I always read labels...at least I thought I did...but I missed one.

After I posted the Teriyaki Turkey recipe, Jane commented that Soy Sauce contained wheat.

My first reaction was that wheat was probably a minor ingredient near the bottom of the ingredient list. I walked to the refrigerator to check the bottle. No. Wheat was the number 1 ingredient. I couldn't believe it.

Why do they call it Soy Sauce if the main ingredient is wheat? It should be called Wheat Sauce...but that sounds terrible.

Jane recommended Tamari. At the grocery store I found 5 different kinds of Tamari. All of them were wheat free. Only one was low sodium. I bought that one.

While I was at the store I was also checking labels on soups. When my son was young he was extremely sensitive to MSG. Back then it seemed that all canned soups had MSG. Then Campbells came out with Healthy Request which was MSG free. Other soup makers followed their example and began eliminating MSG from their products. Finally Amys, Pacific, and other companies began marketing organic soups.

I began to buy more canned soup. My husband loves soup and salad for supper. Personally, while I like the taste of many soups, I don't find them filling enough to call a meal. I could warm a can of soup for him and have leftover meat and veggies for myself.

I do read soup labels carefully, even for favorite soups that I buy often. For a few years the trend seemed to be away from MSG. Now it seems to me that it is coming back to more soups. I've stopped buying several products that I bought a year or two ago.

I embarrassed that I missed the wheat in Soy Sauce, but I needed the reminder to stay vigilant. Even when I think I have read the label before, or when I think I know what is in a product, I need to take the time to check.

Eventually this blog is going to be about a recently released study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, but I'm going to start with some personal experiences and observations

A month or so ago, there was a thread on the Forum about skinny jeans. People were challenging each other to get serious about losing weight and get into those magical jeans before the holidays. I wanted to scream, but resisted being argumentative at the time.

That thread brought back too many memories of the two years that my Darling Daughter spent in the clutches of an exercise and eating disorder. Once she recognized that she had bought into a lie, it took another two years for her to heal mentally and physically. At the time, I gave credit to God and the Blood Type Diet for keeping her from doing herself serious harm. The Blood Type Diet kept her focused on eating the healthiest foods during the time when she was not eating enough. God helped her to see that the root of all eating disorders is a refusal to accept that He made each of us in a precious and wonderful way. It goes against His will and against nature when we try to change our body type to look like a freak in a fashion magazine.

When I say skinny jeans, I'm not harping on a particular brand. I am talking about any style of clothing that makes girls and women feel badly about themselves if they do not have skinny legs and huge chests. This has been the style for way too long and it forces 95% of women to wish they could change themselves. Some women overeat out of frustration. Some women starve themselves to try to conform to an unreasonable standard. Some women, and I count myself in this group, make peace with their bodies and try to dress in a way that camouflages their shortcomings. Wouldn't it be better if we could all ignore the New York fashion gurus and be content with the way God made us?

I often get e-mails and read Forum posts from women who started the Blood Type Diet to lose weight and are frustrated because they are not losing fast enough. I believe this is because the BTD is far more important than a weight loss diet. This is a health building eating plan for the rest of my life. The reason I lost a little weight, but not an extraordinary amount of weight, is because if I follow the BTD I am building health. New York's idea of fashion is contrary to health.

If you eat the type and portions of food recommended on your food lists, you will gradually shed pounds - if you are really and truly overweight. You will eventually level off to an easily maintainable weight that is healthy. But you won't fit into pencil skirts or boy cut shorts.

Maybe that makes you think, "The BTD is not for me. I'm outta here." Before you go, you should read about a study published on January 1 by researcher Katherine Flegal. She did a study in 2007 that found that people who were a little overweight lived longer than people who were underweight. She was severely criticized. So she did another study with a much larger sampling of people. And she reached the same conclusion.

She does not recommend eating junk food. She does recommend exercising. She cautions that weight is not the only factor in longevity. Her study does shoot big holes in the myth that skinny is healthy and a low BMI guarantees a long life.

If you google her name and "weight" or "BMI" or "long life" or "death risk" you will find several newspaper and magazine articles. Make sure you choose one with the new study not the 2007 study.

