I found out about the Blood type diet in Feb through my sister's herbalist. I have talked to her on the phone once, and then on through e-mail. She is trying to help me get off of estrogen and on just progesterone.



I also need to lose about 100 pounds. I have been on the Atkins diet off and on for 4 years. It always makes me feel better because it gets my blood sugar regulated, but I have a difficult time getting into ketosis, which he says will help to lose weight. When I found out I was Type A, I thought I probably didn't loose because I was eating all wrong for my blood type. I was so excited that I had finally found a diet that would help me lose and to be getting off of estrogen which I thought was keeping me from losing. Well, I have gained instead of losing. I did really good for 2 weeks, then I got PMS so bad and started eating everything. I have had 2 or 3 periods a month since trying to get off of estrogen. (I am 54 and haven't had period in about 4 years.) I have been depressed, etc. I am craving sweets. Although, last week I was due to have a period and I didn't, so maybe I am straightening out. I am still on 1/2 my estrogen.



My question, do you think it would be beneficial for me to go on the Atkins diet while eating for my blood type? I could eat chicken, turkey, salads, etc. Or, what suggestions do you have that will help me to lose weight? Is there any diet I could follow for losing weight. It seems that the people in the book just seem to lose weight when they started eating this way. I have been eating quite a bit of natural peanut butter (natural and no hydrogenated oil) on wasa krisp. Maybe I am eating too much of a good thing. Before I got on this diet, I ate a lot of cheese for the protein, so I changed to peanut butter.



(I am border-line diabetic and need to get weight off soon before the doctor puts me on medication.)



I would appreciate any suggestions and encouragement. I was really so excited about the diet, but have been off and on it for about a month. It seems difficult to get excited again. Thank you, Carolyn

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Hello, Carolyn ~ The A diet will certainly work for you. Right now, it will help you stick to the task if you understand why it has been so difficult to lose this weight.



Hypoglycemia, especially to the point of borderline diabetes, is the first thing you need to work on. Many type As give up on their diet because they suffer from hypoglycemia and have been self-treating the discomfort with dairy and meats. This makes them feel better for a little while, but rarely gets the weight all off and most important, it puts their health at serious risk. Of all the blood types, type A diabetics have the highest statistical rate of heart disease as a result of this metabolic imbalance. Please commit to your BTD plan now, and stick with it for a month! At that point, the cravings will have diminished to a manageable level! And remember that it will take far less time to regain your health than it took to gain the weight. Have faith, and hop right on the A plan with a vengeance. This way, the transition period will be brief ~ and you'll NEVER have to go through this again!



Your endocrine difficulties should almost completely resolve when you have gone a fair distance toward your ideal weight. In the meantime, look into using the supplement "maca." PennHerb.com has a great price on it, and a high-quality product. It's a sweet-tasting powder made from the root of the plant, which can be stirred into a little juice or dumped into a smoothie.



I strongly suggest getting the saliva secretor test available on this site, and following the diet for your A secretor status as outlined in Live Right 4 Your Type. Be sure to observe the guidelines on frequency and portions for each type of food. A key element in attaining your goals is appropriate activity, which is discussed at length in the book. Using a stress-relief practice such as yoga, meditation, or tai chi, will reduce cortisol levels, which will aid in weight loss, re-balance your hormonal system, and make you feel a heck of a lot better. :-)



Carolyn, believe me that I understand how depressed and unhappy about this situation you must be right now ~ but that will change once you see results. Write again when you've started the diet again. Hey, write every day if you would like! I will read it, and I care about how you are doing!! I'll offer any assistance and support I can offer, and I'm waiting for your first report!! :-)



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Hi! I'm A+ (with an A+ and an O+ parent). I used to suffer from undiagnosed duodenal ulcers. I will get quite a craving for meat if all I eat is tofu, fish and peanut butter. (Breast and other glandular cancers are rampant on both sides of my family.)



