Hurray... Just two weeks of BTD and I had my normal period, a long standing issue in my life... I was a PCOS sufferer. Two weeks back, my husband introduced me to this wonderful book ERFYT and we started following it religiously.. It is a huge improvement in overall health and feeling lot better... wonder, why I had been killing silently with poor diet..

Though, choices are limited for type O people who are also vegetarian like me. But still, managing well so far..

thanks Dr. Peter

Hey that's great news...Welcome to the board... I'm not sure... is it really possible to follow the O type diet and be a true vegetarian - if you read the book? I guess if you know whether you're a Hunter or Explorer but certainly not if you are a Gatherer?? How are you managing it? Do you eat fish, eggs and cheese etc?

  Great!

interesting read
http://www.dadamo.com/B2blogs/.....ND&submit=Search

thanks for the interesting link Lola... well i was a pure vegetarian till last month, meaning that i didnt even have eggs, but now i am having them occasionally.... though i dont know whether i am a secretor or non secretor, as we dont have the test in india, currently i am just following the O type secretor diet.... as i dont eat meat or fish, all i am doing is that i am just following Dr. Peter's guidelines about all fruits, vegetables, grains etc in my diet..... this means i dont have lot many beneficial items in my list but am eating most things which are neutral for me... so far its working fine for me, but any suggestions would be welcome, especially since non-veg is not an option for me at all.....
thanks in advance......

Sounds like you need to ask AC ( I hope she sees your post)
she knows a lot about beeing vegetarian and O type and Indian.

I think you need to up you egg, pulses and nut intake ( have higher intake than in the book) if you are going to be succesful in combining O diet and vegetarian diet

But nice to hear that you body are adjusting  

Having your period may be linked to the higher protein intake?

glad you are open to avoiding those avoid grains which caused an insulin resistance and thus the PCOS.

here are a few protein combos you might want to try, using the few neutrals an O has available.......compensate with adding as many beneficials as possible, from the veg and fruit categories, as well as good oils and don t forget your ghee!
Legumes + seeds
Legumes + nuts
Legumes + dairy
Grains + legumes
Grains + dairy

soy is not an appropriate protein source for an O, and if you happen to be a non secretor, even less!

I will throw in a couple of suggestions for your vegetarian needs:
spirulina
nutritional yeast
coleus forskolii (a supplement)
eggs and egg whites
goat and sheep cheeses
fresh style cow cheeses may work, like fresh farmer's cheese, fresh ricotta, mozzarella
some O's can eat whey, a high protein product
flaxseed meal
pumpkin seed

thanks for all this info friends..... i am trying to add as many beneficials from the fruits and veggies as i can to my diet, and also have switched over to olive oil and rice bran oil for cooking.... but apart from that, me and my husband (who is an A type ) are eating lots of rice for our meals in all forms.... mostly we are having crepes made of rice + millet flour, or buckwheat flour along with some vegetable or legume, for lunch and dinner..... as out of all the grains list, rice, millet and wheat, which is no more an option, are the only readily available in our markets.... and as u suggested, soy i am trying to limit atleast till the time we can manage to get a test done..... i have started having eggs and can up my intake of those as well as nuts and seeds...... we recently got some brown flaxseed in our local markets, the only type available, but am still not very sure how to incorporate it in our diet..........

Hi, Glad things are going well...I hope I ddn't sound negative in my original post to you (didn't mean to)  
Re the flaxseed: it is best ground just b4 you use it - Apparently must be ground up or it'll pass right thru' with no benefit. I have read that it is better if you roast it b4 grinding??!! Releases more benefits?? Anyone???
I use it along with other ground seeds and flours in pancakes, crepes, wraps...or even bread. You do need to add quite a bit more liquid and let it sit, as it will suck up the moisture and  expand ... Then add more liquid if needed.
You can add it to smoothies too. Quite nice with stewed apple  

wow, thats a great tip.... especially since we seem to be eating lots of crepes these days....
does it make any difference if the seeds are hulled or dehulled, as i think mine are the hulled ones....
i read somewhere that roasting flaxseed improves the flavour, but it reduces the seed's nutritional value..... "raw, untreated flax seed is difficult to handle and consume unless it is roasted. However, it should be noted that roasting of whole flax seed for consumption presents some additional challenges. It is widely known that flax seed is sensitive to roasting processes. For example, flax seed has a fairly fine grain, and the components of flax seed, including Omega-3 fatty acids, are highly susceptible to degradation upon exposure to roasting conditions sufficient to render the flax seed palatable. Often, such roasting processes generate a flax seed product that is pleasing to the consumer, but which has significantly reduced nutritional value."