You cannot change your body type. Any diet that tells you that you can is lying to you. If you want an eating plan that maximizes your health and moderates your weight, give the BTD a try.

Last night's dinner was an adventure. I had a meeting with a client in the morning, and she served me some of the best beef tacos I have ever had for lunch. That put me in a fish frame of mind for dinner. Since I have resolved to try at least one new recipe a week this year, I began looking for something new I could do with cod. I found a lovely recipe, but when I went to get the cod out of the freezer, I was out. How did I let myself run out of something so basic? I was also out of salmon. The only fish in the house was canned tuna, and I was not in the mood to try a new tuna recipe.

I took out a pound of frozen ground turkey and a package of frozen vegetables. I could whip up a couple of quick vegetable bowls. It was far short of my expectations, but it would be healthy for HH and me. As I cut open the vegetable package, I noticed a box that said "serving suggestions". It said to top the vegetables with Teriyaki sauce. I realized that I had eaten Teriyaki flavored beef jerky, but I didn't have a clue what was in Teriyaki sauce.

On my computer, I called up the BTD recipe center, and there were two compliant Teriyaki sauce recipes. I combined them, because I didn't have the precise ingredients for either one. Here is what I did.

1/4 cup agave
5 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons of ginger juice (I ran fresh ginger through my juicer)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder.

First I started brown rice in the rice cooker. I warmed the Teriyaki ingredients in a saucepan while I browned the turkey. I added 2 Tablespoons of oil to the skillet where the turkey was cooking and turned up the heat to stir fry the frozen vegetables. I was watching the Teriyaki sauce to make sure it didn't boil. As soon as the vegetables were barely soft, I poured the sauce over them and the turkey. I called HH to dinner.

He took one bite and said, "This is really good."

Teriyaki turkey, where have you been all my life?

Later this year I will celebrate my 10th year on the Blood Type Diet. Before the BTD I continually battled allergies. Nine months of the year I had post nasal drip. More mornings than not I woke with a scratchy throat. Certain foods gave me hives, and I sometimes had hives for no apparent reason. 

I can't say I noticed a dramatic change in my allergies when I first started the BTD, but within a year I realized I was taking fewer antihistamines. I itched less, had fewer sore throats, bought less Kleenex. I eventually tried chocolate - a beneficial type O food, but one that had given me hives since I was a little child. No hives!  I often treat myself to a square of unsweetened dark chocolate. You can't imagine how good that is unless allergies had prevented even a taste of chocolate for 30 years. 

Last week I had an allergy attack. I know what precipitated it. Friday after Christmas I spent almost two hours mowing the grass on the back part of our lot. It has been really dry, so the lawn mower kicked up lots of dust. The grass needed to be mowed because it went to seed late this year, due to the drought. The mulcher was flinging seeds and dry stalks everywhere. The cedar trees were pollenating. We have very few cedars on our property, but they are prominent in the Hill Country and the pollen count was high.

By 8:00 that night my throat was hurting. At first was impossible to tell whether it was a cold, the flu, or allergies. I took both antihistamines and cold-eze that night. By the next night, when I had no fever and the symptoms returned as the antihistamines wore off; I was confident that this was allergies. 

I added bromelain and stinging nettle from the BTD Encyclopedia allergy protocol and Vitamin C because it is good for so many things related to the immune system

My procedure for antihistamines is don't worry about the clock.  Take the next dose when symptoms start to return. For six days I knew precisely when the previous dose was wearing off. Friday morning slipped by without my noticing the time. I've been off them now for more than two days with just a hint of drainage

What I'm now asking myself is "Why?" after so many years, why the return of allergies now?  

Adelle Davis wrote that allergies are stress diseases. I think this may be the key. November and December were stressful. I didn't get enough sleep. I worried about things I couldn't control. I think my adrenal glands were tired and left me vulnerable to environmental factors that hadn't bothered me for several years

Cada día es un nuevo comienzo. En espíritu no hay tiempo ni espacio, pero en el calendario, este es el comienzo de otro año nuevo. Tradicionalmente, este es un momento para recapacitar y decidir cómo queremos forjar los próximos 365 días que nos han sido regalados.

