I am a type o non-secretor. I also have hypoglycemia. I do fine on the high protein, low carb diet, however I have added foods such as ezekiel bread, rice, pinto beans, pineapple juice, and cherry juice to my diet. I continue to eat lots of meat and vegetables. Should I eliminate foods high on the glycemic scale even if they are considered beneficial? I am still trying to determine what affect bad lectins have on blood sugar levels. I am determined to stay on this diet. Thanks!

Peter is fond of pointing out that it is not how much carbohydrate, but what kind of carbohydrate, that makes the difference. The glycemic index is only one aspect of food analysis. Live Right’s recommendations are designed not just upon the general observation of a food’s effect on blood sugar levels, but according to the kinds of sugars present, any lectin activity, the relative amount of beneficial substances, and other type-mediated issues.

For instance, pineapple juice contains anti-inflammatory and protein-digestive enzymes. Black cherries are high in antioxidant compounds, and act to lower polyamine levels. In contrast, apples and oranges have much lower glycemic index ratings than pineapple… but apples contain a lectin affecting type O nonsecretors, and have little to offer aside from fruit pectin, while oranges contain high levels of putrescine, rendering them avoids for most types. Would anyone on the typical hypoglycemic’s diet consider indulging in watermelon? Of course not, it’s at the bottom of the list, with an index of 103/72! But Live Right says it’s beneficial for Bs, ABs and A nonsecretors… because it contains substances that moderate insulin’s effects as well as reducing edema. In effect, it performs the tasks that the glycemic index hopes to achieve through discouraging you from eating it.

If grains trigger wooziness or cravings, cut back. O nonsecretors should have only a maximum of three servings per week ~ if you're Rhesus-negative, that figure drops to two.

Other factors come into play. There is always an adjustment period involved if this diet is a big change from your former one. At first, you may experience hefty cravings for the grains and sugar you’ve eliminated from your diet. Not only your liver and insulin functions, but your very brain chemistry, changes in response to this kind of dietary upheaval. Smile! Feeling lousy is a sign that the adjustments have begun, and sticking to the diet means you won’t have to go through them again. The best approach is to fill up on protein, perhaps more than the suggested amounts, and fill in with vegetables ~ this is perfectly OK, and is your body’s way of treating itself to the healing and rebuilding power of what it needed that it hadn’t been getting. Over a few months’ time, most Os find their appetite for meat settles at a more moderate level.

Vegetable glycerine, widely available in health food stores, has beneficial effects upon our ability to release energy from the food we eat, and can be used in place of any sweetener you now employ.

If you are willing to use supplements, try 5HTP, L-glutamine, and/or L-tyrosine for cravings. You won’t need them forever. Deflect-O™ helps clean your tissues of insulin-mimicking lectin deposits, and Polyflora-O™ speeds the repopulation of beneficial bacteria to support your digestion and immunity. Both are available from North American Pharmacal.

Finally, don’t forget the exercise part of the plan. Half an hour per day is a tiny investment compared to the whole-body rewards it confers. For type Os, it is absolutely essential to get an exercise program in place which is based upon your current fitness level and keyed for gradual improvement. Watch for signs of boredom or strain, and adjust your routine accordingly.

This plan has a wonderful track record in handling hypoglycemia. I'm sure you'll meet with success!

My blood group is 'O' and as I am sure your aware the diet is pretty carnivorous. However, my main problem is that I am and have been since birth a vegetarian. I am trying to follow the diet, but was wondering if I can allow more eggs and dairy into my diet plan to make up for the missing meat and poultry. Many thanks for your help.



A great number of type Os come to this diet from a vegetarian lifestyle, and wish above all to adhere to their ideals. Based upon my personal experience and the accounts of hundreds of others, I would encourage you to consider how much good you can do in the world if you are the healthiest person you can be. Consider this plan from the standpoint of what we Os are biologically designed to eat, and what balance means in nature. As a stopgap measure for your pondering phase, I'd like to offer Bob L's wonderful post on how type O vegetarians might approach this diet. Here it is:



"Select the foods you will eat from the beneficial and neutral lists. Try not to base your meals on grains, but if you do, rice is probably best. Instead of grains use squash or sweet potatoes as a starch. Eat plenty of vegetables and moderate amounts of fruit. Get protein at every meal from nuts, seeds, beans and tempeh which I think is better than tofu. Soaking nuts like almonds to germinate them make the nutrients contained more assimilable. Use nutritional yeast.



"Supplement with vit B12, and the amino acids taurine and carnitine. D'Adamo says the ayurvedic herb Coleus Forskolii aids cellular energy production in vegetarians. If you are a secretor, you may be able to eat a little more of the neutral cheeses like feta, farmer and mozarella than is recommended. If you will eat eggs, this would make things easier and simpler.







Note: Strict vegetarians should be aware that both taurine and carnitene are amino acids derived from meats.



If you have no health problems, this modified O diet could work for you. But if you find yourself overweight or ill, it may be Nature sending you a rather carnivorous message. Good health to you!

Dear Heidi, thrill with your column, I read it first thing in the morning after I have my breakfast, I am AB secretor with a history with cancer, very healthy otherwise, taking all the supplements Dr. D'Adamo recommends and following the diet. The supplements I take are from North Pharmacal but in the Encyclopedia in some protocols there are some supplements that I can not find, please help me, for example Astragalus and OPCs. For my stress reduction I am practicing now Qigong and Tai Chi and I feel great. Thank you for your time and the love you transcend in your column. Luisa

Thank you, Luisa ~ how kind! ~~:-}

Here are a few pointers on finding the supplements recommended in the Encyclopedia. Perhaps you've done all this already ~ if so, just email me and I'll try to help further!

