Hey, I am very interested why I should avoid cucumber (like O's should because of its lectin). I have nevertheless heard of many good testimonials about cucumber of good quality told by my mother, father and aunt who all are O type. For example, it refreshes. I can ask more if you are curious enough.

The lectin has adhesion molecules that binds to type O blood. Lectins are like velcro. Cucumber is neutral for A, B and beneficial for AB. There are many other factors taken into account if you do a Swami.

http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/depictor5.pl?131

complex to explain in a few words
this here might help
http://www.dadamo.com/B2blogs/blogs/index.php/2010/03/27/hows-and-whys?blog=24
hows and whys

Quoted from Green Root

Hey, I am very interested why I should avoid cucumber (like O's should because of its lectin). I have nevertheless heard of many good testimonials about cucumber of good quality told by my mother, father and aunt who all are O type. For example, it refreshes. I can ask more if you are curious enough.

Sage advice from the pre Dr. D era.  At one time smoking cigarettes was encouraged by Doctors!  

I love cucumbers in the summer and will have some occasionally, even though they are not recommended.  I just don't have them on a regular basis.  I think I have never noticed any kind of
reaction to them.  But I guess it's individual, and they may still be agglutinating my blood.....

Thank you. I have been out of my home a couple of days - that's why I didn't read this earlier.

I have run SWAMI many many times with tiny change experiments. None of them has taken cucumber out of avoid. So I avoid that, but maybe someday I give a small try to that juicy vegetable (as Paula told)...

green root, accept them as avoids and move on. try courgettes (zucchini) neutral for all blood type, Even beneficial under swami. you will save yourself a lot of time and stress by just accepting.

I know i spent 4 months researching and questioning, now i know better, it works why worry. lol

As a kid I tried touching the stove to see if it was hot.  My mother told me that one day I would get burned.  Consider Dr. D as your mother.  

I use zucchini quite a lot and cucumber is lot juicier. Now that we have had hot summer days in Europe, cucumber wouldn't have hurt so much to test in small amounts. But I have not tested it yet. Let's see...

Someone has about two or three decades written a book about living foods here in Finland. She just wrote that the peel of cucumber is food that digests badly. So I wondered if peeled cucumber would be little better in some cases.

I also wonder why my parents and aunt should avoid cucumber just because of their blood type, if they really feel good after eating that vegetable. Because I'm more in this blood type thing, I try to be more careful. I also think cucumber can't as any means be nearly as harmful as white sugar, many bad condiments, gm corn and wheat.

•     GT4 Epigenotoxin (High Gallic acid concentration)
•     GT4 Epigenotoxin (High in pesticide residue)
•     Blood Group O Non secretor Blood Group O Non secretor Metabolotoxin (anti-metabolite)
rational behind cucumber avoid in Os

Quoted from Lola

•     GT4 Epigenotoxin (High in pesticide residue)

Well, that shouldn't be problem with organic cucumbers. Moreover, you mentioned about problems with non-secretors which I am not, but on the other hand, typebase lists cucumber as avoid also with O secretors.

exactly, and those would be some of the reasons or rationals behind the avoid status....

I really would run a swami if I were you......gives you all the foods right for you
and who knows.....maybe even cucumbers....
I love fermenting those together with other veggie combos, beneficial in my particular swami

Thank you Lola, but I have already run swami and cucumber is still avoid. So I'm surely not going to eat it much. But if some reasons behing avoid status are like you mentioned, reasons to avoid that cannot be so serious that you could never taste it.

So cucumber is not absolute avoid to you, Lola? Good to know - if at least one of my parents and aunts is GT4, so maybe cucumber can be much better to them than to me.

right, to each their own.....

There are avoids, and then there are AVOIDS! I can get very sick from even slight traces of wheat, but heavy cream (also an avoid) isn't quite as bad for me- the reactions are more subtle and short-lived. That's one thing I like about the Live Right book- it has Tier 1 and Tier 2 and then Neutral. Cow's milk is a Tier 1 avoid (very bad) but Goat's milk is only a Tier 2 avoid. So, Os really shouldn't be having goat's milk, but it's still a better choice than cow's milk. Even though it's an avoid on my SWAMI, I know from experience that it doesn't cause any obvious reactions.

