gave me this for detox or for something else).

Anyway, the cilantro I got from a pharmacy in Switzerland sent info with the "ParaCilantro" which states NOT to take cilantro tincture without taking chlorella (which should be certified mercury-free). Also, do not take if pregnant as it causes uterine contractions.

At some point in the future, I am going to switch to NDF Plus, then NDF (check out www.healthydetox.org. NDF comes highly recommended by my old pharamacy friends in Santa Monica, as well as another blood-type follower "RM").

Maddy should also read up on how cilantro, chlorella and garlic work in www.neuraltherapy.com - go to articles and read the protocal for neurotoxins/lyme disease (I think). If I've messed up on the exact website address I will correct later. Anyway, I tend to agree with Maddy on not using DMPS..... I would also probably attribute not having all the nasty mercury symptoms tø following the blood type diet! I know my symptoms are nothing compared to what I've read.... a bientot, Abby

(and a big hug and Bonjour to you, Heidi! Yes, I'm still MELTING.....)

Marvelous stuff -- keep yer cool there, Abby, autumn's just around the corner! Right? Right? :-} and keep writing!!! :-D