I don’t have anything to add, just wanted to say welcome.   Is your husband an “O” also?  

ground fresh flax can be added to practically anything and tastes fine!

grass fed cows are vegetarians too u know...you are what you eat eats

ss3363 Yeah couldn't remember what it was I read bout roasting the flax seeds (Trouble with reading too much...   What you say re not roasting makes sense ...
Sorry, not sure re the hulled vs unhulled... I always assume unhulled (more fibre etc) is better, but had read (reading & reading again...) that sesame seeds were better hulled for some reason... Had again, to do with releasing the nutrients I think...
Maybe someone else will contribute advice
Re the crepes - it was trial and error re quantities, if using flax In my crepe maker sometimes they don't cook right, if not enough other "flour" or enough eggs. Can even depend on humidity in air on day of making... I've even started out going along fine and had to add more liquid part waythru' (but that happens with other recipes too eh? Good luck/happy experimenting

ss3363 you are doing a great job  .. ignore the 'kind' comment of people like mikeo  who seems to fear the challenge of being an O type and still a vegetarian  ..

I understand your sentiments as I also happened to be from India and a vegetarian.

keep it up... i am sure you will find a way out with a deadly combination of BTD+typeO+vegetarian

I was a vegetarian for 27 yrs, so I can relate. I changed over to meat eating to see if I could resolve some issues and it worked wonders for me, due to being an O, but I support you trying to do it as a vegetarian. Go for it. Prove there is a way.

helpful quotes from Dr D

Quoted Text

depriving their bodies of the protein needed to optimize the
blood and immune systems, the needed vigorous exercise will
also not work well. Perhaps first try adding fish to your
diet, and see how you respond.

Quoted Text

It probably is not going to work so well that way. I know many
people feel strongly about the issue, but I am trying to just
state the information as best I know it. Everyone must make
certain choices individually.
Most of the vegetable proteins are not metabolized
efficiently by type O, and some inhibit their proper
functioning of the thyroid. You can try fish as a half
measure, but I do sympathize with your dilemma. PS your
hypoglycemia could improve if you give it a chance.

Quoted Text

In essence, the body in its wisdom, will try to configure itself to whatever conditions it must deal with. If given grains, the digestive tract will try to alkalinize, which of course is what you don't want to do if you are an O.
O's to convert some carbohydrate into protein (a very energy-intensive
process). This may have been the result of and adaptation to the low levels
of stomach acids as registered by your Heidelberg Test. It to my taste, is
still not an optimum way for type O's to lose weight as they often suffer a
depression in the blood chemistries, such as the anemia you mention.

Quoted Text

I just got back from Anaheim where I gave the featured address in
"Food Based Nutrition".
met the actress Shirley McClaine at the convention, who mentioned
she was a type O vegetarian from 12 years, read ER4YT, changed,
and feels 100% better.

Quoted Text

vegetarian O?
Anything is possible
I suppose given the right genetics and atmospheric conditions, it is even possible to be a successful type O breatharian.
Learning what foods strengthen the body is an exercise best appreciated by those who are sick or weak. It is in situations like these that I would expect someone to at least be willing to change their mind about things. If you are healthy and well, perhaps leaving well enough is as good a strategy as anything else.

Quoted Text

Having the gene for type O blood (and type B to a degree)
codes for greatly enhanced activity of the enzyme intestinal
alkaline phosphatase or IAP. (1) This has been known for over
30 years. IAP has two functions: it helps break down
cholesterol and long chain fatty acids in the diet, and it
enhances the uptake of calcium. So, first of all, being type
O is going to give you better than average abilities to
absorb calcium.

In addition, guess what stimulates the release of IAP?

