I have been feeling much better on this diet but ever since I started it, I have been burping alot. Does this mean I am not digesting well. I am o+ and it seems that it is a reaction to the red meat. I'm taking protease to help but I'm still burping alot. -- Holly



Pancreatic enzymes helped me out when I first started the diet. If you eat bread, rice or other grains with your meat, it may be worthwhile to see how you feel after a few meals of meat and vegetables only. Try to chew slowly, and don't drink water or other beverages while you are eating. A calm frame of mind at mealtime, and focusing on your food rather than engaging in animated conversation, will support better digestion.



What are the best digestive enzymes you recommend for Type A? -- Laurie



Gentian (20 drops in a few ounces of water), bromelain (one or two capsules before a meal), or a few slurps of plain pineapple or grapefruit juice. You may also want to review your intake of flesh food, grain, and fats ~~ any one of which, in excess, can truly upset the type A tummy. Small meals taken four to five times throughout the day may also suit you better than larger, more infrequent meals.



There can be a bit of an adjustment period when starting a new diet. The hard-working bacteria in our digestive tracts will be a little put-about by the new arrivals, and will need time to establish a new status-quo. If you are new to this plan, eating simply and paying attention to your signals of hunger or fullness will speed your progress and your digestive comfort. Rest, exercise, and enjoy the changes!

I am sure that blood-type eating assists digestion. I find it hard to believe that it renders other digestive planning of no use. Let us consider a meal of mashed potatoes and meat. If some digestion of protein is to take place in the acid stomach certainly the presence of potato will not help the achievement of the proper acidity. OK---the body will muddle through and get the job done to some extent but if we are trying to optimize digestion why introduce this complication???----even if it is done every day all over the world.

Hi, Ralph! nice to hear from you! If my failing memory serves, you're type B, right?

The nice thing about Peter's blood type books is their emphasis on accessibility to the average person facing this science for the first time. You're right: the meat-and-potatoes (or -rice, or -bread, or -pasta) meal is on every non-vegetarian restaurant's menu worldwide, as well as being the convention for most home cooks.

Not only is this the customary meal plan in well-fed households, it is also a stomach-filling strategy for the poor. Small amounts of expensive meats, fowl or fish can make a satisfying meal if stretched with starch.

You're also perceptive in noting that protein digestion (supported by a more acid digestive environment) is not necessarily aided by the presence of foods which are better assimilated in a slightly more alkaline mix. This seems to vary widely by individual, with some reporting greatly improved digestion through separating starches from flesh foods, some who find that vegetable starch (even from potatoes) -- as opposed to grain starch -- is fine with meats, and others noticing little difference.

Anyone consulting a naturopath versed in ABO lore will come away with a far more specific set of recommendations than a popular health book could provide, naturally. For instance, an Indican test will disclose how efficiently your particular digestive system is doing its job. That's not a test we can perform at home. However, Peter's books clearly mark out the head of the trail, if you will, for the average reader. The journey itself can involve many byways, the choice of which is up to the goals and abilities of each person on the journey.

By following that path, other needed adjustments naturally make themselves known to us. It's been the experience of hundreds I've heard from... including myself.

However, in fairness, I think this calls for a column on classic food-combining this coming week. I hope to enlist the aid of some old friends! Stay tuned!!

ACK!!!

~ I have noticed so many discrepencies comparing Cook Right and Blood Type O Food, Beverage & Supplement Lists that I wonder which to pay attention to when I am shopping/coking. A few examples:- goose is N in Lists and A in Cook Right; Quail is A in Lists and N in Cook Right; Sunflower Butter and Sunflower Seeds are A in Lists and N in Cook Right; Ezekiel Bread is N in Lists and HB in Cook Right; Oat Bran and Oatmeal are N in Lists and A in Cook Right; Brussel Sprouts and All Cabbage are N in Lists and A in Cook Right; Bananas, Blueberries, Mangoes and Guava are HB in Lists and N in Cook Right; Strawberries are N in Lists and A in Cook Right; Kiwi is A in Lists and N in Cook Right; Cinnamon is N in Lists and A in Cook Right etc. etc. These are all foods I enjoy so I am not sure whether to avoid them or treat them as food should I follow the diet. I've come up with these discrepancies and more just casually scanning the books. Any Suggestions?? Doreen

~ I am Type O and have BTD, CR4YT, and Blood Type O Food, Beverage, and Supplement LISTS from ER4YT. So far, I have found two foods - squid (calamari) and quail - that the 3 books (and the TypeBase 3 Database) disagree about as to whether they are neutral or avoids for Type O's. I'm wondering where the definitive list is (if one exists) so that I can know for sure how to categorize those foods (and any others that may have been listed incorrectly). I am not super-strict about following the diet myself, though I am more so for my 18-month-old son (per Dr.'s recommendations). P.B-B.

Ladies, thank you for voicing the concerns of a great many people! Here's the situation:

Eat Right 4 Your Type and Cook Right 4 Your Type are now most valuable for the explanatory texts and recipes, rather than the food lists. Those lists have been updated too swiftly over the past seven years to keep reissuing updated books -- one of the inescapable facts of life in publishing.

(1) If you know your secretor status, then use Live Right 4 Your Type with an eye on the update page, OR the online database. These are the correct values by secretor status.

(2) If you don't know your secretor status, and don't plan to do so, then use the individual blood-type lists. The "little books" are based upon the current knowledge, designed along secretor lines (who comprise nearly 80% of the population) -- and adjusted somewhat to eliminate the worst avoids for nonsecretors, to be on the safe side. That is why their values do not identically correspond to any of the other books. They are a general-purpose guide, developed because of popular demand, and highly effective in that capacity.

Let me offer some solace: the first five years after the publication of Eat Right saw voluminous new discoveries about ABO-mediated food interactions. The food lists were in a constant and unexpected state of upheaval. Items were being added, consolidated and modified at a stupefying rate. At this latter day, things have settled down considerably! We maintain food value updates on this site in the update page and TYPEbase3®, and will continue to do so. The current rate of change, however, has slowed to sublight speed.

This science is reaching its maturity, and the confidence level in every food value has risen significantly. Future changes will be very few -- more along the lines of specific values for previously unlisted foods. I hope understanding the road we've travelled has helped to restore your confidence, as well!