I am blood type O. In the book, we are allowed to eat Goat cheese and not goat milk. What about goat meat? Is that in the neutral or highly beneficial group, or is it in the avoid section with the goat milk?

Also, I regularly take high enemas with two bags os water, two quart bags in the morning, two quart bags in the evening. I am feeling much better since I started eating according to the Eat Right for Your Type diet plan. I am also taking the recomended supplements for my blood type. Is there anything you might be able to suggest to correct the bowels instead of taking so many enemas? Thank you very much for all of your information. I was extremely pleased to find this web site and be able to ask these questions. I would appreciate any answers you might be able to offer. Sincerely, Seldon

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Hello, Seldon ~~

In the latest book's updated food lists, goat cheese and goat meat are neutral for type O secretors. Goat milk, however, is still an avoid. You might want to pick up a copy of Live Right 4 Your Type. Its new food values have had an impact on us BTD'ers similar to that of an epic novel -- some joy, and some tears, for everybody! :->

I sympathize with your desire to resume normal bowel movements without the use of enemas. While you didn't mention how long you've been taking them, they can be an arduous habit that is hard to break after long use.

Lucky for us, this is (comparatively) easy to solve with the ABO diets. I hope I can be of help with this.

The main goals are: get water and fiber in plenty to the intestines; support your beneficial bacteria; stimulate peristalsis through exercise.

Raw fruits and raw or lightly cooked vegetables contain abundant water held in the fibrous cells of the plants. Base at least two meals a day on a filling salad or pile of steamed-but-crisp fibrous veg (dark greens, broccoli, carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, okra (great for healing the colon), asparagus, Brussels sprouts (they're neutral now! Hooray!)) -- you get the drift. Make sure to get enough meat and FAT (oils, nuts, seeds) to smooth things along. Between meals, try to consume a few quarts of water in the day -- adding a little good sea salt to each will help carry the water into the bowels where we want it. And try this: two tablespoons of flaxseed, ground in your electric coffee grinder, stirred into 1/2 cup water and left to sit for 20 minutes or so. It will become a gelatinous mass. Eat it up! It looks bizarre, but tastes great, and is one of the classic natural laxatives that provides fresh essential fatty acids, too.

It's possible you're low on magnesium -- most folks are. A magnesium citrate supplement, even a glass of Epsom salts at night & in the morning, will do a good jump-start on your ability to eliminate "from the top down." It's a good idea to take calcium and magnesium in a 1:1 ratio -- start with the mag's recommended dosage, then up it slowly until you have loose stools. At that point, back off until stools are normal.

Everybody reading this is now thinking, "OK, Right! What's NORMAL?" What's normal for most people these days is pretty dismal, so I won't tell you what's normal, I'll give my views of what's optimal. It is: an easy bowel movement soon after each meal, at least a foot in length, one-to-two inches in diameter, medium(-ish) brown in color, and holds its shape. Mine floats. Does yours? LOL! :-D Boy, will the mail be pouring in tomorrow!!

Now: Peter D'Adamo has created probiotics for us, and the type O Polyflora compound is something you should seriously consider. It contains billions of beneficial organisms, in healthy shape, and they come along with their favorite foods to stimulate their growth and activity. These little fellers are the very crux of health, and we wouldn't be alive without them. When you've been on the diet for a period of months, your colon populations will have had time to resume on their own, but if you'd prefer to speed the process, use the probiotics.

And don't forget "fully half of the type O plan:" exercise. The more we get, the happier we are (OK, there are limits!), and I suggest a strenous walk, hike, run, row, whatever you're in shape for: start where you are and go from there. Between you & me? the diet and the exercise will accomplish your goal all on their own, if you pitch in with a whole heart. ;-)

Thanks, Seldon ~ I wish you luck! Report when you can!

