Dr. Tom Greenfield

hello- I have been using the blood type diet for approx 4 yrs with great success. My blood type is A, and in Jan. I switched to the geno diet. I must say that the experience has not been good. I would hve considered myself to been in good shape, I eat great healthy and excercise almost 4-5 times a week. Since Jan I have had an eruption in the corner of my mouth that tingles. It is now after 5 months looking better, but the area remains sensitve. Now for the 3rd time since the end of April I have a itchy red rash on my face. It seems to last for 10 days, go away for a couple of days and then its back. Nothing I do seems to help, any suggestions?

The eruption on your mouth sounds like symptoms of the herpes virus. You can get this confirmed by your naturopathic or conventional doctor. As a short term measure the amino acid lysine can often help with the symptoms of active herpes infection. Long-term you should get your naturopath to address the focus of infection, which can be anywhere in the body.

You told us your blood group but did not say whether you are a secretor or non-secretor, and what your GenoType is - Teacher, Explorer or Warrior - all these make a difference to the detoxification process. When starting the GenoType Diet if you avoid the black dot foods for some time this will enhance the body's detoxification process. Sometimes detoxifying can bring on a healing crisis, which can take many forms depending on individual circumstances.

hi tom! i'm writing an article for teenagers, and am giving a very introductory picture of the blood type diet. can you give me a brief description of how, if at all, your rh factor affects your metabolism or food choices? it would really help me (and the readers)!

thanks so much,
adina

In the Rhesus blood group the main antigens are C, D, E, c and e (capital letters and lower case letters are different antigens). The Rhesus antigens come from two adjacent gene loci, the RHD gene which encodes the D antigen and the RHCE gene which encodes both the C and E antigens. There is no d antigen: Rhesus "d" signifies the absence of the D antigen (the RHD gene is usually non-functional or null), and that person is described as Rhesus (D) negative. Similar to non-secretor status, Rhesus negative is traditionally a "recessive" phenotype, which means in practice that if an individual has no functional Rhesus (D) genes, they are classed as Rhesus negative, but inheriting at least one Rhesus (D) gene will give that person the Rhesus (D) positive phenotype. The Rhesus negative phenotype is generally less common than Rhesus positive. Unlike the ABO blood group antigens, the resulting Rhesus blood group antigen is limited to the red blood cells.

Rhesus D incompatibility is best known as the main cause of newborn fatal blood reactions in the children of Rhesus negative women. Lesser known associations with the Rhesus blood group system are Natural Killer Cell (immune system) activity, transport of ammonia in the kidney and susceptibility to urinary tract tumours, myasthenia gravis, ovarian cysts and tumours, and spinal osteochondrosis. Offspring of a Rhesus positive mother may be more prone to hearing loss.

The question of Rhesus blood group significance is often asked in relation to the Blood Group Diet, but the Rhesus factor takes on a new and greater significance with The GenoType Diet: Rhesus negative phenotype can make a difference to individuals in both systems.

In Live Right 4 Your Type, individuals with Rhesus negative phenotype will find that there are specific recommendations for frequency of eating certain food groups: fewer portions of grain (blood groups A, B and O), fruit (blood group A), and more protein (blood groups B and O).

For an individual's GenoType, being Rhesus negative can mean the difference between being one GenoType or another. The GT4 Explorer is often Rhesus negative, which can change the entire diet and lifestyle advice for that individual.

Here are some questions about food status:

Dr. Tom, Hi
I'm a non-secretor O+, MN, Lewis a+ b- which I have recently found out and am still trying to digest (in more ways than one.) My question: what about goji berries (aka ninja berries, wolf berries, lycii berries)? I like to mix these with chocolate nibs for a quick snack. Any thought? Thanks, Jenn

and:

I am type A. I have been drinking Kombucha tea for quite some time. Is this good for my type?
Stacy

Both goji berries and kombucha are unlisted for the blood group diet, which means that they can be treated as neutral until further information is available. If you find out your GenoType and look in the GenoType Diet book or website you will find that your favourite unlisted foods and drinks may be listed there as a superfood or as an avoid!

Breastmilk production

Q: Do you have any suggestions to encourage production of breastmilk? Am doing frequent feedings but not so good about using the breast pump. My son was born 3 weeks ago and I do not have enough breastmilk to sustain him and am having to use supplement-Similac Advance. I am B+ and he is A+. He is getting progressively fussier, gassier, and sleeping less deeply for shorter periods of time. He came home with jaundice and we had to do the billi-lights for several days. I am a 42 year old first time mom. I have had great success with the ER4YT personally and would appreciate your assistance. Thank You. Alice.

--

A: There are many theories on the evolution of the mammary gland and mammalian lactation, one paper suggests that the process is an evolution of the innate immune system, and may have partly evolved as an inflammatory response to tissue damage and infection, the nutritional function of milk arising subsequent to its protective function.[1] It is one of the marvels of human physiology that a mother can carry throughout pregnancy and produce the perfect milk for a baby with a different blood group to her own.

When an infant has problems feeding there are usually three possible explanations:

1. The baby is not latching on correctly either due to a problem with the baby's suckling mechanism or the feeding position

2. There is a problem with milk production

3. The baby has a digestive disturbance

Failure to produce sufficient milk can relate to any of these three, as when the baby does not take enough milk it does not stimulate the mother's breast enough to lactate properly, creating a vicious circle.

