BR: Tell us a little about yourself - your age, blood type, marital status, children, nationality, profession, country in which you live.




MHL: Hi Cocky! My name is Marilyn Holasek Lloyd, and I am 56 years old. I have type A negative blood and I'm a secretor with Mn status. I've been married to a physician (retired) for 28 years, and have a son 26 and a daughter soon to be 25. They are all type O's. Considering the diseases running in my family, I am grateful theydo not have my blood type. My heritage is Bohemian, or as my aunt would say, "Say Czech, they'll think you're a gypsy." I am also only a second generation American since almost all of my grandparents came from the "old country." I have had many professions. First of all I became an RN and was a psychiatric nurse, and then an obstetrics office nurse. Then I went back to college and got a liberal arts degree and began to teach stress management and self help subjects, and after that got a Master's degree in mostly English and taught part-time in a community college in the English/Lit courses and did some free lance writing. But then 1996 came, and my life and focus changed.



BR: Give us some insight of your health problems. Are there any diseases running in your family?


MHL: In 1996, I was diagnosed with Stage One breast cancer. Because of my nursing school experiences, it was like one of my worst fears come true. This started a journey like no other. Until that time, I had been fairly healthy with some exceptions. I was prone to yeast infections since my early 20's. I'd had a bad case of mono at 28 and that seems to have altered my immunity. From that point on I had a low white count, and was prone to viruses and suffered from environmental type allergies. My family history was loaded withbad stuff. My paternal grandfather and father died at 68 with stomach cancer. My mother died at 33 when I was 8 weeks old of probably a blown mitral valve due to rheumatic fever as a child. My paternal grandmother diedof Heart disease and my maternal grandparents of strokes. My aunts and uncles also had colon cancer, parathyroid cancer, and heart disease. It was this family history that made me a believer when I first studied the bloodtype way of life. (By the way, my grandfather was a butcher, and although poor, they ate lots of meat and they were all probably type A's.)



BR: How did you find out about the blood type diet (I rather call it way-of-life!) Was it through friends, colleagues, health practitioners, or other?




MHL: After my recovery from breast cancer surgery modified radical and simple mastectomy, and the other treatment I chose, oophorectomy to reduce my risk of recurrence, I embarked on a life-changing journey. I signed up with an altmed practiononer and detoxed my body, and changed everything physically, emotionally, and spiritually with the thought that everything in my life that led up to breast cancer needed to change to get well. I started going to medical meetings. At an alternative/complementary medicine conference in 1997, I first heard of the blood type diet. I was fascinated. You could say I had a "gut" reaction. When I read about type A's with cancer and heart disease, I know that Dr. D was talking about my family. When I read that type A's are more prone to breast cancer, and have a less than desirable outcome I freaked out. When I calmed down, I realized that Dr. D seems to know things about breast cancer that NO other doctor KNEW. I wanted to see this doc! I had to wait a year, but in the mean time. . . .



BR: How did you get started? Was it gradually, or did you opt for the cold-turkey-version?




MHL: I jumped right into the diet cold turkey. I felt I didn't have a day to waste. Breast cancer is highly motivating.



BR: How long did it take to notice change in your body (mentally and physically!). What kind of changes did you experience?


MHL: The eating plan gave me peace of mind, and let me tell you with this diagnosis it is in short supply. I finally felt that I found the Wellness-Groupfor life. Eliminating dairy helped with my allergies/sinus/mucous got counselling, joined a list serve for the alternative treatments of breast cancer-called Amazon, ran a small support group myself and a few friends with a cancer diagnosis, and began proselytising every where I went. I also took meditation classes, meditated regularly, and began a walking program (I was a couch potato before 1996) I also found a wellness technique called NAET (another story) which helped me conquer long standing allergies and also helped me emotionally. I started writing about the prevention of breast cancer. I am a completely different person than I was in 1996, and I owe a great deal of it to finding ERFYT.



BR: Your family; how did they react to your following this Blood type program? Are they supportive, tolerant or negative?


MH: My family has been very supportive of all my choices including the blood type program. My husband in particular who practiced medicine for 50 years saw to it that I got the organic food I needed, that I could see any doctor or practiononer I wanted, and chauffeured me to see Dr. D'adamo on an ongoing basis. (Va to Connecticut and another doc in NY) When he met Dr. D'adamo, he felt he was extraordinarily knowledgeable in every facet of the human body. Both of us were impressed on how empathetic, kind, and down to earth he is.Even with all I do, my family has been slow to adopt the blood type diet themselves, but as for my husband, since I do the cooking he's on the program more than he realizes.



BR: How many blood types are there in your family? Is it easy or time consuming to prepare foods, how do you manage?


MHL: Since most of the time there is the two of us, I have found foods that work for both of us for dinner. For example a good O and A combo would be salmon, sautéed veggies, and a salad. When I eat my sautéed snails in a salad, or my tofu or temper in a salad, I give my hubby a meal with meat.





BR: Is Eating Right 4 Your Type easy or difficult when you are at work, at a restaurant? On the road? Looking at your diet, what was easy to integrate, what still gives you problems?



