I am blood type A, with 3 questions:



Yamagata Jyuwari Soba is one Japanese brand that is 100% buckwheat. Look for it in Asian specialty food stores. Mitoku Organic is another brand, and is available online. Just do a websearch for their name, and choose where you’d like to buy it. Clearspring is yet another. Or talk to the manager of your HFS and ask if he can order for you.

I don’t know your secretor status, but if you are a secretor and have no history of Celiac disease or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a small amount of wheat shouldn’t hurt you. However, if you wish to lose weight and you love soba, it’s well worth the extra effort to get hold of the no-wheat variety. Much tastier, too!

2) what about sushi, which typically uses a glutinous rice and contains vinegar. I love it, but am not sure it is appropriate for type A.

I feel your pain! :-} The tiny amount of rice vinegar in most sushi rice preparations is nothing to worry about. Again, if you happen to be a nonsecretor, the more important avoid is the corn sweetener some sushi rice contains. Talk to your sushi chef! Ask what kind of sweetener they use, and check this against TYPEbase3. Again, it is a tiny amount, but for weight loss purposes it might make a difference if you eat lots of sushi (did anyone ever eat just one? ;-D).

3) Is there a good substitute for white spelt flour? I can't find it in any stores near me.

Until recently, although I shop in New York City, I never saw white spelt flour in my HFS. Yesterday, there it was, right next to another new addition: kamut pastry flour. I was too bowled over to check the brand name of the spelt (avoid for me). Kamut Pastry Flour! Hooray! Perfect for my yearly pizza and holiday pastries!! *...ahem.* As I was about to say, I suggest putting this on the list to ask your local HFS manager about. Shiloh Farms produces kamut and amaranth flours, so that’s a good name to start with -- they may have the white spelt as well. Purity Foods is the big producer, and they have a webpage (www.purityfoods.com), if you’d like to order it in bulk online.

I have stopped and started this diet several times over the past 2 years, for various reasons, but would now like to follow it more closely. I am very unhappy with my current weight, which has been a struggle over the last couple of years (metabolism?) and I have recently gained 10 pound in only a couple of months. I am really discouraged and uncomfortable (my clothes don't fit!) and hope to see results from this diet, which was strongly recommended to me by my doctor. Keep up the great work. Thank you very much!

You are most welcome, and I hope my comments are of help. I'm always delighted to hear that more doctors are recommending this plan! Have you pinpointed what it is in your current diet for the past few months that caused your weight gain? How about mild exercise and yoga... great weight-loss tools for most As.

Use the food lists to design your meal plan ~ detailed in a column I wrote a couple of days ago. For type As, it’s usually overeating animal protein, and/or a high-grain diet, which puts on the weight. Remember to use vegetables as the centerpiece of your meals, and use the beneficial fish and fruits to your advantage. Mix in some sashimi with your beloved sushi now and again. :-) Let us know how you do!