Research by a midwife suggests that the mother's feeding position is significant in successful breastfeeding,[2] with mothers who recline having more success than mothers who sit at 90 degrees (being the position often shown in books to be 'correct' for breastfeeding). In addition, a biological nurturing position, with the baby's stomach in contact with the mother, can help to increase suckling and reduce the incidence of sore nipples, thereby enhancing milk flow.[3] A midwife experienced in breastfeeding or a member of La Leche League[4] may be able to advise further.

If the baby has difficulty latching on due to a problem with swallowing or a mechanical disturbance in the jaw, osteopathic manipulative medicine in the form of osteopathy in the cranial field may be helpful. Premature babies or those with other neurological delays in jaw development may benefit from a check with an osteopath skilled in this field of treatment.[5]

Difficulty with lactation other than the above can be due to maternal emotional stress, a very hungry baby, a baby who has been separated from his or her mother for the first hour immediately after birth (i.e. due to a caesarian birth or neonatal incubation) or whose mother has been subjected to certain anaesthetics such as pethidine during delivery.[6] A breast pump may help to increase production, but the device is not always easy to use. There are certain herbs that have traditionally been used to stimulate milk flow, and this approach is now being recognised by midwives.[7]

Some of the following herbs have been used historically to promote milk supply:[8]

* Milk thistle (Silybum marianum)

* Blessed thistle (Cincus benedictus)

* Fennel seeds and powder combined (Foeniculum vulgare)

* Fenugreek seeds and powder combined (Trigonella foenum-graecum)

* Dandelion leaf (Taraxacum officinale) - best eaten as a fresh green cooked vegetable

Auricular or ear acupuncture, was discovered outside China by a French doctor, and is founded on the principles of reflexology, a therapy that the biomedical establishment does not consider scientific.[9] Treatment of the mother using this method has been found to resolve hypogalactia (increase milk flow).[10][11]

Breastfeeding is not just good for the baby. Research by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada Breast Disease Committee found that there is evidence that the risk for premenopausal breast cancer is reduced in mothers who have breastfed, and the more breastfeeding she has done the greater the protective effect.[12]

Despite the benefits of breastfeeding for baby and mother, formula milk does sometimes have to be used, and may be helpful when weaning early. There are various types of formula milk available, it is a good idea to check for the one that is compatible with the baby's blood group, and also to ensure that weaning is done according to blood group.[13] Baby formula can be expensive, costing over $200 a week in the U.S. There is obviously big money to be made, and most of the mothers on the WIC free formula programme (see previous column[14]) are likely to be receiving the minimum wage. A writer skeptical about infant problems with cows' milk[15] is also suspicious of the association between the Act Against Allergy, the "interactive communication program"[16] and SHS International, the company who make Neocate, a hypoallergenic infant formula. This interactive communication program is also supported by the British Dietetic Association, and tricked BBC news into thinking Act Against Allergy is a "medical task force" that polled doctors - the BBC later changed their news page to reflect the fact that they are sponsored by a formula milk manufacturer.[17]

Incidentally, some studies have reported that mothers taking supplemental vitamin B6 may cause suppression of the pituitary hormone prolactin, which is raised after giving birth and responsible for milk production.[18][19] Other studies contradict these findings,[20] saying that 'nutritionally relevant' levels of B6 do not affect milk production. The 'nutritionally relevant' dose of vitamin B6 in thePediatrics study (no effect) was up to 4 mg per day, whereas the Italian study (significant effect) investigated the influence of vitamin B6 in 2 doses of 300 mg in one day. The method of action is believed to be through inhibition of pituitary cell proliferation and hormone secretion, in part mediated through pyridoxal-induced cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis.[21] Anyone taking large doses of vitamin B6 should be monitored by a healthcare professional.

Loneliness can affect your genes, according to a landmark study in Genome Biology [1] There were differences in the expression of 209 genes in the white blood cells of people experiencing chronic subjective social isolation (loners) compared to those in the blood of people who experience frequent social interaction (party-goers).

Although there is a recognised association between social interaction and health, the paper by professor Stephen Cole of UCLA Medical School shows for the first time the mechanisms behind what makes lonely individuals more prone to the inflammatory response: their genes were affected by particular pathways of transcription factors (which copy DNA to RNA) altering the activity of the genes that are specifically involved in activating the immune system through inflammation; they also have increased numbers of immune cells. Another finding was that even though the lonely individuals were producing slightly higher levels of anti-inflammatory cortisol, the effects of this were down-regulated due to their cortisol receptors not responding properly. Cole describes this as the immune system thinking that the cortisol is "crying wolf".

The adverse health effects of loneliness is not related to the number of friends that a person has, but to how many they think they have. This creates a subjective view of the world that others cannot be trusted, and a perception of the world as relatively more threatening. Now if we could just find the gene that creates the perception of loneliness in a person ...



References

1. Cole SW, Hawkley LC, Arevalo JM, Sung CY, et al. "Social regulation of gene expression in human leukocytes." Genome Biol. 2007 Sep 13;8(9):R189 PMID: 17854483

2. Blog: Genes Get Lonely Too