Muchas veces nos gusta fijarnos "resoluciones" o metas en esta época del año. "Decidimos" bajar de peso, hacer más tiempo para nosotros mismos, comer más sano, crear relaciones más sólidas, mayor bienestar, aprender un nuevo idioma, o lo que sea que queramos lograr. Que estas resoluciones sean promesas a nosotros mismos, compromisos para lograr diferentes y mejores objetivos. Es una forma de aprender, crecer y alentarnos a alcanzar nuestras metas. Es importante que estos objetivos sean viables y útiles - para que podamos ir marcando nuestro progreso y celebrar los pequeños éxitos en el camino.

Esto es un buen momento para reflexionar acerca de lograr equilibrio y felicidad en la vida. Hay dos factores en nuestras vidas de los cuales tenemos control absoluto y hacen esto posible. Uno es el alimento que comemos. Y en realidad, no somos lo que comemos, somos lo que digerimos. Cuando nuestra digestión es buena, entonces nuestro sistema imunológico es fuerte. Somos más saludables! Hay muchos beneficios al seguir una dieta basada en alimentos frescos. Y con tantas alternativas en el mercado - realmente no hay excusa para no darnos esta oportunidad, además de lograr un impacto positivo al planeta y a sus recursos.

Otro compromiso de estilo de vida que podemos alcanzar es el meditar. La práctica de la meditación ayuda a mantenernos sanos y felices de muchas maneras y lo puede combinar con ejercicio que sea el adecuado a su fisiología y variables personales.

He creado una consultoria denominada "equilibrio y felicidad". Aquí aprenderá cómo estructurar su plan de alimentos de manera personalizada y nutrigenomica, acorde a los lineamientos del Dr D Adamo. Obtendrá por si fuera poco, un libro de recetas y consejos personalizado para poder lograr el estilo de vida preventivo y saludable. Además, aprenderá los conceptos básicos y la ciencia detrás de este software sin precedente, y cómo puede mejorar su aplicación de acuerdo a su fisiología única.

Aprenderá a distinguir la diferencia entre ‘tener hambre’ y estar aburrido. Mantenerse ocupado, haciendo aquello que le apasione, sin perder de vista su objetivo, siempre. Recuerde que el movimiento diario por pequeño que sea, es vida, como el hidratarse y el respirar!

"¿Cómo perder aquellos kilos de más?" o "Como echar a andar nuestros nuevos propósitos?” Debemos tomar pequeños pasos exitosos que nos lleven a cambios palpables. Utilicemos la energía que nos va dando el realizar dicho propósito, que sirva para alimentar dicha meta trazada. Debemos establecer un plan preventivo saludable, creando nuevas costumbres, rutinas sencillas que podamos transformar en hábitos, como lavarse los dientes cada mañana. Un compromiso a la salud, combatiendo al estrés en nuestras vidas. Solo estando bien con uno mismo, podremos poner el ejemplo a nuestros seres queridos enriqueciendo nuestro espíritu y desempeño en toda actividad.

Apliquemos métodos de desintoxicación para mantener los órganos en óptimo funcionamiento. Es sabido que el mundo en que vivimos está contaminado y que esto tiene efectos negativos sobre nuestra salud. Curiosamente, siguiendo los lineamientos de los planes alimenticios del Dr. D'Adamo lograremos esta desintoxicación paulatina y efectiva, asistiendo a nuestro organismo, eliminando inflamación crónica causada por malos hábitos alimenticios y de estilo de vida, adecuando nuestras dietas a nuestra fisiología y genética.

Hay todo un ecosistema de tejido inmune y bacterias, algunas "malas" otras "buenas". Las enfermedades digestivas y del sistema inmune se presentan cuando dicho ecosistema se encuentra fuera de balance debido a una dieta y hábitos deficientes y se expone a toxinas exógenas creando una condición de "dysbiósis". Las toxinas, sólo por nombrar unas cuantas, incluyen plagicidas, herbicidas, PCB y PVC de plásticos, hormonas y residuos de medicamentos farmacéuticos en nuestro suministro de agua y medio ambiente.

