Wow! You really have a nice column! Very informative! But my question isn't about me, it's about my father-in-law(type O).

I love my BTD, but my in-laws think it's borderline "hooey". But when my father-in-law was diagnosed with primary amyloids, I became concerned with his diet. The amyloids were detected very early (due to regular annual physical) and were only affecting his kidneys. So he was told to really ease up on the meats because they overwork the kidneys and to increase his grain and legume(for the protein) consumption. Now, I know that is the completely the opposite of the O diet! And he was just told that he needed to do dialysis.

I read the article from the dialysis technician which was very informative, but I would really like to know if following the type O diet would be helpful and possibly reverse his condition. Also, his body has stopped producing the amyloid fibers(yay!) and is still under thalidomide treatment. Any advice or info would be great. Thanks so much! Kris

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Hello, Kris ~ thanks for the compliment!

The article you mentioned, in this column of March 20, 2003, is worth following up on. Give your father-in-law the benefit of this dietary advice -- and I hope he will discuss with whoever gave him the low protein orders the *current* state of medical knowledge on this issue with dialysis patients. Conventional medicine has come that far by itself, so there's no reason your father-in-law should continue on an outdated nutritional theory which could prove harmful to his long-term health.

Grains will do his eliminative organs no good. If he wants to have legumes, please let them be the beneficial ones listed in Live Right 4 Your Type. A close adherence to the beneficial foods in general, and in the portions & frequencies noted in that book, would do wonders for his health.

Somehow I wonder if he'll be willing to commit to the type O diet, much less get his secretor status (always strongly suggested in serious health conditions like this one) or, my next suggestion, do the Encyclopedia Urinary Health protocols. If I were as ill as he is, I'd be doing all of the above. But see what you can encourage him to do.

Amyloidosis is rare, and is a condition where antibodies produced in the bone marrow do not break down as in a normal system, but accumulate in various parts of the body. Since he shows primary amyloids, I would suggest finally that (1) dialysis increases the risk of amyloidosis -- so I am wondering if that point should be brought up with his doctor, as well, and (2) thalidomide is used as an immune modulator (with lousy side effects) -- I think he would be so much better off with therapeutic dosing of a nontoxic immune modulator such as the 4YourType supplement UDA Plus. My reasoning, albeit based on limited information, is to question the wisdom of overburdening the toxin-filtering function of the kidneys with more poisons like thalidomide at a time like this.

Best wishes to you and him, Kris, and let me know how he does. :-)