Given my O symptoms and cravings, but the A family risk, how should I approach your book? What is A2? Thanks, Marianna



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Hi, Marianna ~ I wouldn't characterize your cravings or symptoms as "type O," since there are no diseases which occur in only one type, and anyone who has not yet settled into their plan does often crave what they cannot have. A type O craving, in fact, is most likely to be wheat, corn or dairy! :-)



Type As with a recessive O gene do appear slightly more susceptible to ulcers than the "Aa" folks. This in no way affects their diet guidelines. A2 is one of the A subgroups, and there are some minor modifications to the A diet for that group. Given your A phenotype and your family history of cancer, it is MOST important for you to get your secretor status, MN type, A subtype, and follow the Live Right 4 Your Type diet with those results in mind. Please do engage in yoga and meditation daily! Those are the basic recommendations. There's a lot more to this than tofu & peanuts! and many more foods on the diet that will do you a great deal of good.



There is a multitude of things you can do to boost your immunity and make your body unfit for cancer. Please read Live Right cover to cover, re-read it, and use the Complete Blood Type Encyclopedia for specific protocols to protect against cancer and other serious diseases.



These are the tools that will keep you happy & healthy ~ take hold and use 'em! ;-)



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Heidi, I need to know how can I test myself for secretor or non-secretor in South Africa? Nandie



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Hi, Nandie ~ Ask your doctor or clinic for the saliva secretor test, OR the Lewis test. I know that labs in ZA do the Lewis test, although many doctors are not familiar with it. If you have their name at hand, call direct to the diagnostic laboratory your doctor uses. They can confirm it, which you then can bring to your doctor's attention.



Let me know how it goes, and thanks for asking!! :-)



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My blood type is A. I have been taking Prevacid (acid reflux pill) for a few years, probably because 95% of the foods I ate were on the "avoid" list. I have been on the diet for a few weeks. Should I eventually go off the Prevacid when I have encorporated many of the Highly Beneficial foods? Should I take an all natural digestive enzyme? Or will I not need any digestive enzyme eventually...or just stick to Pineapple? Thanks, Robin



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Hey there, Robin! Welcome to the BTD!



Will you be able to drop the drug? Definitely! Acid reflux is a result of eating the wrong foods, and/or overeating at a meal, and/or eating too late at night for your system to be able to digest before sleeping. It is most certainly NOT a "Prevacid deficiency." :-) To aid your progress, use a simple food separation routine: keep fowl, fish & egg meals free of rice or other grains ~ instead, prepare vegetarian meals including the rice. Drink plenty of water, but away from meals (to give your digestive juices a fighting chance). And finish your last meal of the day at least two hours before sleeping. Gentian is very helpful as a digestive, as is pineapple. For now, keep your meals comfortably small, as many beneficials as possible over the week, and get plenty of light exercise during your day ~ it helps every organ do its job smoothly and happily.



Thank you for writing, dear! Let me know how you do!! :-D





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Dear Heidi: I look forward to reading your column whenever I can. It's always so informative. I just wanted to report that I stopped taking the insulin injections, because I had gained ~20 pounds on it. I've since lost 2 pounds a day, (for the last 3 days,) but I'm also following Eat Right more closely. I'm mostly eating only H.B. foods, and just meats/fish, veggies, and a little nuts. I've also started running again. Yesterday when I woke up, I felt GREAT! I hadn't felt that good in a long time, on or off the insulin. I wish I could program my brain to remember how good I feel after running or aerobics. I'm also taking the recommended supplements ~ once a day. My husband was handed "severance" papers a couple of weeks ago, so I've been trying to be a bit more frugal with the money. Can you tell me what you think is most important for controlling high blood sugar in O secretors? I have the Encyclopedia, and before I bought it, I bought some liquid herbs like dandelion, fenugreek, licorice, and bladderwrack, on clearance at a drugstore that was going out of business. They have glycerine in them, though. Is that ok for O secretors w/high blood sugar? Thank you for your time and help; I look forward to hearing from you. Judy

Great news, Judy! Yes, glycerine is fine for everyone, and is the only sweetener I know of that is actually 'good' for blood sugar levels ~ it boosts sugar metabolism. Sounds like you're having some long-looked-for success, and I'm so happy for you!!