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Hello, Scott ~ Nice to hear from one of the rarer subtypes! although I'd prefer it be under happier circumstances. :-(

Well, I have a type A in my house, so I scanned his Polyvite A, Phytocal A and Polyflora A. White bottle, white label, blue & black on the front... I assume that's what you've got there. Although the Polyvite contains Thiamine HCl, or Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1) and Pyroxidine HCl, or Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), there's none of what I think you're referring to, namely Betaine HCl -- that's the "stomach acid" supp. If one of your bottles says Betaine HCl, please drop me a note!

I've heard from a few people who get heartburn when taking gelatin-capped supplements, and who resolved it by pouring the contents into a drink instead of eating the caps. However, the veggiecaps used in the type A supps shouldn't have this effect on you.

Your stomach may react adversely if you wash the supps down with a lot of water right after a meal: it has the effect of diluting the digestive fluids and stopping everything in its tracks, and you might feel some hardness, dull pain or burning in yer tum. If that's not it, read on!

Here's what I'd do: skip these pills for two days. If you're still getting the burning sensation after eating your customary foods, it's not the pills. If the burning doesn't return, then on day 3, take the Polyvite in the middle of your meal, without water. Just swallow it with a bite of food. See how you do. The next day, do the same with the Phytocal.

If it turns out that one or both of these formulas is implicated, please get back to me and we'll work on it!

Thanks for writing, and good luck!!

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Erika, I’m glad to hear the O diet is working for you!

Starting around puberty, I had the same bitter confrontation with cellulite: everything was fine except for that little thigh-back area, which occupied about 3 square miles of my psyche. :-} It’s one of life’s meanest tricks, that around the time you’re old enough to care how your thighs look, something like this crops up!!

But don’t worry -- yes, the type O plan can get rid of cellulite. Briefly put, it changes the quality and appearance of the fat you have – and remember that we all need a little fat, not only for protection of internal organs and nerve health, but for attractive, "plump" skin as well. As you follow the diet and get plenty of exercise, (1) your skin becomes more elastic and better hydrated; (2) your hormonal balance is re-established; (3) your body relaxes and releases extraneous fat stores for energy; and (4) the old toxins stored "back there," as well as intercellular water (sogging around between, rather than within your cells where it belongs) are processed and excreted.

Result? Smooth thighs, among many other benefits. :-D

Couple of tips:

Go to your health food store and purchase a good body brush. Most of them have instructions for use included in the package. "Dry brushing" is a technique for detoxifying our largest organ (the skin) and stimulating lymph movement. It’s done once a day on dry skin (before you shower or bathe). Start with the soles of your feet, and use circular or sweeping motions, working up your legs toward the heart. Give a little special attention to the pesky thigh-backs. Then each arm, your neck, and back – working toward the center of your chest. Don’t brush your face. Five minutes should do it.

If you have a juicer, make a couple of glasses of carrot/celery/spinach/beet juice every day or as often as you can. Four carrots, one stalk of celery, a handful of spinach and half a beet will make a large glass of juice (watch the beet juice, it stains clothes something terrific!). Lest you write back to me in horror, I should also warn you in advance that beet juice will turn your poop dark red. Fear not, this is a good thing (at least while you’re drinking beet juice, that is! :-})

Finally, what I really want you to do is get that bikini on and go right out on that beach, today. :-> You have so many profound things to be proud of, and glad about: release from depression through your own efforts is one extraordinary accomplishment that comes to mind. You’re starting a fabulous new way of life and will never know the myriad health problems others take for granted. You’re blessed with brains, a sensitive nature, and a body that will just get better, among other fortunate qualities that I don’t know about. While sitting in the sun considering them, look around you at the other people sharing the sands. I’ll bet you look lots better than most of them. If you can observe them all -- the homely, the crippled, the awkward and the gorgeous -- with kindness in your heart, it will help you to be a little easier on yourself (and your thighs) as well. Cultivate the same generous and understanding attitude toward yourself that you show to others. ;-)

that ends today's sermon! ~~~:-D Seriously, Erika, I have no doubt you'll see great results -- keep up the diet and exercise, try those tips, and drop me a line on your progress!

