Hi there.  This is my first post.

I'm a type A- (don't know anything else).  Historically, I've maintained good health and a good weight so long as I don't eat too much protein and avoid additives, especially sauces and salad dressings in restaurants.  I have done the measurements in the book, and looked at my fingerprints, and I believe I most closely resemble the Explorer genotype (mostly since I don't fit Warrior at all, and some of the Teacher aspects are absolutely wrong).

Before finding these genotypes, I always wondered why I had an "O" personality but absolutely had to eat "A" foods.  Now the Explorer genotype portrait makes it all make sense.

So, a bit of turkey, ostrich, and lamb are encouraged on the Explorer diet -- and, these foods don't make me feel gross like beef and salmon -- so I am wondering about elk and yak.

Elk and yak are good local and sustainable animal protein sources in my region (NW United States).

What do you all know about elk and yak? I don't have to eat them, and if I can't, it certainly won't be the end of the world.  They're just easier for me to get than ostrich, and could add some variety.

In the past, the only animal proteins that really made me feel good were turkey breast and nonfat yogurt - and if I have to stick with this and go months without eating any red meat, I will feel pretty good.  Sometimes, you just want to eat something different and don't want to feel awful afterward....

Thanks for your assistance.

welcome!
run a swami, perhaps even find out secretor status and subtype of A

The most recent rating of a food can be found using typebase:

http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/typeindexer.htm

Read about the non secretor issue
http://www.dadamo.com/knowbase/newbie/a.htm

http://www.dadamo.com/science_minor_groups.htm

also use the search window above for more

Thank you for the links and for responding so quickly.  I did quite a bit of searching on the site for "elk" and "yak" before posting.  Unfortunately, elk and yak are not listed in the food list.

I am also aware that further testing may be necessary to determine whether elk or yak are appropriate foods for me; I think some of this may have been done, but is in archived records I won't have for another week or two!  

I'm just curious if other people here eat these foods and what your experience has been.

I'm also interested in comparing notes to other Explorer A's or to other A- folks. (Off to look for other threads on this topic.)

Thank you so much.

For the time being, I'd consider elk "venison", until Dr. D'Adamo finds some reason to distinguish it in particular.

You sound like you're pretty in tune with your body. When you eat beef, you can recognize the unpleasant symptoms that follow.

Why not experiment and see how those meats react in your body? Do it at a time when you're otherwise feeling good, there's nothing else new in your diet, and don't overdo the portion size. Try just one of them (elk or yak) at a time and see how it makes you feel. If the first one makes you feel  good, you can try the other one a week or two later. If you react badly to it, then wait until all symptoms are gone and you're back to "feeling good" before trying the other one.

Quoted from smugalert

I'm also interested in comparing notes to other Explorer A's or to other A- folks.

My DD is an A- Explorer.  Her SWAMI diet does not give her any red meat superfoods, only neutral, which are Lamb, Mutton and Marrow soup.  I have no clue how close yours would be to that, however.

Quoted from san j

For the time being, I'd consider elk "venison", until Dr. D'Adamo finds some reason to distinguish it in particular.

A safe assumption - the meat is at least free range.  Yak is most likely to have the same value as beef.

There are some other A typies with O personalities on the board; often the Explorer genotype has been either assumed or confirmed.

my friend is an A Explorer who is very O-like. She actually gets a couple of red meats as diamond/beneficials... i think in large part due to her severe B12 and iron anemias. I know she eats a lot of deer... not sure about elk and yak tho.

i eat both periodically... my body sees elk like deer/venison... it sees yak differently...somewhere between beef and mutton.

As a B-Explorer my values are much different than an A-Explorer's would be (i get all sorts of odd red meats, but no bird except for turkey). Running SWAMI would be the best option of course, but if that is not feasible at the moment, and you are willing to experiment a little...  if you can do lamb or deer without feeling icky, then i think giving yak and elk a try and seeing how they make you feel afterwards would be reasonable.

Very interesting responses.  Thank you.  And, sorry it took me so long to check into the thread I started.  A busy week.  Happy Friday.  