MHL: We do eat out, and my other restrictions are harder on me in finding foods than the blood type diet. For example, I rarely eat chicken out because I don't want to eat the additional hormones. Recent research shows that dairy even organic has growth factors that most blood types should avoid if they have had breast cancer. So I have to stick to mainly fish, rice and veggies eating out. We travel on cruises, and I can always find myself something to eat because they serve a lot of fish and salads. However, my family laughs at me because I take a lot of food whenever I travel, even on a cruise: My tofu, soymilk, snacks, desserts, and breads. This helps because I stick to my ERFYT, and don't feel deprived while watching my travel companions eating those enticing but not healthy foods. (I'm not saying I never cheat, but taking one's food lends itself to more compliance.)



BR: Do you get support from your medical health practitioner? Could you convince him/her of the positiveimpact of the BTD on your health?


MHL: I had to pick a local doctor who was tolerant of my choices and open to what I do. For Christmas, I load up docs I want to thank with books like Live Right For Your Type and other health related books. Maybe allopathic Western medicine will learn something.



BR: What kind or medication did you take for overcoming your health problems? And how is your medication-intake after having started the BTD?


MHL: I take no medications. From the beginning with the first alt/med doc, I was on mega doses of vitamins and minerals. Then I got yet another virus and my liver functions went off due to probably a combination of the virus and a vitamin overdose. This was about the time I first got to see that NY doc and Dr. D'Adamo). I still take a number of vitamins and minerals, but have found through the ensuing years that the ones that agree with me the best are guess what-The blood type ones. With Dr. D's interest in breast cancer, specifically, he has made specific formulations for just that with his snail pills (type A and A, and Aromastat plus the ARA powder to protect my liver, Proberry and lastly Cortiguard for stress. Because of my choice of an oophorectomy, I'm going to be osteoporosis prone so I feel more secure using his form of calcium too. (I also take other supplements) I have had much fewer virus' now that I've been taking these supplements and eating according to the blood type plan. I've had no attacks of yeast, since I started with alternative complementary medicine in 1996. At first my gut had a hard time with more of a plant type diet, but now it's happy and I feel it was of extreme importance for cancer prevention to get that polyamine level down.



BR: The country, city, village you live in: Is it a problem or not to find the organic /green foods/meats you need? How do you cope with it?



MHL: We do not have a big organic food store in our town. Locally you can get some organic produce, but it isn't as fresh as I would like. Therefore, we drive every two weeks or so about 50 miles one way to go to a bigger store. It has become a way of life.

BR: Are there any other experiences you had following this way-of-life, you want to share with us? Now you have the chance!




MHL: Contrary to what medicine would have women believe, there is no cure for breast cancer. Therefore, the best anyone can do with this diagnosis is make the appropriate medical decisions on treatment with lots of self study and second opinions, and a proper diagnosis of the extent of one's disease. I have a personal interest in this statement. After 8 mammograms, a CAT scan of the breast, and an ultrasound, medicine missed that I had a second tumor in one of my breasts. So, I want women to know that a proper diagnosis is very important in choice of treatment. Better yet, at least TRY to prevent breast cancer. This goes for primary prevention or preventing a recurrence. Although medicine is slow to look for cause, (Too many drug companies involved with pesticide manufacturing) there are still things one can do. Follow Live Right For Your Type way of life. That is the best way I know. (Which gets the polyamine level down, uses lectins to one's advantage, keeps immunity up, and decreases risk factors for other diseases as well. Also, avoid pesticides, radiation excesses, hormones in meat, balance hormones, control stress, and get exercise. Obesity is the highest risk factor, so maintain a good weight. (Read and follow The Safe Shopper's Bible by Samuel Epstein to stay away from carcinogens.) For women, self-care is important, since family seems to get most of our time. And I might add that I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my faith. Faith helped me in the beginning of the journey to make the right choices for me. My faith showed me the way to Dr. D'Adamo for which I owe a tremendous debt, and faith helps me through each day. I am very thankful.



BR: Marilyn, may I thank you for this ‘search-and-find’ interview! You show us never to stop being critical, curious and eager to absorb more knowledge despite accepted medical dogmas!

And most of all: To have faith in our body!

BR: Tell us a little about yourself - your age, blood type, marital status, children, nationality, profession, country in which you live.





YA: Hello Cocky, wish you a great start with your column. I am Yaman Akalin, 49 years old, male, type O, married for a second time, one son each, my wife and my son type O, her son type B. I am from Turkey and we are living in Istanbul Turkey, except that my son has been studying in The Hague, Holland since 1999 and he will be attending the Webster University in Leiden, Holland. I am a chemical engineer (M. Sc.) and after 12 year career in as an engineer, I am now working in Marketing Research business for more than a decade.





BR: Give us some insight of your health problems. Are there any diseases running in your family?





YA: I was not so healthy when I was a young boy. Always underweight, I frequently suffered from problems with my digestive system. I had my secondary and high school education in boarding schools that contributed to these problems. I enjoyed a healthier period in my thirties and early forties. We have moved to live and work in Istanbul in 1995, and soon after my health problems started. In late 1996 I was diagnosed as hypertensive (130/100 to 150/110) with elevated levels of cholesterol, lipids and tryglycerides. I was put on medication and started dieting, classical “no red meat, high carb and veggies”. Within a year I had put on a lot of weight, and suffered from sluggishness and fatigue. Then I decided to look for alternative ways of improving my health. As a believer of natural healing, I have concentrated on healing power of foods, studied various diets etc. I have tried the Montignac diet (food combining) which somewhat improved my situation (later I would see why, it recommends to stay away from carbs in the early phase and rely on lean meat and veggies, nice coincidence for type O?).