Re: On the Diet Topic For 28 July 2002 Rye Bread, Butter and Pork -- Yum!

Hello Heidi, Your column is great, very informative and entertaining. I wanted to let you know about artisan bread in the UK - we make a great rye bread as well as other types of bread, and Margaret has obviously not tried it - freshly-milled Biodynamic rye grains, spring water, baking ferment, and not as sour as a sourdough. Our recipe contains no added yeast, sugar, wheat or other additives, and our bread is the first UK food product to contain blood-type compatibility. You can read about it on our web site http://www.artisanbread.ltd.uk - available nationwide via health food stores and by parcel delivery. Thanks for reading this, and keep up the good work. Tom

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I was so pleased to log in today to this timely reminder from our good friend Tom Greenfield, a Registered

Naturopath (ND), Osteopath and Cranial-Sacral Therapist in Canterbury, Kent, UK. By the way, he offers Blood Group Diet Consulting, and runs an email support group tailored to the needs of our BTD’er UK contingent. Have a look at his website for details of his practice and clinic: www.nature-cure.co.uk

In his spare time (LOL!) Tom acts as Nutritional Consultant for Artisan Breads in Kent. This is a wonderful company, committed to producing the finest quality health-enhancing goodies. Their website offers the pleasant shock of an ABO-specific chart showing beneficial/neutral/avoid ratings for each bread type/blood type – and articles about yeast vs. ferment in baking, an incisive news report on one woman’s experience dealing with Candidiasis... and if you were wondering about the mineral content of the local Kentish spring water they use, well, you'll find it there as well!

They also list more than 80 retail locations ("stockists," to you locals ;-)) in England, Scotland and Wales, and accept online orders. If you’d rather buy than bake, or just need a rest from that summer kitchen, it’s hard to imagine a better choice than Artisan. Supporting companies such as this one is a vote from your pocketbook for a healthier world. It makes a difference!

Thanks so much for your note, Tom, and take care!

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:-) As a new subscriber to this way of eating, you’ll be glad to know there are treasures galore on this website. Here’s what I found on pork by searching "Ask Dr. D’Adamo:"



Pig meat provokes an immune reaction in all types, according to research from a few years ago. Whether the observed response was ABO-mediated, or due to the viral material which pigs commonly carry, I couldn't tell you because I can't find the article! :-( What we do know is that pork is well off the list for all types.

.

My favorite kinds of , you'll find detailed instructions (including how to make rye sourdough starter), pictures of finished products, and many references to other websites and books to expand your bread-baking repertoire.

ABO-Aware Baker's Note: For the "3 to 3 1/2 cups of bread flour," type O nonsecretors should substitute kamut or quinoa -- and use 1/2 instead of 1/4 teaspoon baking soda – and add 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed soaked for 1/2 hour in just enough water to cover. It will form a gel-like mass. Instead of the cornmeal, you might use crushed millet or coarse-ground quinoa. For everyone else, just use white (rather than whole-grain) spelt instead of the "bread flour" and the millet or quinoa instead of the corn -- all except you Bs, who should stay away from rye bread altogether! Don't feel left out: Joan's page contains lots of non-rye recipes! :->

Sheepherder Sourdough Bread (Bread Machine)

1 cup sourdough starter, room temperature, bubbly [try her rye starter]

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup light rye flour

3 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

Extra flour / Cornmeal

Sesame seeds

Olive oil

The thickness of your sourdough starter can determine how much flour needs to be used. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time). Add all the ingredients in the bread pan of bread machine. Process according to manufacturer's instructions for a dough setting.

When the bread machine has completed the dough cycle, remove the dough from the pan to a lightly oiled surface. Knead the dough several times and form the dough into an oval; cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes. After resting, turn dough bottom side up and press to flatten. Form dough into a one-inch high circle and place on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Press sesame seeds into the surface of the dough and brush with olive oil.

Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise 1 to 2 hours until almost double in size. NOTE: It takes much longer to rise; sourdough rises much slower than bread made with regular yeast. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. After rising, bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and bake an additional 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Enjoy! :->

Hi Heidi,

Before I ask a question for my husband, I have to tell you the most wonderful news about EAT 4 YOUR TYPE! I was put on Lipitor 3 years ago due to high cholesterol that would not even "budge" despite vigorous exercise and a vegan diet. I gave up being vegan and my cholesterol went down due to the liver damaging statin, Lipitor. I went off the Lipitor without telling my doctor and tried one last time to try diet and exercise to no avail. My cholesterol climbed to 279. Four months ago, I made up my mind to try to eat for my "B" type blood and QUIT taking the Lipitor. I got my blood tested last week and my cholesterol went down over 100 points!!!! I lost 8 lbs. too without even dieting!!!!! Soooooooo, I have a lot of interested friends.....

Now for my husband's question. He is Type AB. (Interestingly, his maternal ancestors are from Poland and paternal ancestors from Russia). He has been on Lipitor for 3 years too. The "stubborn Russian" side of him doesn't want to give up a banana and a glass of orange juice every day and doesn't feel that an occasional hot dog or hamburger will do him in. (In a 4 month period, I did have chicken, popcorn, tomato sauce on pizza and shrimp just a few times bit will NEVER go off this plan again!) What can you say to convince him to give up those 2 fruits? Thank you and please tell Dr. D'Adamo of my success! Regards, Karen

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With such a persuasive BTD'er in the house, I'm not optimistic that my humble offerings will inspire your husband to flee his favorite avoids, but I'll give it a go.

The banana lectin is no good for his stomach and intestinal lining. He might not "feel" anything since he's so used to eating them. The harm done by oranges is even less perceptible: it contains polyamines, cancer-causing substances in adults (especially As and ABs). Hot dogs are similarly bad choices, due to the pork/nitrate combination which is, sadly, a recipe for stomach cancer and immune system disease in ABs. Hamburgers made from commercial meat with its load of pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones are another recipe for AB disaster.

Your charming account of yourself & husband is so delightful, I'm tempted to say "Aw, you two are perfect; don't change a thing!" Not the best approach, though. :-D I can suggest a couple of strategies, but you'll have to be the judge as to what is worth trying with your husband -- you're the one who knows him best.

If he's healthy otherwise, try making up a cold smoothie for him -- bananas, oranges and another favorite fruit (but mostly bananas). Offer him some banana cream pie. Baked bananas drizzled with honey are also really tasty. Fruit salad (you guessed it -- heavy on the bananas). Just try to double or triple his banana intake for a week or two, and watch him closely to see if he complains at all of stomach pain or gas.

In the meantime, slowly introduce into his diet some pineapple juice, black cherry juice, etc. -- in smoothies and juice mixes -- and maybe some herbal tea if his stomach rebels against all those bananas. ;-)

Turkey hotdogs and fresh-ground turkey or lamb can take the place of the pork and beef. There's even a decent turkey bacon made by Applegate Farms. Substitutions and experiments with new foods are good ways to boost his health, whether he finally gives up those pesky avoid items or not.

There is a highly useful supplement called red yeast rice which works even better than Lipitor with none of the side effects. The only source I can recommend is http://www.redyeastrice-china.com/ In their pages, you'll find a U.S. contact phone number in New Jersey. They sell one-kilo bags of the powdered RYR. 1200 mg (1/2 teaspoon) twice per day is the effective dosage to lower high cholesterol in a matter of weeks, and if your husband moves a little closer to the AB diet, the effects can be permanent.

Many congratulations on your success, Karen, and my best wishes to you in the laudable task of gaining it for your husband as well! :-D

I'm an o blood type. I became a vegetarian last year but before that I followed the blood type eating program and felt fine physically.

The past few months I have started gaining weight at what feels like an alarming rate. I feel tired and have trouble concentrating and staying focused. My GP prescribed iron but I haven't seen any change.

