I am Type O and have found eliminating wheat and dairy to be the most important improvement in my diet so far. I am concerned, however, about my "fear" of otherwise healthy fruits and vegetables not recomended for my blood type. One example is oranges. I have always enjoyed them and have never experienced any problems, but now am afraid to consume them with any regularity. Why are they not good for me? My confusion is heightened by the knowledge that I know of people who have cured themselves of cancer and other diseases by drinking large quantities of fresh squeezed orange juice as part of a juice fasting program. Can you explain? Thank you. Nancy

What did Nero Wolfe say... "I can avoid folly without backing into fear"? Rather than being afraid to consume them, just consider them food for others -- just as my neighbor might get a headache from a big beef stew, while I can eat it and prosper. They contain polyamines which contribute to bowel toxicity and pathological growth. Oranges are not good for you ~ it's just a fact of nature, like morning and night. But fear and longing go together, do they not? While you feel torn between different strategies, it is difficult to follow any path in confidence.

People have reported miraculous cures for centuries. Sometimes it was the result of prayer. Others have used a variety of protocols that wouldn’t sit well with the type O metabolism – water fasts, one-food diets and "juice cures" among them. It is quite possible that the orange’s polyamine effects were overwhelmed by the vast amounts of other substances in the bushels of vegetables and fruits they consumed in this manner. In some cases, the beginning of a juice cure represented the first time the individual had eaten a fresh plant in years. You can see how her health might then zoom to a (comparatively) high point.

At any rate, the reasons for various foods' status in the blood type diets have been explained at length in Ask Dr. D'Adamo (try the search at the bottom of the page) and largely reside in TYPEbase3. I'm sure you know a few of the reasons already, from reading the books. These plans provide a great variety of healthy foods, and give guidelines to be used daily in order to improve the health of those who use them -- they are not the "grapefruit diet"-type of extreme measures taken at death's door, nor are they structured on a deprivation model. There's plenty to eat for everyone! I hope that reading through this website will let you build up your confidence in this way of living, and soothe your anxieties about foods you miss.