BR: How did you find out about the blood type diet (I rather call it way-of-life!) Was it through friends, colleagues, health

practitioners, or other?





YA: I have lost 3 kilos with the Montignac diet and enjoyed some recovery in my health but that was all. Then I have heard from a friend the blood type solution. The first thing I was told was that I should avoid all wheat as type O. I tried it for two weeks and it made a remarkable difference. Then I bought the Eat Right 4 Your Type and read it in a couple of hours. (A quick note for Peter: I bought and read the English original. Then I saw the Turkish translation and noticed some translation errors, e.g. “buckwheat” being translated as “dark wheat”, which is listed as “neutral” for O’s while all wheat are avoids for them) BR: How did you get started? Was it gradually, or did you opt for the cold-turkey-version?





YA: I always prefer the cold-turkey version when it comes to health issues. I stopped the medication (blood pressure and cholesterol) and dived into the diet, or the way you put it, into a new way-of-life.





BR: How long did it take to notice change in your body (mentally and physically!). What kind of changes did you experience?





YA: Within two weeks time I have realized that I was more energetic and my digestive system was relieved. No more reflux or other digestion problems. Within a month my blood pressure was approaching toward normal values. Thereafter I started losing weight, half kilo per week and I came to a balance in 6 months. Since then (been 3 years now) I am around 66-67 kilos (height 172 cm). The diet helped to keep my blood pressure between 110/70 and 130/90 until early this year. Since January I am taking one capsule of Nitricycle every morning and now my blood pressure is stabilized (120/80). I have nearly forgotten what sort of a feeling “craving” was. No more shaking hands or other hypoglycemic

symptoms. The bottom line is, I cannot definitely know whether I will live a longer life, but I am pretty sure that I am and will be living a “younger” life..





BR: Was it easy to get started? Or difficult? What was your main purpose to get started? Health problems like losing weight, or what?





YA: Considering all the difficulties of type O diet in a “wheat oriented” society, it was an easy decision for me, as I was determined to find a way of life without being in medication for an indefinite time. An old friend of mine (who was then studying medicine) used to say “medicines and poisons are the same thing of different dosage”. And you know the once you start relying on medication for hypertension and cholesterol, you are done, you have to take them as long as you live. Well, I didn’t want to live like that. That was my main drive, and also I would very much like to get my slender figure back.





BR: Your family, how did they react to your following this Blood type Program? Are they supportive, tolerant or negative?





YA: My wife, being a type O, though not apparently overweight, wanted to lose some weight. So she joined me that of course avoided potential problems. My father (type O) and my mother (A) are also doing their best to follow the food lists I have prepared for them and they are feeling better too.





BR: How many blood types are there in your family? Is it easy or time consuming to prepare foods, how do you manage?





YA: Well, I am the cook in the house (I recommend it to all males, it’s a great therapy after a long day’s work, women only complain probably because they don’t want us to take it over!) (Note BR: I never complain, as long as my dinner is BTD-compliant!) As I love cooking, doing it in compliance with ER4YT is another challenge for me and the reward is worth doing it. Cooking is now more fun because I am now doing it not only for good taste but also to make us healthier. As in our house we are 2 O’s (3, when my son joins us in his vacations) and one B, we go for grilled lamb and salad, fish and salad, or just vegetables for dinner. Well, we O’s envy the B having cheese as side dish and take our revenge by gulping down chunks of juicy red tomatos. When B eats cauliflower, we enjoy our black-eyed beans etc. Breakfast is a bit problematic as in Turkey we are used to having cheese. Well, we can find a variety of goat cheese and also sheep cheese, plus naturally born eggs. I used to bake rye bread until last year but now I can find 100% rye bread too.





BR: Is Eating Right 4 Your Type easy or difficult when you are at work, at a restaurant? On the road?





YA: We have an hour of lunch break at work. That is enough for me to find a place where I can give directions on what I will not like to have in my dish. I prefer to have some rice or lamb and lots of green salad. On the road, one can come across a lot of barbecue restaurants/places. But I always keep handy an extra dark (min 70% cocoa) bitter chocolate or a pack of walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts in case of emergency which I admit is very rare as I only feel hungry but do not crave any more. So the “emergency” is just not to skip a meal. (Note BR: the protein bars are great as well in emergencies)





BR: Looking at your diet: what was easy to integrate into your basic diet, what still gives you problems?


YA: Luckily, (or naturally perhaps) all the beneficials for type O used to be among my favorites. The problem is mainly with the avoids. For example avoiding wheat (and corn in many cases) can sometimes appear as an impossible task. They are found almost in every packaged food item, in home-cooking when visiting friends, in restaurant dishes when eating out. I have to carry my reading glasses everywhere around to try and read those tiny lists of ingredients. The other thing is that I can hardly do without yogurt. I have found out that I feel better with yogurt made from sheep or buffalo milk is giving less or no trouble, so we replaced yogurt of cow milk with those (could it be that sheep/buffalo yogurts are neutrals for O’s?) (Note BR: Yes, you are right! Sheep/buffalo yogurts and cheeses are Neutral for O’s)





BR: Do you get support from your medical health practitioner? Could you convince him/her of the positive impact of the BTD on your health?





YA: Of course I had a lot of controversy with my MD in the beginning. Now it has changed. Last time he checked me up and then asked if I could tell him more about ER4YT. Now and then he asks my free advice for some of his patients.