Quoted from paul clucas

A safe assumption - the meat is at least free range.  Yak is most likely to have the same value as beef.

There are some other A typies with O personalities on the board; often the Explorer genotype has been either assumed or confirmed.

Yes, I recognized myself in that the only time I have gained weight is if I eat red meat or additives (too much time in restaurants), and the only time I suffer low energy or feel unwell has been when I read something and became convinced that I should eat more protein and no grains and then did it for a few weeks...if grains are the devil, why are they more satisfying than a steak? Hmm.

Also, I can't have coffee after 12pm or I will not want to go to sleep...I love the taste and the ritual, but can only drink one cup of the real stuff at a sitting or it will wire me up too much.

And, I have no tolerance for cologne or tobacco smoke -- my body senses that these are saber-toothed tigers.  

I put on more muscle more easily than the description of the Teacher body type.

I've noticed something else since making a few changes based on the Explorer diet.  A lot of what I'm eating is the same, but I switched from eating cashews to pecans and macadamia nuts, and I feel a lot more satisfied on just a handful.  That is really interesting to me.  

Quoted Text

comparing notes to other Explorer A's

I like finding out my A patient' s subtype, MN status and secretor test before running their swami pros....

to each their own.....Dr D is way ahead!!

Quoted from smugalert

I read something and became convinced that I should eat more protein and no grains and then did it for a few weeks...if grains are the devil, why are they more satisfying than a steak? Hmm.

Also, I can't have coffee after 12pm or I will not want to go to sleep...I love the taste and the ritual, but can only drink one cup of the real stuff at a sitting or it will wire me up too much.

And, I have no tolerance for cologne or tobacco smoke -- my body senses that these are saber-toothed tigers.  

I put on more muscle more easily than the description of the Teacher body type.

I've noticed something else since making a few changes based on the Explorer diet.  A lot of what I'm eating is the same, but I switched from eating cashews to pecans and macadamia nuts, and I feel a lot more satisfied on just a handful.  That is really interesting to me.

We become naturally addicted to bad food, but good food is inherently more satisfying.  The Explorer diet works for you.  Addiction, after all, is the result of a need not being honestly met.

Quoted from paul clucas

Addiction, after all, is the result of a need not being honestly met.

I suppose that is true sometimes.

I am really curious about the other data and the SWAMI, but I wonder how much the SWAMI might tell me to eat in a way that I finally figured out on my own when I quit listening to one-size-fits-all stuff.

I am fairly sure Explorer dominates here -- the description is greater than the sum of its parts, although I did have some mixed indicators:

My index and ring fingers are the same length.
My torso and legs are the same length.
My lower leg is slightly longer than my upper leg upon measuring, but it doesn't look that way visually.
I am not left-handed.
My index finger prints are both arches; all the rest of my fingerprints are loops.  The thumbs have double loops.
I don't know my secretor status (but it might be in some old lab work that I ordered from my old NP and am waiting for)
I think I'm a taster -- I think this was tested in a Metabolic Typing test (blood type is one of the criteria; I was a "slow oxidizer" (carb type) and the diet works well for me.  A bowl of oatmeal in the morning and I am sated and energized for hours).
I have a family history of cancer - lots of people...
You can see the tendons in my wrists somewhat, but very clearly in my hands.

I'm sure I'm not a Teacher, and I'm quite sure I'm not a Warrior, since I am just so reactive, and I don't fit the personality description of either of those at all.  I have no whorl fingerprints, I'm Rh negative, I think I'm aging well, and I don't have long legs.  I've had a few food sensitivities mysteriously come and go.  I can occasionally get away with eating a lot as long as it is the right kind of food.

Sorry to bore you all with this, but I'm new to this genotype info.  I enjoy finally getting some validation after reading all the paleo stuff, finding it persuasive, but wondering why it made me feel like %$#* and worried, if I got caught eating a bagel, that someone might drag me by the hair back into a cave....

