Hello, I'm new here.  I have the eat right and the live right book which I read several years ago but never really stuck with it.  I am now 59 and can really tell I have not been taking care of myself.  My husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's back in 2006 and he is a terrible eater, junk food god, but it is really taking it's toll now.  He is 72.  We are both O's and he has agreed we both need to do this so we can have some quality of life.  So...here we are, overwhelmed but determined to give this a go for life.  I'm a secreator, not sure about my husband.  His biggest weakness is milk and cheese and yogurt, at least a quart or 2 a day, lots of cheese and yogurt; but he is willing to try to forego.  Usually he gives up within days.  So along with beneficials, I need a suggestion for the least avoid dairy to help him get weaned from these.  He is very picky eater so it will take me time and I have to have patience; sigh...  Any help or suggestions would really, really be appreciated.  We are willing to buy more books, etc. to help us.  Thank you all in advance for your replies.

Get your Hubby some Trehalose for his Parkinson's--

You both need to go very deep with this-- getting a SWAMI will afford you the best result.

Any chance you can visit University of Bridgeport and see Dr. D'Adamo?

Welcome to the journey!  

Start adding beneficials into your diet.  I was amazed at some foods I had never even thought of trying.  Keep a food diary of how you feel during the day.  Note which foods make you feel bloated, irritated, achy, etc.  Eliminate those first.  Every week add something new and take away something old until you are compliant.  Don’t forget exercise too.

I will order the Trehalose; I read about it and thought that would be good.  I can also order the SWAMI.  I think I read there was a newer version coming out?  I'll add the beneficials. I'm hoping to find him a milk product he will like until I can get him weaned off of milk.  I'll also study the protocols that were suggested to me.  Also, will order the "fight book" on aging unless someone has a better idea.  Saw the new recipe books that are out in kindle form; any idea if it will be coming out in print form?

Yes, exercise is a must!  He's really getting weak and unsteady on his feet.  I'm not in good shape as well.  Neither one of is overweight but our muscle/fat ratio is really bad.  I'll keep a journal also as suggested.  Thank you.

No need to order the books just use the SWAMI it will calculate all his/your needs- no need to wait for updated version. Every update you get the  benefit  of since it is a web based.  
  Where do you live? any chance you can visit Dr. D'Adamo in Conn or Brooklyn?

Yoga for his balance will help a great deal. Find a class at a local yoga studio, get a  good instructor.  http://yoga-health-benefits.blogspot.com/2009/07/yoga-for-parkinsons-disease.html

Walking might not be best for him since it might put him in danger of a fall.


What is he using milk for?  You will need to make him almond milk no store bought ones.
I have found over the years that trying to recreate ones current diet with the SWAMI foods does not work.  You will begin to learn how to cook new things that you will enjoy, sure I miss some things but feel so much better that I never look back.


One of the pieces of advice I have heard is-- stop eating like a five year old .

I agree with Andrea, buy 2 copies of SWAMIXpress to get the best diet possible without seeing either Dr. D. or another practitioner who uses SWAMI Genotype...

Once you get the diet printout, just start adding in beneficial foods to replace the avoids.  Reading about new foods and experimenting in the kitchen can be really fun.

The most important thing is to enjoy getting healthier, so don't let it stress you!  If hubby is really picky, tell him I said he needs to "just do it!!"  !!!  The extra time he enjoys being with you will be worth it!

I also recommend SWAMI.

http://www.4yourtype.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ED070

One optional bit of information that SWAMI uses to fine tune a person's diet is their haplogroup.

Your husband (as a Parkinson's patient) can find out maternal and paternal haplogroup for for free from 23 & Me.

https://www.23andme.com/pd/

If he does not know his secretor status the 23 & Me test will also tell him that information.

Quoted from Donica

I think I read there was a newer version coming out?

Yes. But no need to wait for the new version of SWAMI. You will be automatically upgraded to the new version whet it is released (upgrade is free).

Quoted Text

Saw the new recipe books that are out in kindle form; any idea if it will be coming out in print form?

I expect that these will be released shortly.

But you do not need a Kindle to vie the cookbooks.  I have tested the cookbooks on Windows, Mac, Nexus 7, iPod Touch, iPads, Linux. Essentially if you are able to view these forums, you can probably view Kindle books on the same device.

Dairy gives a feel good response initially. People often are addicted and eat it daily even though they have an allergy. Kicking/changing that one thing could help. Cutting back to once every five days would allow the body to calm the inflammation and clear antibodies (at least from that item) out some. I've been generally rotating foods to no more than once every five days and am amazed at the difference. Total load is cumulative, though, so you can have issues with several foods and they all can add up to one storm. One of the books I read was by a doctor who was going through med school and his wife developed this mysterious illness that severely inhibited her life functioning and she was bedridden many days. In the end, it was her favorite, ice cream, that she was having daily or almost daily that was doing her in. Food matters.

I made my first nut milk in the blender the other day. Some pecans I soaked nearly 8 hours and rinsed, some water, and a tablespoon of maple syrup. Why didn't I do this sooner??

My grandpa has Parkinson's. Do what you can. It's not a fun road.