BR: What kind or medication did you take for overcoming your health problems? And how is your medication-intake after having started the BTD?





YA: As I said, I was taking medication for hypertension and cholesterol. I quitted taking them when I started type O diet. Also I had to take anti-acid pills for stomach burns. My MD recommended that I had to take a 300 mg aspirin tablet every morning. I have forgotten what an anti-acid pill looked like ever since I started the ER4YT and I am not taking aspirin anymore. I am regularly taking supplements Nitricycle, Fucus, Larch, DGL and Catechol.





BR: The country, city, village you live in: Is it a problem or not to find the biological/green foods/meats you need? Are there any problems in this field, and how do you cope with it?





YA: Turkey is currently exporting 97% of its certified organic products to EU countries. To our luck, we have a number of organic food stores in Istanbul, one chain bringing in certified organic fresh fruits and vegetables once every week. I manage to sustain a diet based on organic foods at home. As for meat, we do not yet have certified free range organic meat. I can easily find “walking hen eggs” and prefer to eat lamb rather than veal or beef, as the former is closer to free range organic meat. Also it is possible to find “naturally grown” (though not certified) vegetables and fruits as most of Turkey is still “virgin” as far as pesticide and fertilizer use is considered. We still have a lot of small family owned agriculture. They bring in their products and market them in open public bazaars.





BR: Are there any other experiences you had following this way-of-life, you want to share with us? Now you have the chance!





YA: I think I have covered a lot already. I am grateful to the day I heard of this diet. I am grateful to Peter and his team for making it possible for us to live a lot healthier.





BR: Yaman is lucky to be living in a great country like Turkey with such abundance of sun-grown and natural fruits and veggies. During my many holiday visits to this beautiful country I really have enjoyed the fruits and always fresh veggies. My favorite breakfast was always watermelon with goat cheese (Feta, or beyaz peynir!). And think of it, this was all before my ER-time! My kids loved the peaches, fresh apricots, figs! And do not forget the famous Turkish red wines (HB for my A-blood type!) I want to thank you Yaman, very much for this wonderful ‘sunny’ Turkish interview! Y





YA: Thank you Cocky.

(The interview is by Jackie Abramson, his happy mother!)

BR: Introduce yourself!

JA: Jared Abramson, will turn 3 on 7/11/02. The entire family is Type A, so it was easy to incorporate diet.



BR: Give us a global insight of your health(-problems). Are there any diseases running in your family?

JA: No diseases that run in family.

BR: How did you find out about the blood type diet (I rather call it way-of-life!) Was it through friends, colleagues, health practitioners, or other?

JA: I had been constantly complaining to my mother every time Jared was sick. She would always ask me what his doctors said, which was ‘young children get sick all the time.’ She was speaking to her chiropractor and he recommended your book which she sent to us, and overnight we changed Jared's diet.

BR: How did you get started? Was it gradually, or did you opt for the cold-turkey-version?

JA: We started cold turkey, threw the milk and cheddar cheese out and shopped for soy and rice milk, part-skim mozzarella, spelt bread, etc. Very easy, my son took the bottles of soy and rice milk right away, did not even notice a difference!

BR: How long did it take to notice change in your son?

JA: I noticed a change with Jared's bowel movements immediately. Prior to giving him milk at age 1, he was breast fed, which gave him the typical loose stools. After putting him on milk, no change, his diapers were always full with loose stools - I didn't even think there was anything strange about it. Immediately after stopping the ingestion of cow's milk, he had normal (solid) bowel movements, I couldn't believe it. Now I realize that his system was not really able to handle cow's milk! If I hadn't changed his milk, I never would have known! The next change I noticed was that he stopped getting sick.

BR: Was it easy to get started?

JA: Very easy to start, all the same type of blood. My purpose of starting was to have a healthy child - I was helpless watching him get sick all the time.

BR: Your family, how did they react to your following this Blood Type Program? Are they supportive, tolerant or negative?

JA: Everyone was extremely supportive and I tell everyone about the book and what changes Jared has experienced since his change of diet.

BR: How many blood types are there in your family? Is it easy to prepare foods, or is it time consuming. How do you manage?

JA: One type, very easy.

BR: Is Eating Right 4 Your Type easy or difficult when you are at work, at a restaurant?On the road? Looking at your diet: what was easy to integrate into your basic diet, what still gives you problems?

JA: Very easy to eat out. Can order chicken and fish anywhere. Easy to purchase soy and rice milk at any supermarket. Travel with the small box containers - easy to make bottles - don't need refrigeration.

BR: Was your medical practitioner supportive? Could you convince him/her of the positive impact of the BTD on your son’s health?

JA: I have not even had a chance to tell Jared's doctors since we have not been to see them in about 7 months!! We just moved also and now he will be seeing new doctors.

BR: The area you live in: Is it a problem or not to find the organic/green foods/meats you need?

JA: We live in suburban NJ. Very easy to locate organic products. Notice huge differences in prices from North Jersey to South Jersey (So. Jersey being more expensive!!!) Trader Joe's is a great place to stock up on spelt bread!

BR: Are there any other experiences you had following this way-of-life, you want to share with us? Now you have the chance!

JA: The best experience is after watching Jared getting sick every other week- literally and twice, catching back to back viruses (and constantly catching everything everyone else had) to now having him 6 months of not one day sick - is the BEST! We had even traveled and stayed with family who were all sick and he didn't get sick! He is healthy, thriving and I am so happy my mother sent me this book! This has changed our always sick little boy to a wonderfully healthy boy! Thanks a million!!!!!

