QUESTION: As a type O I am using Fucus vessiculosis (Bladderwack) and the results have been superb. Now I have convinced my husband (as I, also a medical doctor) to to follow your diet, I wish to know if he may go onto Bladderwrack too, as he has H. pylori? Your response would be appreciated.

ANSWER: In ER4YT, I've written of the utility of Fucus (Bladderwrack) in helping to keep thyroid function normal in blood type O's and discussed the potential usefulness of this plant for preventing the adherence of some unwanted microorganisms (H. pylori for example) to the cells lining the digestive tract in blood type O's.

There is actually a good reason for my deference to this plant with regards to blood type O. As you might recall form ER4YT, blood type O is characterized by the presence of a terminal fucose sugar on its antigen. Things in nature (like lectins, bacteria, Candida, etc) with a preference for or a "sweet tooth" for fucose, will always have an affinity for and a greater impact on blood type O's. Since bladderwrack is such excellent food source of fucose and fucose containing sugar chains, it can actually bind many of the more problematic blood type O lectins, bacteria, and microorganisms.

One of the emerging fields of research with regards to microorganisms (and lectins) centers about an idea of adherence and anti-adherence. Basically, an unwanted organism can only produce a problem for you to the degree it can attach to or anchor itself to your cells. Lectin damage follows a similar pattern. Recognizing this simple concept of adhesion, you will readily recognize the usefulness of the concept of anti-adhesion, or blocking strategies. The question then becomes what foods might provide an anti-adhesion advantage for your blood type. One of the answers for blood type O is bladderwrack (Note: kelp also has a high amount of fucose sugars so is another answer). Basically, the fucose in bladderwrack can act as a false decoy, binding the unwanted blood type O environmental debris and sweeping it away before it can bind to or irritate the tissue.

Because A's, B's and AB's also usually contain some anchoring sites (but proportionately substantially less than an O) for fucose specific lectins and microorganisms, bladderwrack can also act as a form of anti-adhesion food for these blood types as well. However, they also have additional specific blocking sugars they can place at their disposal.

So, although you did not include the ABO group of your husband, Bladderwrack is a smart choice as a simple, safe anti-adhesion therapy for H. pylori.


Read More About Fucus

1. Nishino T, Nishioka C, Ura H, Nagumo T. Isolation and partial characterization of a novel amino sugar-containing fucan sulfate from commercial Fucus vesiculosus fucoidan. Carbohydr Res 1994;255:213-224.

2. Patankar MS, Oehninger S, Barnett T, et al. A revised structure for fucoidan may explain some of its biological activities. J Biol Chem 1993;268:21770-21776.

3. Nishino T, Nishioka C, Ura H, Nagumo T. Isolation and partial characterization of a novel amino sugar-containing fucan sulfate from commercial Fucus vesiculosus fucoidan. Carbohydr Res 1994;255:213-224.