Protein.(2)

So if you are type O and really interested in
keeping your bones healthy, you will want to
insure that you are getting high enough
amounts of protein in your diet, so you can
turn on this enzyme and help break down fat
and absorb calcium.
Identification of effective nutrition supplements may be
necessary to improve BMD levels and to reduce the risk of
osteoporosis among long-term female vegetarians.
Simple solutions to complex problems are always attractive
study
http://www.dadamo.com/forum/archive6/config.pl?read=21181

Quoted Text

It is only my completely subjective opinion that many grain eating-vegetarian type O's are dopamine deficient, and perhaps
because of this some tend be more introverted, others more angry or agitated.
http://www.dadamo.com/forum/archivea/config.pl?read=71148

thanks a lot for all this helpful info Lola...  it surely was very informative and i will try to keep an open mind about these things

also thank you Kawaikx15 and Jayneeo for your understanding and support about my fighting this battle for good health and still being a vegetarian.....

but so far i still prefer to be a vegetarian and try to follow this wonderful diet as best as i can, by atleast eliminating the avoid foods from my menu and incorporate as many neutrals and beneficials as i can.... its a difficult task and maybe i wont be able to gain the maximum benefits of the typebase diet this way, but i am surely gonna give it my best try  .... and i can achieve this only with the helpful info and support of all u wonderful people on this forum....  

cheers !!!!!

a few more queries.....

as i said earlier, me and my husband are eating lots of rice in all its forms these days, rice flour, brown and white rice, puffed rice, flattened rice..... i am making cookies and cakes with rice flour, and my salty snacks with puffed or flattened rice, for that in between munching, and mostly rice flour+millet flour crepes or pancakes for our meals..... my husband being a type 'A', rice flour is listed as beneficial for him.... but i was wondering if so much of rice is ok for me as well.... all in all we must be having approx 2 cups each per day..... wud be great if any of u can give me some guidance regarding the same.....

also i am extremely fond of sweets.... though i am making all my treats at home these days and trying to keep the intake limited, i am not sure for how long i wud be able to resist.... i am mostly using honey and unrefined sugar powder for the baking and chocolates, and stevia for my green tea....  also i am having some natural sugar in the form of fruits and dried figs and dates..... i want to know that being a type O how much a day can i afford to eat, and if i shud also keep check on the natural sugar intake of fresh and dried fruits.....

please help friends........

As a gatherer, (one of the O genotypes) I can have up to one and a half cups (am I right? I don't eat that much) of appropriate grain a day...but that's a max......millet, basmati rice, and quinoa are recommended....
I don't know about the sugars....stevia and agave are ok for me.

the lack of the right protein for your physiology makes you crave sweets and
grains.......
I ve heard the name 'starchetarians' as opposed to O vegetarians.
I hope you can make ends meet while adapting the guidelines into your lifestyle
and thrive, the way so many of us now do.

Focus on upping your protein intake with sources acceptable to you and try to limit your grain intake.  

If you are going for 'sweets' I'd go for fruit instead of even more grain.  Also, try to go for low starch rice varieties like basmati if you have a choice.    

The trouble is that Os really don't need much/any grain to be healthy but do need plenty of good protein and veg - your husband will thrive on a quite different diet than you  

This is how I handled being ovo-vegetarian before the mighty switch to the Hunter diet. I reckoned that if I didnt have the option of eating red meat & fish, then I could afford to increase my egg intake as well as the bean and nuts intake. I know for me personally not having enough protein & good fats make me want to eat something sweet. It also makes me feel hungry all the time. With a background knowledge of BTD and now GTD, it's safe to say that all blood types are allowed atleast 3 servings of 1/2C cooked grains per day. That pretty much ensures that we dont eat grains at the expense of other food categories all the time while satisfying our need for comfort food.

My check list for meals:
-where is the protein? It can be eggs, vegetable proteins, nuts-whatever.
- where is my beneficial green leafy vegetable?
-where is the beneficial starchy vegetables?
By the time I fill up my belly with these 3 main catagories of food there's actually space just nice for that 1/2 C of cooked grain !

Many of the dried bean categories are available in our region. And many of our vegetables which are yet to be tested by the good Dr- please do go ahead and indulge in it!

Dont forget good fats-ghee! Make it at home, like all of us here do. Buffalo ghee is the best!
Jaggery is also good for us. So make compliant sweets and you're pretty safe.
Dont forget all our wonderful spices and the onions, garlic and ginger.
Fruits are important too.

It is very overwhelming in the beginning especially when there is a culture factor to think about...but you will find your own path slowly. It's an exciting journey. I still havent got bored with it  !

It is possible to be a healthy ovo vegetarian O. I was one till GTD came along. I just feel like a ferrari these days...that's the difference !