BR: Being a mother myself as well, I so do recognize the feelings of grief, sometimes of anger, of not being in control of your kid’s health despite all the ‘right’ efforts on your side. The feelings of irritation of all the ‘good’ advice people give you. And as a consequence the stress a sick child imposes on the parents and grandparents. Jackie, you have a wonderful mother! She gave you the only right advice. Great that Jared responded immediately to eating right. Jared looks like a healthy, naughty guy with loads of life in him. All the best for all of you!!

BR: Introduce yourself!



AR: Ciao to everyone! My name is Alma Raffaghelli (0 nonnie). I live in Milan, Italy, where I was born 40 years ago. I am a Project Support in a Publishing House but whenever I can, I do my favourite hobbies: Raku ceramics, painting and etching.



                           

"Piccola Donna" -- Alma Raffaghelli



                           

"Al fiume" -- Alma Raffaghelli

 

Recently, I’ve also taken a fancy to physical fitness.



BR: Can you give us a bit of insight into why you started the blood type diet?

AR: In 2001 I started to have some health problems which in the past had never been so evident and close by: water retention, aerophagy, heartburn, eczema, migraine and, in winter, several days in bed with flu. Also anxiety started to worry me. After my trip to Tibet, in 2002, my conditions got worse and I realized that something had to be done. I received treatments from a dermatologist and an acupuncturist: they helped me temporarily relieve my problems, but I was aware it wasn’t enough.



BR: Are there any diseases that tend to run in your family?

AR: My father died at 42 after he was operated on for gallstones. My mother had the same operation 15 years ago.



BR: How did you find out about the blood type diet? Was it through friends, colleagues, a health practitioner?

AR: While looking in a bookshop for some publications re medicinal property of the aloe plant, (note BR: Aloe cosmetics are okay for O, but do not take Aloe Vera products orally!!) the shop assistant showed me a book on the blood type diet: it was like love at first sight; it sounded convincing and I started investigating.



BR: How did you get started? Was it gradually, or did you opt for the cold-turkey-version?

AR: It was gradually, as my being used to the Mediterranean diet was a difficult obstacle to overcome, it’s almost unthinkable in Italy, the idea of avoiding “pasta” or bread during the meals, so I started by substituting whole wheat products with neutral grains and increasing animal proteins and vegetables. The strange thing is that, right before discovering the ABO diet, I was about to become a vegetarian! A big help was given to me by Heidi Merritt who, in her column, has been training me in a funny, clever and intriguing way.



BR: How long did it take to notice change in your body (mentally and physically!)

AR: About 2 weeks.



BR: What kind of changes did you experience?

AR: More evident changes were the vanishing of migraines and water retention. First the swelling of my feet and fingers reduced significantly; later on, my mental concentration and attention improved astonishingly and my old anxiety stopped troubling me. I had had moments in which I was even afraid of driving a car or going for a trip. However, the big change occurred last April, when I started following the non secretor regime. Now I’m full of energy, sleep very well, my hair and skin have never looked better and my temper is always positive. Also my aggressiveness has almost disappeared.



BR: Was it easy to get started? Or difficult? What was your main purpose to get started? Health problems like losing weight, or what?

AR: Health problems, I should say. It wasn’t so bad to get started, I was curious and I like changes from time to time. On the contrary, I had quite a shock when I discovered I was a non secretor. It took me 2 weeks to adapt myself to the new regime but now I feel so good!!!



BR: Your family, how did they react to your following the diet?

AR: In a positive way; I’m a single and only my mother, she too is an O, got started with me; she is very happy with her results even if she’s not as strict as me (she’s a secretor, I suppose) She used to suffer from arthritis and bloating conditions which have almost disappeared.



BR: How many blood types are there in your family? How do you manage?

AR: Only my mother, who is an 0 like me.



BR: Is Eating Right 4 Your Type easy or difficult when you are at work, at a restaurant? On the road?

AR: Luckily in Italy there’s a wide choice of food: lot of vegetables, meat and fish; I never have problems in restaurants and the friends of mine who invite me for lunch or dinner already know what I need.

When I go abroad, I take with me some Deflect O in case of need.



BR: Looking at your diet: what was easy to integrate into your basic diet, what still gives you problems?



AR: It’s amazing to think of how much in the past I was addicted to sweets and wheat products while now I seldom think of them. Day by day I’ve changed my taste and added new flavours to my dishes without problems. There’s only one condition: if I don’t change ingredients and recipes often, I run the risk of losing appetite.



BR: Do you get support from your Medical Doctor?

Could you convince him/her of the positive impact of the blood type diet on your health?

AR: I haven’t’ talked to any doctor about it. No need of them for the time being.



BR: What kind of medication did you take for overcoming your health problems? And how is your medication-intake after having started the blood type diet?

AR: I had some acupuncture treatments for my heartburns in 2002 and I took some homeopathic medicines. Currently, I don’t need any medicine!



BR: The country, city, village you live in: Is it a problem or not to find the organic foods you need?

AR: I don’t have troubles in Milan, even if I have to buy some product, such as vegetable glycerine (veg gly!), in the UK. Every year in Italy new fields are converted to organic food cultures (not OMG) and many Italian biological products are now exported all over Europe.



BR: Are there any other experiences you had following this way-of-life, you want to share with us?