1.) Perhaps you or a friend or family member could scour your locality for a responsive organic grocer or supp shop. Copy out exactly the full English name and Latin name (if given) of the supps you're looking for, including the preferred strength (20mg, 500mg, etc.) and how many to take, how often. Also, figure out how many you'll need to complete one round of your protocol (commonly, capsules are packaged in 60, 120, 180 or 500-unit bottles). If you find a store that stocks your supp, but in a different strength -- 100 mg capsules when you're looking for 50 mg, for example -- you may be able to take fewer dosages -- if the book calls for 2 caps three times per day, for example. You see what I mean.

If you find a shop that carries a good supply of vitamins, etc., but they don't have what you're looking for, ask to speak to the manager. Explain what you need. Ask if they normally carry it -- or could special-order it for you, and how much it would cost. Think about how much you'll need for one round, two rounds or more of your protocol (however many you plan to do), and ask how many bottles you'd have to commit to in order to get the special order. Unless you're really flush with cash and the minimum order is no more than you can use, just get a price from them -- you can always place the order when you've checked other sources' prices and delivery times. It may be that someone you know could join you in the order, or you could ask the manager to let you know if others request the same supp -- you could form a group order that way.

Why am I belaboring this simple idea? As a general rule, I like to support local businesses. It's just a political philosophy I have, but it's not some high-level abstraction unrelated to daily life. Those people in your neighborhood or town or city who work every day to get good stuff on their shelves won't be there for you when you need them if they don't get your business. In addition, a few vocal customers can change a marginal little joint into a thriving supply of high-quality products. Most merchants want to know what you want to buy, and they want to be the ones to sell it to you. Everyone wins! :-) All I'm saying is... give Commerce a chance!! :-D Just opening your mouth to a manager puts a seed idea into her head which will pop up every time someone else does the same.... be part of the process, folks!

2.) If local shopping is not an option, then go to my favorite search engine: alltheweb.com's advanced search. Choose "exact phrase." Enter the supp you're looking for. Down below, enter each of the following terms separately in one of the three windows provided, after choosing "must include" from the pulldown menu: mg, cap [or veggiecap if desired], organic [try with and without this one, as not everything you're looking for is an herb or root]. This technique isn't perfect, but it weeds out lots of pages (bulletin boards and general health sites, for example) that won't help you.

Astragalus is a venerable supplement you'll find all over the Net and in several well-known brands in most supp shops. That one should present you with no problem.

For oligomeric proanthocyanidins (a term I don't see often while browsing! :-)) I didn't use the additional terms -- I just entered the name and specified "exact phrase" to see how many hits I'd get.

58 hits. Hmmm.... Does Dr. Joel Wallach have his own bunch of sites? I see many different websites with the same advertising text offering his "OPC-T" product (some amalgam of OPC and green tea). The main, first website doesn't even tell me how many capsules I get for my USD27.50 (or 21.50 if I sign up for "wholesale status"...) Hmmm.... I just want OPC, not Joel Wallach. SO, now I go to the bottom of my search page. Under "word filters," I enter "Wallach" and pick "must not include" from the pulldown menu.

To quote Jed Clampett, "Whee-doggies!" I'm starting to feel your pain! Now I've got 47 websites, and a bunch of THOSE have the same ad texts, which appear to be selling something called "Perfor-Max" which has two different formulations (one with grape seed, pine bark, and curcumin extract, the other adding green tea leaf, hawthorn berry, and rosemary leaf) and offer something called "distributor" status. Multi-level marketing scheme? Looks that way from here... I don't know. Hmmmm... Between Dr. Wallach and the Perfor-Max sites, you have a couple of choices if you'd like to purchase a capsulized form per the Encyclopedia's suggestions.

What I've learned so far from these searches is that OPCs are substances found in many foods, so over-the-counter preparations will vary. At http://www.self-improvement-personal-development.com/p_long.html I read that OPcs are a whole group of bioflavinoids, and that "The most potent source of OPC (Activin) is found in grapes. Red wine is considered the richest natural source of OPC." A pleasant idea is beginning to form in my head.

http://www.realhealthlabs.com/arthromobility.htm offers both grape seed extract and curcumin ("turmeric") extract. Our site here sells ARA6, which is larch arabinogalactan (from bark of the Western Larch tree, a deciduous conifer) as well as Hawthorne Plus (hawthorne berry extract & more larch). Rosemary is a lovely herb for cooking. Green tea and red wine [perhaps all on its own] cover the rest of the bases. SO: how about a total of 500 mg per day from those supplements, some green tea in the morning and some red wine at night? Sound good?

3.) A Special Note: If all else fails in a long search for something, here's another option: Hickey's Chemists, Ltd. in my town of New York City. They have heard of EVERYTHING and seem to stock even more. If you call them toll-free at 1-800-724-5566, you can talk to one of the shockingly knowledgeable staff, who can then mail your order to you. These are wonderful people who have come through for me in tight spots, and I like to throw them some business whenever I can.

Well, that's an example of my thinking process on supplements. If you see a column entitled "Was my face RED!?!" tomorrow, you'll know Peter sent me a friendly message telling me his preferred OPC supp. In that case, I'll pass it on. ;-D

I truly appreciate your story, Luisa. Keep enjoying the diet, and spreading the love around! thanks, dear.