Toxinas suelen almacenarse en el tejido graso del cuerpo. Investigaciones recientes han encontrado que personas con sólo 10 libras de sobre-peso llevan probablemente una carga tóxica que está contribuyendo a problemas de salud en general. En otras palabras, la eliminación de toxinas debe ser una parte integral de cualquier programa saludable que uno adopte, sin olvidar el organo mas extenso; nuestra piel.

Las recomendaciones para desintoxicación o limpieza incluyen el uso de bacterias benéficas, o "probióticos" específicos homeopáticos formulados por el Dr. D'Adamo, en apoyo a los demás órganos de eliminación como son el hígado, riñones, pulmones y la piel. Cada persona tiene su punto débil, tanto los pulmones, o la piel entre otros y las formulas homeopáticas del Dr. D'Adamo se centran en cada uno de sus órganos, de manera integral.

La dieta del GenoTipo examina las posibilidades epigenéticas y el uso de dieta y nutrición para alterar la función de genes y destino genético de manera profunda y positiva.

Esto no es una dieta per se, sino un estilo de vida de acuerdo a la fisiología e individualidad genética de cada quien. Se trata de incorporar los alimentos que nos caen bien y que trabajen junto con nuestro cuerpo a nivel fisiológico, enseñándonos a comer de manera saludable y correcta.

Simplemente leer los libros y aplicar los lineamientos de acuerdo a la individualidad de cada quien es lo que les llevara al éxito para lograr que este nuevo año sea uno de salud plena y expresión global para realizar sus metas y proyectos visualizados.

Evitar aquellos alimentos perjudiciales, moderar aquellos neutros y concentrarse en alimentos beneficiosos. Inmediatamente obtienen más energía, mejoran su digestión, bajan o suben de peso, dependiendo del caso y se sentirán mejor ya que su cuerpo entra en un estado de equilibrio tan anhelado hoy en día por tantos.

El racionar las porciones en cada comida, es sinónimo de longevidad, y el Dr. D'Adamo nos indica dichas porciones a seguir dentro de cada grupo de alimentos y no exceder dicha individualidad. "Todos somos diferentes. Lo que es bueno para uno no es adecuado para el otro."

No dejes para mañana aquello que puedas comenzar hoy! Suerte!

Contáctenme con sus dudas en como aplicar los lineamientos conforme a su individualidad, utilizando las herramientas de reseteo genético y epigenético de las cuales nos viene ilustrando el Dr. D'Adamo desde la publicación de su controversial libro que tiene a los genetistas de cabeza.

Nuestra comunidad de apoyo en FB crece a pasos agigantados, los invito a darse una vuelta por allí! El grupo se denomina: "Genotipo, Grupos Sanguíneos y Alimentación".

“I can’t take it anymore! I HAVE to eat something!”

I was appalled when that came out of Jack’s mouth the other day, shortly before bedtime. He’s been starving himself? He's only 11! I thought I’d done a good job talking about healthy eating, with a big emphasis on “eating lots of fruits and veggies so you’re too full to overeat the heavy stuff.” How did my message not get through? How did I not notice warning signs earlier?

He’s been overweight for about a year. At his annual checkup last August, he’d grown 2 inches and gained 25 pounds- about 15 pounds more than he should have gained. Since that time, I've tried repeatedly to get him to be more active, as well as trying to get him to drink more water and eat more fruits and veggies. That worked for a time. He slimmed down a little this fall when I was strict about making him eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies each day, making sure he had protein at every meal, and got regular exercise. But then life got in the way, and the new habits were forgotten.

I really noticed his extra weight about a month ago, when we were going through some hand-me-down clothes. I realized that the only pair of dress pants that fit was a “husky.” As a toddler, he wore a “slim”! I commented on this, and mentioned that all 4 of us need to lose weight. After that, he started cutting back on portions. I was a little worried at first, as he seemed to be cutting back on total food intake without increasing his fruits and veggies. Is he getting enough nutrition? But then I figured, he’s probably been over-eating for the past year, and now maybe his appetite is more in balance with his actual caloric needs.

I can tell now that his belly is less padded than it was, and the scale shows a loss of 5 pounds. He’s clearly at a healthier weight, although he still needs to slim down some more. I thought everything was moving in the right direction until his comment at bedtime the other day- tense and hungry and stressed out- and immediately calmed down after having a bowl of cereal. That’s when I realized HOW he lost those 5 pounds- by cutting down his portions to the point where he always felt hungry. That’s not healthy eating- that’s the beginning of an eating disorder!