I'm taking spiralina, B12, bladderack and iron, not eating wheat products and following the plan with eating only fruit & veg that are good for o blood type.

I've started eating alittle fish but would prefer not to eat anything that has to die to give me life. What do you suggest? velda

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Emotionally, I'd prefer the same! but I've learned through hard personal experience that vegetarianism is not an option for me. I wonder if you, too, have discovered that your loving energy is more effective in the world when you're physically healthy than when you are hungry, tired and ill.

All things have a short term upon this Earth, and each one has its place in feeding, AND being fed by, others. This principle is as true of a carrot as of a rabbit. Your need for balance and vitality is no less than any other creature, and is no less important to the serenity of the whole.

I believe Peter D'Adamo's work is a serendipitously spiritual text, propounding in scientific terms the wisdom of each person eating and acting according to her created nature. Your body is giving you the classic type O signals that it needs the right kind of protein in order to prosper, and that without it, supplements will do little except eat your cash. While some otherwise healthy vegetarian type Os seem to get a little boost from Coleus forskolii, it is not a solution. Nor is plant protein combining, "hi-protein" vegetable powders, "right thinking," fancy amino acid compounds, or starvation in the name of "detox." Believe me, if there were a solution, I'd already be using it. :-}

With the comparison between your experience on the type O plan and the vegetarian one, you have valuable feedback far more convincing than anything I could say. Fish is a good start. Use the O diet to work yourself back to that place where you felt good. There's no better argument in the world for any lifestyle.

Good luck to you, dear!

It sometimes happens that one contributor answers the question of another, as Barbara and David did on the subject of female endocrine imbalance and what we can do about it.



During the depression times of the past 10 years, I was diagnosed with uterine fibroids. With heavy periods I have constantly battled being anemia, but have managed with supplements. Now at 50 I begin to experience menopause. I am experiencing hot flashes and night sweats to a point that it effects the amount of sleep that I get. Also, at night my hands go to sleep and I often wake to sweats and asleep hands. I have an appointment with my doctor on June 11, but am interested in sticking with the diet as much as possible. (After spending 5 years of throwing up every day, I no longer go through that since I started the diet--I know it works!) What can you advise me about this condition and what can I do to make life easier? Zoe



On Tuesday, June 18,02, I was reading info on your website and discovered something that has changed my life and will change the lives of many of my clients and family and friends...This item is RHODIOLA ROSEA...I have been experiencing HOT FLASHES for years and no matter what I attempted they were there...have added Rhodiola rosea to the mix and low and behold the hot flashes have all but disappeared...Have to say Thank you for all of us that will benefit from this knowledge...You have a major challenge in this undertaking of Blood Type work...congradulations so far and keep on the investigative trail. Blesssings ~ Barbara



Can certain foods be eaten to avoid the ESTROGEN DROP during menstruation? This estrogen drop causes 3 days of severe migraine headaches every month. I am type A blood. Lorraine



Hi Just wondering if any Blood type compatibility studies have been done on MACA, the peruvian cruciferous vegetable that is having major benefits for endocrine function in both Males and Females. Info on Biological analysis at www.maca.com (not my site). I am a practitioner in Australia and it it seems very beneficial so far for Type A's. Thanks, David

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In addition to the excellent suggestions of Rhodiola rosea and Maca root for all types, black cohosh extract (not for hypertensives or heart patients), chamomile tea and Blessed Thistle tincture have balancing effects upon the type A endocrine system and can alleviate the unpleasant symptoms some women experience during menopause. The phytoestrogens in soy foods are of special help to As as well.



My best suggestion for any woman with problems associated with hormone balance is to use the BTD Complete Blood Type Encyclopedia's specific protocols to guide you in choosing effective herbal and supplemental support, and engage in your recommended exercise and stress relief practices on a regular basis.



Many thanks to you all for your warm support and valuable Q&A!