There may be some reason related to it that the dairy helps him feel better temporarily. I agree with Andrea, seeing Dr. D or another qualified practioner who understands Parkinson's physiology would be your best bet.

Eating a lot of dairy will deplete magnesium. Magnesium is CRUCIAL to so many enzyme processes in the body. 80+ percent of Americans are deficient. This doctor believes correcting that alone would heal a lot of chronic diseases.... http://www.amazon.com/The-Magn.....ds=magnesium+mriacle

Quoted from AKArtlover

Dairy gives a feel good response initially. People often are addicted and eat it daily even though they have an allergy. Kicking/changing that one thing could help. Cutting back to once every five days would allow the body to calm the inflammation and clear antibodies (at least from that item) out some. I've been generally rotating foods to no more than once every five days and am amazed at the difference. Total load is cumulative, though, so you can have issues with several foods and they all can add up to one storm. One of the books I read was by a doctor who was going through med school and his wife developed this mysterious illness that severely inhibited her life functioning and she was bedridden many days. In the end, it was her favorite, ice cream, that she was having daily or almost daily that was doing her in. Food matters.

Are you speaking of dairy, specifically, or do you rotate even diamonds? Aren't diamonds to be eaten at will?
Within reason in terms of portion size, of course, but in terms of frequency?

I generally like the idea of food rotation as much as possible, but I'm just a little confused here.

Hi Donica, nice to meet you

Great advice in the posts above, so I'll just add my two cents, and feel free to take it or leave it of course.

Re: dairy: if you think your husband would have too much difficulty kicking a big dairy habit cold turkey, I would suggest you look for products without gums and stabilizers in them (carrageenan, locust bean gum, modified food starch, etc). Most dairy is not good for type Os, but the stuff the manufacturers put in yogurt, sour cream etc is almost worse than the casein and whey itself!

When I do eat dairy (mostly on special occasions), I look for Daisy sour cream and Fage Greek yogurt. They're not organic, but (at least as of this writing) they're free of additives and gums.

It took me a while, but I switched over to almond milk and don't miss cow's milk at all. I also occasionally have sheep's milk cheese, usually pecorino romano or manchego, on my omelet or taco salad.

You might find that as you replace problem foods with beneficial ones, your tastes will change too and you'll be able to give up the not-so-good stuff with more ease than you think. Take it one step at a time, and if you have questions, comments or need help, come here to talk with board members--this is a great resource with excellent advice.

Good luck and please update on your progress when you're able Welcome to the board!

Wow!  Thank you all for your support and input.  I'm printing your replies out for Jim to read.

Andrea, I've ordered the software, the genotype package and the Trehalose.  

We tried goat milk yesterday and it didn't go over well, even I didn't care for it and I'll eat most anything!  Will use it in smoothies.  

Brighid45, thank you for the info on dairy.  We have another friend who suggested reading The China Study on dairy.  She said that will cure him of wanting to drink milk!  I do like almond milk so I may be able to mix the two and get him weaned that way.

C_sharp; thank you for the Parkinson's website.  I now have it on my favorites and we will participate in that study and it's great he can find out his secreator status.  Haplogroup is a new word for me!  

AKArtlover, I like the idea of cutting out avoids and then trying every 5 days to see how he feels.

ABJoe, I quoted you and he smiled.  I'm excited to get the SWAMI.  I only ordered for him but will get one for myself a bit later.

Averno, I get the feeling you're one of the joksters in the group.     We must all keep a sense of humor while dealing with disease, thanks.

I'm really looking forward to doing this journey with all of you.  Thank you so much for your support.

Opps!  Just saw goat milk a no-no.  Oh well, won't make Jim upset.  On to almond and soy.

I agree, you want to get your husband off the dairy right away, and for SOO many reasons, too many to list! When I cut out milk from my diet years ago.... there weren't too many options. But now health food stores have a large variety of nut milks, seed milks, non dairy alternatives to experiment with as far as taste goes. I personally prefer homemade almond milk (easy to make in a blender or a juicer) tastes way better than the store bought ones. Just don't forget to soak your nuts before making the milk.

To coax your husband into leaving dairy behind, start making homemade icecream with the nut milks. My favorite is Spinach icecream made in the blender with fresh spinach and almond milk. My husband loves chocolate Banana icecream made with Raw Cacao powder. Whatever works to get his tastebuds addicted to the healthy alternatives, that's how I got my husband away from the highly toxic junk foods. Good luck!

Of all the dairy choices, uncultured milk is my least favorite from a health perspective.  If I had a dairy addict in my house and I wanted to help wean him from milk and milk products, I might start by making ghee and giving him some with every meal.  It is almost *magic* in how it deeply satisfies our bodies.

While you're waiting on your SWAMI, look at your LR4YT book in the Dairy section.  Remember that Tier One is the best of the beneficials and the worst of the avoids.  So try and eliminate all dairy from that category.  

Look into the Neutral: General Nutritional Supplementation category and select some dairy from that section.  For example, farmer cheese, feta cheese, ghee, goat cheese and mozzarella cheese are neutral for type O Secretor.  Non-Secretors only get Ghee.  The food choices may change with the SWAMI, but in the meantime, it would be a place to start, looking at the 'least harmful' dairy.

Thank you Tut and EattoLive; lot's of great ideas to work with.