AR: My life has dramatically changed. If I think of my adolescence, I can’t ignore depressions, fears and obsessions that started then and accompanied me now and then till last year. Apart from countless improvements in my health state, every morning, when I wake up and start a new day, I have a positive and determined attitude that I can share with everybody and helps me enrich every moment of my life.

This is priceless...





BR: Alma, thank you so much for your great interview... Life in all its aspects has turned for the better for you!!

It is so important to have the secretor status tested! World population consists of 80% secretors and only 20% non-secretors, but this info is so vital to know in order to tune up your BTD-diet to full satisfaction and thus full health!! Thank you for having me profile you!!

Wishing you health and longevity...

BR:Hi Tom! I am very pleased you agreed to be profiled in my column! Please introduce yourself!



TG:I am a naturopath and osteopath based in Canterbury, UK.



BR:You recently joined us columnist on the website! Can you give us a bit of insight why you were drawn to the BTD? What made the coin fall?



TG:My training as a naturopath was based on the ‘nature-cure’ approach, i.e.everyone should aim for a vegetarian/vegan, wholefood/raw food and food-combining diet, with fasting and hydrotherapy as first line treatment approach. In practice I did not always find it easy to convince many clients to stick to this system for long, if at all. Some people who did use this method even seemed to get worse rather than better. Then in 1998 a colleague told me about a book that based its dietary perspective on a person’s ABO blood group. At around the same time a friend of mine was importing Biodynamic bread to the UK from Germany, while planning to set up her own bakery. Some American customers had asked her whether the bread was suitable for their blood group, and didn’t know how to find out, so she asked me. It seemed to make complete sense that something in the blood could relate to how a person responded to food, so I got a copy of ‘The Eat Right Diet’ (as it was called when first published in the UK). When I began to understand that it was based on a sound naturopathic philosophy as well as science, I decided to use myself as a guinea pig. I first had to find out my own blood group, realising that if I turned out to be an O or B, I would have to change my eating habits radically, as I had been vegetarian for 15 years.



BR:We all know that the Blood Type Diet is the way to a healthy and long life! Do you adhere to the BTD yourself and to what extent? What is your blood type, secretor status and other statistics?



TG:My blood group (luckily for my vegetarian diet) turned out to be A negative. Later I found out my other blood groups: A1 secretor and NN. I have stuck to the BTD approach since I first found out my blood group, as I tend to suffer from eating avoid foods.Other genetic polymorphisms relevant to my diet and blood group are as follows: AGT (Angiotensin 1) - This means I am one of the 10% of people whose blood pressure can be affected by sodium intake, and together with my A and NN blood groups, this puts me in a higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Consequently I have a low salt diet, and I eat artisan bread, in which much or all of the salt has been replaced with seaweed.



COMT (Catechol-O methyltransferase) - This means that although I am an A secretor, I also have relative difficulty in clearing catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline) which also puts me in a category similar to people with O blood group. When under stress my personality may not always be A-like, and I avoid alcohol because of this polymorphism.



CYBA*8 (Reduction-Oxidation Balance) - This means I am a fast oxidiser, and oxidise my food quickly – I am 6’3” (190 cms), but have never weighed more than about 160 lbs (73 kgs). My Oxystress urine tests always come out dark red. Combined with my A blood this puts me at higher risk of heart disease.



MTHFR (Methylation) – This would put me at a higher risk of elevated homocysteine levels without sufficient dietary folic acid, so I eat plenty of greens.



BR:And if the answer to the previous question is YES, how long did it take to notice change in your body (mentally and physically!) What kind of changes exactly did you experience?



TG:There was a fairly immediate improvement in my concentration and energy levels. I also lost some weight (which also happened when experimenting with food combining). Gradually mucous-related problems in my ears and sinuses and my coated tongue disappeared, and eventually my immune system settled down, so I have been in excellent health for years.



BRoes your family adhere to the BTD as well?



TG:The friend mentioned above who was setting up the bakery is now my wife Ingrid! She has exactly the same blood group as me, and we have similar taste in food. Ingrid finds cooking relaxing after a busy day as director of artisan bread, and has a talent for dreaming up new exciting and tasty recipes with our most A-beneficial food ingredients: we have tasty seaweed salads with fresh herbs; sugar-free carob and walnut oat brownies that taste like chocolate; tempeh dishes in exotic sauces, spelt vegetable pizza with home made soya cheese, etc. So it’s quite easy to eat according to our blood group all the time.



BR:How many bloodtypes are present in your family to cope with? How do you manage?



TG:My mother (O) is slowly coming round to the idea that the blood type approach is going to be with us for a long time. Of her two brothers (both O) one is now following the BTD and says it has relieved longstanding health problems. My father (A) died of cancer at 35 before we knew what we should be eating. My brother (also A) is more of a foodie, but also an excellent cook, and caters for us superbly when we eat at his place. I have two children, Jacob and Bethany, from a previous relationship. We haven’t found out their blood groups yet, but Bethany is vegetarian (and we suspect she is A). We tend to meet at restaurants, or at family gatherings with a buffet meal, so we can all choose what we want to eat.



BR:In your Naturopathic Practice you integrate the BTD as part of your healing capacities! Could you give the readership an example of how different naturopathic options coincide with the BTD?