I don't think anybody would deny that wheat, GMO corn, and too much sugar is a lot worse for you than a few lectins in "fresh, in season, organic" produce. It could be that your family just happens to have a "cucumber tolerant" gene not typical in Os and that SWAMI doesn't account for. It's also possible that cucumbers are causing subtle damage that your family isn't noticing. How much healthier could they be if they didn't eat cucumbers? Watermelons are refreshing too.

Also remember that having a SWAMI doesn't negate Free Will. We're all taking responsibility for our own health, and BTD/GTD/SWAMI are wonderful tools to use. But even SWAMI isn't as complex as the human body. There are cheeses and grains on my SWAMI that I don't feel comfortable eating- so I don't eat them. Similarly, I can understand somebody deciding "cucumbers are an "avoid" for me on SWAMI, but I feel good when I eat them, so I'll continue having them in spite of this information."

and if you decide to have them, perhaps fermenting would be a better option overall....
beneficial enzymes, for one

I always wondered why I hated pickles...

Quoted from misspudding

I always wondered why I hated pickles...

It might have been the vinegar!

Quoted from Green Root

I also wonder why my parents and aunt should avoid cucumber just because of their blood type, if they really feel good after eating that vegetable. Because I'm more in this blood type thing, I try to be more careful. I also think cucumber can't as any means be nearly as harmful as white sugar, many bad condiments, gm corn and wheat.

If I may... Some avoids actually cause an immune response...if the response is large enough, the body is fooled into thinking an injury has taken place....an injury to the body releases adrenaline which gives a euphoria-like feeling.

Quoted from Tom Martens

If I may... Some avoids actually cause an immune response...if the response is large enough, the body is fooled into thinking an injury has taken place....an injury to the body releases adrenaline which gives a euphoria-like feeling.

Very interesting!!

Quoted from ruthiegirl

There are avoids, and then there are AVOIDS! I can get very sick from even slight traces of wheat, but heavy cream (also an avoid) isn't quite as bad for me- the reactions are more subtle and short-lived. That's one thing I like about the Live Right book- it has Tier 1 and Tier 2 and then Neutral. Cow's milk is a Tier 1 avoid (very bad) but Goat's milk is only a Tier 2 avoid. So, Os really shouldn't be having goat's milk, but it's still a better choice than cow's milk. Even though it's an avoid on my SWAMI, I know from experience that it doesn't cause any obvious reactions.

Oh cool... so Tier 2 is less of an avoid??? I always misinterpreted it as the other way round

The Tier system is explained at:

http://www.dadamo.com/forum/archivea/admin_config.pl?read=77427
http://www.dadamo.com/errata/smartfaq.cgi?answer=1075124989
http://www.dadamo.com/forum/archivea/config.pl?read=77365
http://www.dadamo.com/forum/archivea/config.pl?read=85655
http://www.dadamo.com/errata/smartfaq.cgi?answer=1075124989
An easy way for secretors only to think about it is:

Quoted Text

Tier one shows the best beneficials and the worst avoids.
Tier two shows everything else.  
folks want more lee way, so this system tells them where they can be
loose with the diet if they choose to do so.

Cheers Lola Now I see I did read it right the first time... it all depends on the level of compliance you want to adhere to... very useful links Lola

Thank you all! Ruthiegirl, your comment was something that I needed to verify my thoughts. It's good to know that many foods can be a little harmful although you may not see the influence at any means. But wow, there really can be such "tolerant genes"?

So many people I know have eaten wiser than me in general (that is, not so much wrong foods / sugar) and possibly their bodies are not so sensitive, but anyway they can eat nearly anything that should be wrong to them and they don't notice. So speaking about BTD/GTD to them is not so successful.

I don't know if there are "tolerant genes" or not,  but I suppose that it's theoretically possible that cucumbers just aren't "toxic" to your relatives even though they're toxic to Os in general. It's far more likely that they simply don't notice the ill effects. If all they're saying is "cucumbers are so refreshing!" then it's likely they're thirsty when they eat the cukes, and then they feel "refreshed" because of the water content. They feel good because they've met their need for water, and "not being dehydrated anymore" is a strong enough feeling to overcome any negatives from the cucumber lectins.

As far as not noticing the effects of lectins: there are two possible reasons. Number one, they could be strong and healthy enough that they're doing fine in spite of lectin ingestion. Number two, they eat so many lectins that they're ALWAYS feeling the slight reaction of lectins, and they don't find it unusual or "feel bad" because its' how they always feel.