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From the looks of your other topics, this can go under: Potpourri AB -Artichokes. In the introductions to fruits and vegetables, Dr. D'Adamo says that artichokes are key in fighting disease for ABs, but in the list they are categorized as Avoid. Which is correct? I am curious because although I have been following this diet for over 3 years, (I overcame chronic fatigue as a senior in high school, lost 15 pounds and don't have gas , and I don't need to eat artichokes, they do come up and I would like to know if it would be best for me to delight in them or deny myself. Thank you for your time. Natalia

Greetings, Natalia! Artichokes are an avoid for ABs ~ the text portion was an inadvertent copy of the type A text. Take a look at the Updates Page, also linked at the bottom of the "Library" section on our main page. And what a wonderful report on your successes! Congratulations, and bless you for having begun this plan at an early age. And thank you for posting your great results!! :-)

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In response to Q No. 5 (Body response to Food) 26/9/2002 More Potpouri~. My friend and I use our Chinese method. We observe colour, thinckness and softness of the tongue. I myself also aware on body secretion (smell, amount, and colour, this is my secret, I have not told anyone else; e.g. white sugar and flour makes the underarm and sweating beneath the breast smell sour like vinegar, also tendons are tight). I can also feel my heartbeat. It does show clearly in 5-10 minutes. Sometimes Body temperature is cooler after taken wrong food e.g. vegetable gum/milk. I dont really know the reason but guess that it is related to circulation. Thank you for taking time to read my silly notes. (I always correct my uncomfortable by these tiny observation. I believe everyone can feel their body's fluctaation. Stillness is a bliss and in the long run you can observation deeper and deeper) Didn't visit doctor over the past 20 years except once, to a Chinese doctor for finding out whether he is the "right DR" for my mum who is an AB and good at judging people. She won't take medicine if she doesn't like him) Lily A+

:-) Thanks, Lily! Astute points... and a smart mom! :-D

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A lady at the gym where I worked out mentioned your book, so out of curiosity I checked it out of the library. I'm type O and I suffer from fibromyalgia. Since being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1999, I went from 140 lbs. to 205 lbs. In addition to the pain that I was dealing with my self esteem was very low. It seemed I had tried everything to loose the weight that I had packed on. When I read your book the first thing that jumped out at me was about the wheat. When you mentioned that if a type O will go off of wheat then they will lose weight even if they have failed in other attempts. I said what the heck. Since I'm also African American I also went off of dairy. This was in July, and the weight has just melted off. I haven't been to the gym because of my new promotion my schedule has been off. Even though I haven't been working out, the weight has been falling off. At the beginning of the summer I was wearing a size 16 - 18. I'm now wearing 10's and 12's. I'm wearing jeans again for the first time in 4 years. Others that have seen me have asked what have I done and I tell them about your book. I went to the health food store and found a thyroid supplement that has both kelp and bladder wrack. I'm on an Ultra B-Complex and calcium. I'm going back to the gym this week and I am eager to see how much I continue to lose. Thank you so much for your book. Elizabeth

Marvelous!! Thanks to men and women like you who walk the walk and spread the word, more people every day are saying, "what the heck," and being mighty glad they did. It's great to hear how much you're enjoying life now! Isn't that what it's all about? :-)

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Hi Heidi, Me and my two girls have been on the blood type diet for almost 5 years now. Both my girls are AB and i'm an O, and all three of us suffer from a rare illness called Behcets Disease. Being on this diet has lessend our symptoms for sure. I've tested it also, we all went off the diet for a month and we were all very sick and the doctors could not understand why. I explained what I was doing,so they would see the connection. Still didn't work, though. I thank Dr. Adamo and all that help and support his beliefs. Without his knowledge, my family may not be here. Catherine

Catherine, you have made my day. It is so joyful for me to see how these plans can change people's lives for the better. Peter can write a thousand books, you know, yet it is up to the reader to decide whether to make use of what they learn. You decided to do so, for yourself and your girls. You deserve all the credit in the world for committing to healing yourselves, no matter how many "authoritative individuals" couldn't figure it out. Guess you're smarter than they are. Many thanks for sharing your story with me! And please stay in touch!!