Based on the advanced calculator table in the book and the information provided:
Torso and leg equal - tie makes torso longer,
Lower leg longer,
Index and ring equal - tie makes index longer,

Given that we don't know Rh factor or Secretor status, you are Warrior unless you are Rh(-) and Non Secretor, which make you an Explorer.
Based on the rest of the data, SWAMI may change this...

Quoted from ABJoe

Based on the advanced calculator table in the book and the information provided:
Torso and leg equal - tie makes torso longer,
Lower leg longer,
Index and ring equal - tie makes index longer,

Given that we don't know Rh factor or Secretor status, you are Warrior unless you are Rh(-) and Non Secretor, which make you an Explorer.
Based on the rest of the data, SWAMI may change this...

I do know my Rh status.  It is negative.    And the physical appearance of the Warrior didn't fit me at all   especially the shape of the head and waist.

If I start to feel strange on the Explorer diet, I might just go back to a basic Type A diet until I am able to get more information.  This has all made me more curious about the SWAMI software.

smugalert...

when i first switch to GTD, by the book i came out as a nomad but my gut was telling me i was an explorer (like you it was based on the description and a "whole picture" vs the parts) BUT i followed the diet for Nomad. After about 6 weeks or so, i felt terrible. I had gained weight, brain fog, exhausted, etc. I promptly order my secretor test and SWAMI and switched to a modified explorer/BTD until i got all my results back.

sure enough, my secretor status put me firmly in the explorer camp.

If you are an explorer, "go with your gut" will mean something to you! You'll know within a few weeks to a couple of months if it is working for you.

Quoted from smugalert

I do know my Rh status.  It is negative.

If I start to feel strange on the Explorer diet, I might just go back to a basic Type A diet until I am able to get more information.  This has all made me more curious about the SWAMI software.

Sorry, I saw that in the original post, but wasn't sure if it was the Rh factor or a dash...  With all of the differences you speak about, even if you end up Secretor, SWAMI may determine Explorer.  My DD was Teacher per the book, but Explorer per SWAMI...

Quoted from ABJoe

Sorry, I saw that in the original post, but wasn't sure if it was the Rh factor or a dash...  With all of the differences you speak about, even if you end up Secretor, SWAMI may determine Explorer.  My DD was Teacher per the book, but Explorer per SWAMI...

No worries ABJoe, when I looked at everything kept coming up to strength test Explorer and Teacher, like your daughter.  I need to find out the secretor status.  I don't recall if they test that as part of Metabolic Typing or not.  I should know in a couple weeks when I get that old lab work back.  

Both of my parents have A positive blood, and both grandmothers had A positive blood, but one grandfather was AB negative and one was O negative.  No diabetes or heart disease in any direct relatives.  

Quoted from zenphoenix

smugalert...

when i first switch to GTD, by the book i came out as a nomad but my gut was telling me i was an explorer (like you it was based on the description and a "whole picture" vs the parts) BUT i followed the diet for Nomad. After about 6 weeks or so, i felt terrible. I had gained weight, brain fog, exhausted, etc. I promptly order my secretor test and SWAMI and switched to a modified explorer/BTD until i got all my results back.

sure enough, my secretor status put me firmly in the explorer camp.

If you are an explorer, "go with your gut" will mean something to you! You'll know within a few weeks to a couple of months if it is working for you.

I know exactly what you mean by by being told "do xyz" and then the wheels come off....    So sorry you went through that.

I'm seeing the value of knowing the secretor status...!

I really like swami, I am a Teacher, but a reactive Teacher rather than receptive. Swami puts it all together nicely   I had been following the BTD for type A for more than 10 years, modifying it as my "instinct" told me which turned out to be very, very close to my swami.

Quoted from grey rabbit

I really like swami, I am a Teacher, but a reactive Teacher rather than receptive. Swami puts it all together nicely   I had been following the BTD for type A for more than 10 years, modifying it as my "instinct" told me which turned out to be very, very close to my swami.

That's good to know!  

Tibetans drink Po Cha (Yak Butter Tea) all day long.
Green tea leaves, yak butter, and salt.
Very warming high altitude drink that prevents chapped lips.
Anyone here ever have it?