TG:The British Naturopathic Journal published my article Blood Grouping in Naturopathic Practice, BNJ, Vol. 20, No. 1, 2003, pp.12-16, which explored how naturopathic pioneers have used various categorisations to explore the genetic limitations and capabilities of humans. This had largely been forgotten as a result of eugenics falling out of fashion in the first half of the 20th Century. With the advent of blood grouping naturopaths now have a scientifically-based opportunity to get a large part of their clients’ individuality and genetic risks/potential way beyond asking what illnesses there have been in the family. I have been presenting information on the BTD to UK naturopaths and naturopathic students for some time, but it is a slow process for it to filter through into practice: the UK tends to lag behind the rest of the world in so many things. I even set up my own blood grouping laboratory for public and practitioners in Europe to send in blood samples for testing, and incorporated full blood grouping and subgrouping into my holistic well person clinic health screen.



BR:Tom, in my view many ways of healing form a part of the puzzle. Peter D’Adamo is the first one who ‘completed the puzzle’, who found that missing piece, the blood type connection! What are your views regarding this Blood-Type-Connection?



TG:Once you start to see people in terms of how they are influenced by their blood group it can be very enlightening. Of course a person’s behaviour can also be affected by many other aspects, we are not just our blood group, but it is surprising how many ‘blood type attributes’ can be recognised in people. I can often guess a person’s blood group before I have blood typed them. It is also interesting to look at views on blood groups from various sources: I used to eat goats’ cheese, and people asked me why I didn’t also eat fish and chicken, but when I got hold of Dr. James D’Adamo’s book ‘One Man’s Food’ (now out of print), it gave me ‘permission’ to avoid eating all animal proteins: he says that the ideal diet for the A is to eat seeds, sprouts and tofu as main sources of protein, although one egg per week may be eaten. Note that this should be “worked into slowly, with great deliberation, and at your own pace”. It is the final stage of a long transition for many people who may have been on a meat-based diet, and is surprisingly similar to the ‘nature-cure’ diet that I learnt about in college.



BR:Next April 2005 the second Seminar will be held in Arizona. Loads of new research-results will be revealed!! So much BTD-news to be shared with a worldwide gathering of BTD-friends, in an accommodation perfect to talk and socialize! Tom, can you give the readership some of your expectations/views regarding this Meeting of the 4 Masters?



TG:This is going to be a great conference. Peter is, of course, an outstanding ,lecturer. Dr. Jeff Bland often lectures to us in the UK. His book ‘Genetic Nutritioneering’ published in 1999, was probably the first book apart from those written by the D’Adamo family to recognise the importance of blood groups. And of course he wrote the Afterword for Live Right 4 Your Type. It will be fascinating to hear the outcome of original research from his Functional Medicine Research Center in this context. Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, author of several naturopathic bibles, will be enlightening us on an aid to clinical decision making. Dr. Walter Crinnion (who was at the first conference) will tell us about his speciality: health risks from exposure to environmental toxins and the blood type polymorphism connection. And of course it will be a chance to catch up with colleagues I won’t have seen for two years, even though many of them live in the UK. If my wife hires a Harley and takes me on tour around Arizona like she did before the 2003 conference, of course that will be a bonus too.



BR:Are there plans/wishes/views for the future with respect to the Blood Type Science you wish to share with us?



TG:I welcome the day when the UK accepts naturopathic treatment, as people with health insurance can’t claim for naturopathy at the moment. It probably won’t be long before genetic testing will be ‘cheap and cheerful’, and as freely available as blood grouping. Then researchers such as those speaking at the 2005 seminar will help us to further individualise our ways of maintaining health. Of course if the life insurance companies get hold of this information it might cause problems for people with certain polymorphisms, but that’s another story…



BR:Tom, thank you so much for your clarifying and insight interview! As Dr. D. you also have the ability to explain ‘complicated’ medical matters in understandable language! A gift! As you, I am also looking forward to attending the upcoming Seminar in Arizona in April 2005, to catch up with friends and many others, met in 2003. Tom, I feel privileged to have profiled you in my column! Hope to meet you again in Arizona in 2005..

BR: Dr. D., could you tell us something about yourself? I mean, where you were born, your parents, your childhood, how many brothers and/or sisters, where you lived? What kind of boy you were.

D’ADAMO: I was born in Brooklyn NY, specifically the neighborhood called Dyker Heights, renowned principally for the garishness of its annual Christmas lighting. My childhood (along with my brother James and sister Michele) was quite bucolic by 1970’s middle class standards. Rock and mineral collections. Butterfly collections. Read a lot of history – a love to this day. I was a ‘tinkerer’ type of kid (a legacy of my father no doubt). Constantly taking things apart and putting them back together. Very fond of electronics, robots, short wave, etc. My childhood friends (most of whom remain my closest contacts) were similarly inclined. We couldn’t afford records, so we would build little sound machines and sequencers and tape-record them: When we got a good groove we’d let the tapes play while we’d dance. We were out of step for the 1960-70’s, but were very much like today’s type of geeky kid.

BR: Where did your ancestors came from? And why did they go to America?

D’ADAMO: My ancestors are Italian on my father's side and Spanish on my mothers. The D’Adamo’s came here fairly early (for Italian immigrants). My mother on the other hand was Spanish -from the province of Lerida, outside Barcelona.

BR: Your father has been very important for your professional choice in life! Could you tell some highlights about the relation to your father, professional and relational?