We had a nice, long talk about health and nutrition that evening, and those discussions are continuing. I explained to him that what he DOES eat is more important than what he doesn't eat. It’s never a good idea to end a meal feeling hungry- his body needs fuel for everyday activities as well as for growth. It’s good that he’s not over-eating; continuing to eat after he’s full is a bad habit, and likely what caused the weight gain in the first place. But he took it too far to the other extreme, and that’s not healthy either.

I've gotten him to eat more produce over the past few days. I’m encouraging him to drink more water, so he doesn't eat when he’s actually thirsty. Soon I want to get him exercising regularly.

I have been in a rut. When I was a bride I was a, resourceful cook. When I was a mother, I was a creative cook. When I started the BTD, I was an experimental cook. But since DD left home, I've cooked the same things over and over. It's healthy. It's BTD compliant. But it's getting boring.

So my one New Year's Resolution is to try at least two new recipes a week. I'm off to a good start, because I tried two recipes today.

The morning of New Year's Eve, I started soaking a pound of black eyed peas. The evening of New Year's Eve, I was getting them ready for the slow cooker when I realized I was out of onion. I always cook black eyed peas with onion.

Don't panic, I told myself. How do most people cook black eyed peas? The answer is with bacon or salt pork. Obviously I was not going to do that...but I had a package of Buddy's chicken sausage in the freezer. If you are not familiar with Buddy's, it is a company that sells hormone free chicken. Their sausage is free of nitrites and other preservatives. I put the frozen sausage in the slow cooker with the beans and 2 cloves of garlic. Served with a spinach salad, it was a perfect New Year's Day lunch.

For dinner, I was going to cook beets. Normally I season beats with ghee, ginger, agave. It is delicious. But remembering my resolution to get out of my rut - even if it is a delicious rut - I got out a German cookbook that I've had for years, but never used. There was a recipe for beets with orange sauce. Orange is avoid for both Type As and Type Os. I decided to substitute pineapple juice for the orange juice. The recipe called for cornstarch, but that is also avoid. I kept it simple tossing the cooked beets with a Tablespoon of ghee and a heaping Tablespoon of pineapple juice concentrate.

HH was watching football and I was reading during dinner. As he took his plate to the kitchen, he said, "That was a really good dinner." I'm not sure that it was all that good, but it was different. The fact that he noticed, reinforces my resolution.

As we drove home on a cold and blustery Christmas day, we stopped at a Subway sandwich shop for lunch. We were fortunate to find a place that was open. Most restaurants were giving their employees family time for Christmas. This Subway was inside a gas station, and I hope the employees who served us got a good Christmas bonus!

I had packed salmon, peas and carrots for my lunch. While my husband and son ordered their sandwiches I indifferently read the menu. I had no intention of ordering anything, until I saw chicken livers among the choices at the kiosk next to Subway.

I never ate liver as a child. I'm not sure whether my mother didn't cook it because she didn't like it or because she knew that I was such a picky eater that there was no chance I would get beyond the first bite. When I read my first book on nutrition (Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit) the author was very enthusiastic about liver. I learned that I liked liver in restaurants where it was a featured item. However, the liver I cooked at home was not very good.

I also learned that I like chicken liver better than beef liver, and my absolute favorite - before the BTD - was chicken fried chicken livers.

On Christmas Day, I approached the counter debating whether eating a little batter would be worth it to get the livers. Then I saw a tub of flour by the fryer. These was not a pre-processed, pre-battered food product. They made the livers fresh on site.

I had a brainstorm. I asked if they could fry some livers without batter. The poor server who was stuck working Christmas Day, looked at me like I was crazy. "Are you sure you want me to do that?" she asked. When I said yes she took my money. The livers were delicious. The oil made them slightly crisp on the outside, but there was no wheat.

I'm thinking I could do this at home. I have a mini fryer that I got as a wedding gift long ago. I haven't used it in years because oven frying is so much healthier. But if I used grape seed oil it might work.