Readers write about being type O with high cholesterol, triglycerides and elevated blood pressure.

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High blood pressure, or hypertension, usually resolves itself with the blood type diet, with an emphasis on getting adequate dietary fiber, calcium, magnesium, and potassium -- and staying away from refined grain and sugar.

In type Os, high cholesterol and triglycerides arise in conjunction with WHEAT rather than MEAT. Why? Because the wheat lectin loves to attach to insulin receptors on fat cells, and hates to let go. Kind of like the wrong key jammed into a lock. Blood levels of insulin, and subsequently cholesterol and triglycerides, elevate in response. The lectins in corn, potatoes, and many beans and legumes are to be avoided for the same reason.

85-90% of our blood cholesterol is manufactured in the liver. Cholesterol is essential for normal neurochemical function, and yes: too-low cholesterol carries its own set of health risks. So, a healthy liver is the first cause of well-balanced cholesterol. If liver function has been weakened by any one or more of the many prescription drugs which carry this side-effect, or by alcohol abuse, poor diet -- even a habitually angry outlook on life, believe it or not! -- cholesterol synthesis can rise or fall out of the normal range.

Usually, a minimal weight loss -- only 10 to 15 pounds -- will produce a sharp drop in triglycerides. Cholesterol levels, too, respond to weight loss; a 10% reduction is common when obesity is resolved. Type Os have a slightly higher normal lipid range than other types, and while Elaine's readings aren't quite in the "worry zone," I think that separating grains from proteins in meals, or alternatively following a no-grain plan, may turn this trend around within a month. A supplement that has proven highly and speedily effective in lowering cholesterol is red yeast rice. 1200 mg per day (1/2 teaspoon) is the dosage.

It is often a difficult mental adjustment for type Os who may have been told for years to eliminate meat and eat more grain to get healthy, now to learn that the opposite is true. If that's what your diet has been like, Rhonda, your results fit the profile. :-( Don't worry! The good news is that hypertension often responds well to dietary intervention, and these particular changes are toward simpler food and an active lifestyle.

Meat, and the appropriate essential fatty acids (EFAs) from oils, nuts and wild fish should replace that old way of eating. If you can drop ALL the grain for the time being and fill up on beneficial vegetables, you will speed your progress. Starting an exercise regime under the supervision of your doctor will provide vast benefits to you. By the way, using an herbal extract of Stone Root (Collinsonia canadensis) can help increase the strength and flexibility of your veins and arteries -- a concern for people with hypertension. Spend a week on the diet, and compare your blood pressure with today's reading. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

My best wishes to you, ladies, and thank you for writing!

Follow-up on the oatmeal regimin for BP reduction (one serv. of oatmeal daily). I saw my doctor about a month ago; BP remains in the normal range with Zestril dosage cut to 2.5 mg. I have not attempted to discontinue it yet. I did get another benefit from the oatmeal though, as total colestrol dropped from 167 to 137. So, now I'm now contemplating cutting the Lipator dosage. Phil



WHOO-HOO! Well, what a great report. I'm going to start referring people to Phil's Oatmeal Therapy!! Now... that Lipitor has got to be phased out so you can hang on to what's left of your cholesterol there! 137, she's a mite too low, especially for type O! What did the doc say about shaving off the Zestril, too? Is there a lower dosage (or several interim dosages) you can step down to? You're well on your way to being prescription free! Thank you so much for the update!!



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I am a 57 year old, A+type male. I have been frequenting Asian grocery stores in the Sacramento (CA) area for Soba noodles (eat like a Japanese, and all that). I have purchase several different imported brands. I was very disappointed to find out, upon reading the ingredient labels that the first ingredient is wheat and the second is buckwheat in most of them. I have only been able to find one brand in which the first ingredient is buckwheat, howver, the second ingredient is wheat! (Orchids brand) I have even found one brand of soba noodle that has no buckwheat in it at all, just wheat. Is there any Soba noodle that is 100% buckwheat? As a matter of fact, it is almost impossible to find any pasta that does not have wheat as one of its ingredients. Clark



Sheesh, I have to say I'm kind of surprised... what the heck's up with Sacramento? Clark, ya gotta whip those stores into shape. ;-) Back in June of this year, I did some buckwheat snooping for a Japanese food fan, and came up with the following: Yamagata Jyuwari Soba is 100% buckwheat, sold in Asian specialty food stores. Mitoku Organic is another brand, and is available online. Just do a websearch for their name, and choose where you’d like to buy it. Clearspring is yet another. Or talk to the manager of your HFS and ask if he can get a clue over there and order 'em up. [Note added: EDEN, an international brand, makes 100% buckwheat soba. :-)] Good hunting!



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Hi Heidi! A quick question about green tea. LR4YT says that it reduces the effect of harmful polyamines. Would green tea in capsule form have the same effect? The label on the bottle says that it contains 95% polyphenols. I've been on the diet for 2 years and I'm very happy with the results (type O non-secretor) Thank you very much for your help. Ilze



Greetings, Ilze! If you don't care for the tea, then the capsules are just fine! Take them with lots of water ~ or maybe something warm like tea or broth. And I'm so happy you're pleased with your results! Makes my day... thank you! :-D



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Dear Heidi this is no question, but a BIG THANK YOU for your quick reply to my worries on glycerine. You are right, this vine scandal was on glycol, and I remembered when I saw you saying that... Again: THANK YOU VERY MUCH for this help! I will keep looking for this veg-gly here around (in Germany, and as soon as I find a brand or a common name I write it to you for your European/German community. Have a wonderful Advent Sunday (we celebrate the Third Advent today - there are four Advents Sundays before Christmas...) :-))) Eva



:-D That's great, Eva ~ I look forward to your report! And for the rest of you glycerine hounds, here's a note from Vicki & Orion:





































WHEW!!! Thanks, Vicki & Tiny Hunter-Star! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that kamut pie crust recipe I owe you! coming soon to a column near you. :-) and GREAT tips on glycerine sites ~ just great! ~~:-D



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