D’ADAMO: Dr. James D’Adamo is a very cool guy. Perhaps the best thing I can relate to you about our relationship is a story I remember as if it was yesterday. I must have been eight or nine years old, and he was discussing where to locate a small privacy fence with a friend who was helping him build it. I piped in with a suggestion, plus the reason for my suggestion, and I remember looking at his face and thinking ‘Gee, this guy is actually evaluating what I’m saying seriously!’ Very common (perhaps too common) nowadays, but back then nobody actually took anything a kid said seriously. Dad is one of those guys perpetually ahead of the curve, though he doesn’t actually work at it. Just his Aquarian nature, I suspect.

BR: Mothers are vital factors in the lives of their children. Tell us about your relation with your mother.

D’ADAMO: Mom was all earth energy: Very grounded. Yet also very accepting and adaptable. Classic mom of Latin culture. Dinner-time calls down to the basement lab from the top of the stairs when I was brewing something or lost in a book.

BR: Dr. D, you are married to Martha. I met Martha as well last September. She is a great woman! You are a great couple! Please do tell us how you two met, and enlighten us about the secret of your happy marriage!

D’ADAMO: Having been advised by my dad early in my career to not mix business and personal lives, I then proceeded to break that rule the one and only time when I met Martha, who was a patient of the clinic. Secret of a happy marriage: Marry someone that you would not mind being friends with and never get in the way of their growth and development.

BR: You have 2 daughters Claudia and Emily. Are you a nice father to them? Are you at home often enough? How much criticism you get from them? What it is like to be in a female family: you being the only male! Can you survive? If there is, tell us about this female ‘blockade’!

D’ADAMO: My kids would probably tell you that I was home too much! I think I am an indulgent father. Martha recently did some calculations and it appears that I will be in a household simultaneously replete with one spouse in menopause and two offspring in puberty. As far as the male-female thing, I think today’s kid is pretty multi-faceted with regard to gender bending: Both kids love sports, books and games (‘Diplomacy’ is a current favourite) so there are lots of ways they can react with dear old Dad.

BR: Martha is an O. You are an A! O’s stand for rationality, A’s for emotionality! How do you manage?

D’ADAMO: Extra entrees.

BR:You are a very busy man. Books, an encyclopedia, educational courses, lectures to be given, a clinic with patients to attend!! Another book Eat Right 4 Your Baby in the writing stages! Is there time for hobbies? If there is, what is your favourite hobby?

D’ADAMO: Martial arts, woodworking and computer stuff. I enjoy composing electronic music, and wrote several scores for modern dance while in naturopathic school. Charles Dodge once said I was not so much a composer as a 'music systems pre-programmer' -since my hardware skills often created the tools other musicians used to make music, rather than me making the music myself. Now I mostly do it for fun.

BR: Recently I heard that you broke your ankle! How could this happen? Too hasty? Too busy to watch out? Tell us about your temporary handicap!

D’ADAMO: I was practicing a ‘spin back kick’ in a room with a Pergo-type floor. I had just cleaned the floor with a device called a Swiffer. Unfortunately Pergo floors have a tiny amount of Teflon in their coating and the Swiffer leaves behind a trace of a surfactant. Anyway, in the middle of the kick, I suddenly felt as if I was on ice, falling onto my ankle, breaking the fibula and in general making a mess of all the ligaments and tendons. The orthopod pretty much wanted to pin the ankle and put me in a non-walking cast to 4-6 weeks. I asked him to give me two weeks, went home, put my foot up and started pumping in all the nutritional stuff I could think of. Two weeks later: no pin needed. Three weeks later I resumed taking karate class (modified). Four weeks later: discharged. Now, five weeks later, I can do everything except major pivoting. Folks, this naturopathy stuff works.

BR: What was your naturopathic education like?

D’ADAMO: I was in the first graduating class of John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine, now Bastyr University in Seattle Washington. Very different from today’s naturopathic college. No student loans (I worked as a night watchman, insurance examiner and as a sexton in an Episcopal church) no campus (our classes were at Seattle Central Community College) and minimal amenities. Yet I still think we were perhaps the best trained naturopaths of all. Many of our mentors were the ‘classic’ naturopaths of the 1940-50’s- now most dead - and if we were hamstrung as far as things like test tubes and audio-visual machinery, our education was blessed with an indulgence and immediacy from some of the best minds in the field.

BR: Dr. D. you have ‘fans’ all over the world! Will you be planning other author tours, like you did in the past?

D’ADAMO: These are becoming a fact of life for me. I suspect the future holds more book tours, perhaps in the fall or winter.

BR: What does the future hold for Dr. D'Adamo?

D’ADAMO: I'm slowly cutting back on private practice. Although I enjoy it, it leaves very little time for research, which I am itching to resume. Now that Dr. Bronner Handwerger has joined the practice I'm much more secure in knowing that my patients will be treated effectively. He really is a phenomenal doctor. As for me, the availability of an entirely new generation of DNA-based testing systems makes me excited about basic research for the first time in a while. The Institute for Human Individuality at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine will also go on-line this Fall-Winter, so there will have to be a lot of policy-making done with regard to its research agenda as well.

BR: During my stay in your clinic, I was in awe with the way you treat your patients. Such patience and open mindedness towards everyone. I've never seen a doctor so dedicated! Your staff in the clinic are motivated and have worked for you for many years. That shows their dedication to you. We are happy to have you around to watch over our health! Thank you for this interview.

D’ADAMO: Thank you Cocky.

Photograph copyright 2002 Robert Messineo.