Chicken, corn, tomatoes, peanuts, buckwheat, lentils, sesame seeds.

The BIG avoids for all Type B’s, with the exception of tomatoes being neutral for non-secretors.

Chicken, corn, tomatoes, peanuts, buckwheat, lentils, sesame seeds.

I don’t know about you, but I have reactions to almost all of them.

Chicken - I had given up chicken even before I read ER4YT because I had heard through the health network grapevine that chicken was bad for people with Type B blood. Many, many years ago, I had bloodwork done through a naturopath and since my protein levels read in the very low range, she suggested that I increase my consumption of meats, especially chicken. So I did. I was vegetarian at the time, and the increase in protein helped but the chicken just did not feel right. So giving up chicken was a piece of cake.



Corn - Ahh...corn... of The Big 7, corn is the most difficult for me to let go of completely. And it is the one that I have the biggest reaction to. My blood sugar swings dramatically with corn, especially if I have it two days in a row. I know I will feel the effects when I eat corn but sometimes the temptation is just too great. And corn is in almost everything! Cornmeal, corn flour, corn starch, corn syrup, corn oil... Corn also has a high rate of rancidity. Once corn is ground, it has a shelf life of about a week. So that slightly bitter taste in corn products is corn gone bad. I didn’t realize this fully until I made corn bread from freshly ground corn several years ago and marveled at the difference in taste. That alone is enough of a reason to avoid corn products.

Tomatoes - I grew up eating lot’s of tomatoes, especially fresh from the garden. We sometimes ate tomatoes like you would an apple. And always stewed tomatoes that my mother canned for dinner in the winter. As a teenager, I suffered from terrible eczema on my hands and as an adult, on my face. It wasn’t until I gave up tomatoes that my eczema cleared up completely...and then I made the connection. Even today, if I have a meal heavy on the tomatoes, the eczema begins to reappear on my face. I realized early on that what I really miss about tomatoes is the color. So I substitute other red vegetables in recipes calling for tomatoes, red pepper works quite well, and add vegetable broth to make up for the juice the tomato provides.

Peanuts - Peanuts are another food item that I had already given up prior to converting to BTD, using almond butter instead. It has been so long since I ate peanut butter that I decided to try a spoonful the other day. It just sat there stuck to the roof of my mouth, my mouth didn’t know what to do with it and my body refused to swallow the foreign substance. Smart body. I spit it out. Peanuts are another of those food items that are in sooo many products. Please, DO read those food labels!!

Buckwheat - My former favorite pancake recipe in the whole wide world was Buckwheat Banana Buttermilk pancakes...they were sooo good! And I always felt crappy after I ate them and could not figure out why. Now I know. Buckwheat is one of those grains that messes with my blood sugar levels - spike and plummet. Also, I gave up soba noodles, one of my favorite pastas as well. But I do feel much more balanced and energetic when my blood sugar is stabilized so it is worth it.

Lentils - I also ate alot of lentils prior to converting to the BTD, especially in the years I was vegetarian. I ate lentils several times a week, in soups, stews, and as a quick “complete protein” complement with whole grains. I suffered from so much fatigue during those vegetarian years, due, in a large part to all those legumes I was consuming in the name of health. I still notice a drop in energy in the rare times that I eat lentils, and I make sure that my next several meals are 100% beneficial to counter their effects.

Sesame seeds - I do not miss having sesame seeds in my diet with a few exceptions, like gomasio or using tahini in sauces. I have found sesame seeds quite difficult to avoid, though. They seem to be in everything! One of those foods that most manufacturers think are healthy for everyone, I guess.

So, there you have it.

Chicken, corn, tomatoes, peanuts, buckwheat, lentils, sesame seeds.

The Big 7.

Do yourself a favor and avoid them whenever possible. And when you can’t, notice what effects they have on your health, through your energy levels, sleep, digestion, etc. Paying attention to their effects will help in avoiding them in the future. And so does telling someone about it.

Thanks for reading.