As someone who grew up on a dairy farm, I feel your pain!! :-} To "dairy products and bread" I would add bacon, ham, POTATOES, pork loin, pork chops, cabbage, PEANUT BUTTER (I know... it's a Yank thing) -- not to mention the orange juice, strawberries, blackberries -- coconuts from Korea smuggled in by my brother -- and homemade pies, cakes and cookies every day. Skipping a decade: it was bagels and cream cheese. Let's pass on!

I guess you and I both know now that these food groups will make us sick and keep us there. How do other type Os do it? Cold turkey with no looking back, in some cases. S-L-O-W-L-Y, one toe into the swimming pool at a time, for others.

Making one's own bread from alternative flours, or finding a local or online source of 100% sprouted grain or quinoa or kamut or rice or rye breads and/or pastas is the easiest intermediate course to take. Many of us make ghee to use instead of butter... it tastes the same! The essential thing to discover, though, is that bread for type Os is at most a temporary sugar rush. To maintain your energy, base your meals around meat, and fill up on squashes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, onions, any sturdy root vegetables on the type O food list. Your body has some adjustments to make from metabolizing a heavy starch supply to comfortably maintaining its balance on a higher protein/vegetable, lower grain diet. Using L-glutamine as a supplement can help get you over the hump. Your energy will return in a week or so without wheat bread and dairy. The anemia should disappear with adequate red meat intake. I would expect the thrush to recede, as well -- it just adores grain and sugar.

Coffee... well, it is a singular substance, not easily replaced. I liked mine with heavy cream. Lovely, isn't it? I've quit coffee several times in my life, and the only good thing I can say about it is, at least I had no withdrawal symptoms. If you do decide to let it go, a good quality green tea has enough theine to ease any discomfort you may experience. Your local health food store may carry a number of coffee substitutes: try them out. No, they're not coffee, but some of them taste darned close to it. I'm not sure what is readily available in NZ, but Roma Kaffree, Teeccino and other roasted barley blends are common here in the States. There is also an herbal blend called Raja's Cup which tastes quite coffee-like to me, if a bit licoricy, and confers health benefits as well. It has high antioxidant activity.

Vicky, we all go through this. You are by no means alone! We look at avoid foods we love and think we'll never get through life without them. We think of gathering places, traditions, favorite outings, holidays, friends, family... so much of it comes down to shared food, and emotional attachments to the anxiety-alleviating habits we have formed. We all do the best we can!

I have great admiration for Registered Nurses, and your note reflected many of the fine qualities I have found in the best ones. You have discovered a health plan that will guide you toward accomplishing your goals. Don't give it up. It is worth tackling. Let us know how you do!

Hey there! I hope this column hits in time for your reunion! :-} Basically, there are only two cuisine-specific items to watch out for ~~ but they're in everything ~~ namely, coconut milk and peanuts.

There's little wheat in the joint, other than the clearly described egg noodles or green onion pancakes -- "saigon pancake," my local place calls them -- and some spots offer a few pork dishes, while some don't. Predominantly, the noodles, roll wraps and dumpling covers are made of rice (although, yeah, it always pays to ask).

Other than that: it's chicken, seafood, beef, raw salads, spicy thin soups and astonishing fresh flavors!I'd be inclined to choose lemongrass/chili sauces over the marvelous red curries (the coconut milk), but once won't kill ya! :-D Basil, peppers, fish sauce, ginger, chives all play their part in Thai delights. You can always have the beef satay (thin skewers of marinated meat) without the peanut sauce... the Pad Thai (lovely fresh-and-dried shrimp/noodle dish) without the peanuts... but hey, I'll look the other way. It's your reunion: Enjoy yourself!

The smallest Thai eatery serves everything from green papaya salad to steamed whole fish, and the menus are quite informative as to their ingredients.

I adore Thai cuisine... and pretty soon you will, too. :-D Have a great time!!

Question:

I have read everything I could find in the question section but could not find any information concerning parasites. Is there a problem with this issue to humans from foods, food handling, food preparation? If so are there foods or herbs to keep our bodies free from infestation? I've been a follower of "The Diet" for as long as the books started coming out in Natural Foods Stores. I'm B, secretor, age 60, female, and use elderberry religiously for balance, plus have started the vitamin/mineral supplements. Thank you for reading this and I'll be looking forward to any information you have on the above questions.



Suggestions:

Hi, Doris!

Parasites that like humans are usually found in flesh foods. While it's wise to keep hands and work areas meticulously clean when preparing raw meat, fowl and fish, our first defense against parasites lies in the immune systems of the animals we eat. A free-ranged, clean-fed and -kept animal is far less likely to have fallen prey to parasites than a sick, medicated and hormone-enhanced one. Yet another good reason to support conscientious farming and ranching, and choose wild fish from reputable fisherman!

I can recommend an interesting pesto sauce which has evidenced anti-parasitic, detoxifying and mercury-chelation properties, here modified for type B secretors: 2 cups fresh cilantro and 2 cups fresh parsley mixed, 1 cup of roasted seeds from butternut or acorn squash, 6 cloves of raw garlic, ½ teaspoon of sea salt and 3/4 cup olive oil – blend ‘er up. Adjust as your taste dictates. Add a few tablespoons of your favorite fresh-grated peccorino Romano or Parmeggiano Reggiano cheese, YOU LUCKY B. :-} This pesto can be used as a sauce for steamed vegetables, meats, or pasta.

While I'm at it: Peter has recommended black cherry juice to reduce polyamines and combat surface bacteria on meats. The presence of certain polyamines is less of a concern for type Bs than the rest of us (oranges are a case in point), but it's still prudent to use natural means to limit polyamine activity in meats. Two tablespoons of black cherry juice per pound of ground meat, or added to a marinade for steaks, will do the trick, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the taste.

Thanks for your message!