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that goes for the rest of you, as well! ~:-D

Hi Heidi, I am a type B secretor with candida. I have been following the diet for about 3 months now, along with a typical yeast-free diet and a supplement protocol from my Naturopathic physician for candida. By the way, she highly recommended the BTD diet. Although I do feel much better, I have been battling this for 4 years now, and my doctor advised it would probably take another year before I saw significant improvement. My question is can you just clarify a few things for me? Event though I feel better I'm still sometimes confused by my food choices because some of the things on ER4YT cannot be eaten on a typical candida diet, and some things eaten on a candida diet cannot be eaten on ER4YT (examples: fruit juices, stevia, honey, molasses, sweet potatoes, oats, etc) I try to just listen to my body and eat what I think is best for me, but is modifying the ER4yT to fit candida the correct thing to do, or if I just solely followed ER4YT would that cure my candida? Sorry to be so long-winded, it's just hard to explain my four years of diet frustration in one small paragraph. Thank you, Andrea

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Hello, Andrea ~~ :-) Four years is a long time to battle a health problem, and you have every right to feel frustrated!! Don't worry, you've just begun this diet, and it is working its magic as we speak. The simple rule to follow when you're on a therapeutic regimen: look at your candida food list, choose the foods that are neutral or beneficial for B secretors, and discard any items from that list that are avoids for you. I know, it makes for a limited selection, but it's not forever!! Get your beneficial meats, greens, and fats especially! and downplay the grains until you're feeling better.

Further, I think we can speed up that one-year prognosis a bit. Do you use a meditation or visualization practice? Twice per day for ten or fifteen minutes, whenever you wish. This is a powerful weapon to strengthen the immune system for type Bs especially, and resolving the candida overgrowth means re-balancing the center of immunity: your intestinal flora & fauna. Use plenty of the herb rosemary and olive oil in your food. Additionally, supplement with the PolyFlora-B probiotic and ARA6, every day. The Blood Type Encyclopedia has specific protocols for your purposes, of which I'll suggest just a few things here: tinctures of oregano (4-7 drops twice daily), thyme (5-10 drops twice daily) and coriander seed (2-3 drops, twice daily) for six weeks.

... and ... call me in the morning? *lol* Thanks for your message, Andrea ~ don't be too perturbed by this long process. All is going well, and faster than you may imagine now... just stick with it, and you'll be glad you did!

:->

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From South Africa. I am blood type B. Don't find the following in your book under type B diet: pecan nuts, trout, sucrose (as a basis for fruit juice) Can you please advise. -- Altus

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~ enter "pecan" or "trout" and remember to hit the "search" button, since your keyboard's enter key will not work on that page. Your answers are all there! ... well, most of them. We do not have a listing for sucrose per se, but it is identical to table sugar, which you'll find under "sugar." Thanks for writing!!

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Hello!!! I am a 40yr old African American female who is type B- and I have been taking Pro-berry caps for 2yrs and for the first time in my life I have not had a cold or flu or sinus problem for 2 yrs. I take them all year is this good? should I give my system a break, I work in the hospital (Respiratory Therapist)and I am exposed to so many things. Also I was wondering...My mom was O+ and my dad is B+ does that mean they both were +/- for me to be B- ? Thank you and GOD BLESS. Marla

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Have a wonderful HEALTHY winter, dear!! :-D

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I have had rheumatoid arthritis for over 18 years. In that time I have taken very strong anti-inflammatory drugs. One, called Methatrexate, put me in the hospital with intestinal bleeding. Before going on the Blood Type Diet, I was taking 800mg of ibuprofen a day. After being on the program for a week, I take very little if no medication. While in a lot of respects I feel very good, for some reason I'm waking up at 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning, whereas I did not have this problem before. Could this problem be linked to my sudden change in diet? Also, with all of the medications I have taken for my rheumatoid , how long would it take for my body to detox itself? Diane

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Hi, Diane ~ whew! I am SO glad you are off those drugs. Scares me just thinking how many people never find the path away from them. And you saw these results in only a week? mighty fine, dear!!! As you heal, you may experience sleep disturbances ~ this is not a bad thing. The organs have a "cleaning clock," and yours are undoubtedly (joyfully) going about their renewed business of getting rid of the toxins and healing themselves. This may mean you pop awake for an hour or so in the middle of your normal sleep schedule ~ just get up for a little while, have a glass of water or cup of soothing herb tea to help detox along, even do some stretches if you like, and enjoy the midnight air for a bit. When you feel sleepy again, go back to bed. Your detoxification will proceed at its own pace, and I'd suggest just holding firm to your diet and letting the rest "do itself." It will all resolve in its own good time, but you'll keep feeling better along the way. Improvements! Lord, how I love 'em!! ~:-D

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