Eat Right for Your Type

The concept to “Eat Right For Your Type” – or “Blood Type Diet ” is based on research conductedby Peter D’Adamo, ND, who claims that people fare better (including with weight management) when tailoring their diet to their specific blood types.

He advises: Type A typesshould basically stick to fruits and vegetables (high carbs / low fat). They have thicker blood than other blood types, a sensitive immune system, and should not consume dairy products, animal fats and meats. They are at a heightened risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

Type B typesshould consume a balanced diet (fruits and vegetables, grains, fish, dairy, meat, but avoid chicken). They have the best chance of bypassing or overcoming everyday types of diseases, including heart disease and cancer.

Type AB typesshould consume a mostly vegetarian diet, and only on rare occasions some fish, meat (no chicken), and dairy.  Type O typesshould basically stick to a high protein diet (including red meat), low carbs, and enriched with fruits and vegetables. They should limit the intake of wheat germ, whole wheat products, corn, and avoid dairy products and most nuts.

Type O types are commonly affected with hypothyroidism, high stomach acid (leading to ulcers), and thinner blood with greater resistance to blood clotting.

Peter D’Adamo proposes that lectins cause agglutination (clotting) of blood cells in an individual with the wrong blood type, and which in turn may create serious liver or kidney problems as visible under a microscope (lectins are sugar-containing proteins found on the surface of some foods that may cause various molecules and some types of cells to stick together). He theorizes further that elevated urine indican levels – prevalent in many gastrointestinal diseases such as celiac disease, diverticulitis, pancreatic insufficiency, inflammatory bowel diseases and others – can also be attributed to specific blood types affecting the interactions of foods with intestinal bacteria, and creating polyamine abnormalities. In addition, different blood types – according to P. D’Adamo – affect the body’s secretory performance in respect to digestive juices, whereby a blood Type O for instance is capable of producing higher than average stomach acid levels, which could lead to a greater incidence of gastric ulcers.

How do different Blood Types compare to various medical conditions? There are some known blood type / disease – risk associations, where for instance Type O individuals have a marginally higher incidence of ulcers / H. Pylori infections compared to Type A, with pernicious anemia, diabetes, or certain types of cancer being more prevalent with Type A or B. A 2009 Boston study confirmed findings from several decades earlier which suggested a blood type – malignancy rsk association, whereby the chances of developing pancreatic cancer for instance were 32% higher for those with Type A blood, 51% greater for Type A-B, and 72% higher for Type B blood.

Types O and B also have greater susceptibility to infectious diseases such as scarlet fever, cholera, typhoid, or the bubonic plague, while Type A shows greater susceptibility to the smallpox virus, and it is more prone to blood clotting. Blood-sucking insects (that carry diseases) prefer Type O blood. How does that help doctors and their patients? Unfortunately, it doesn’t. For instance, gastritis modestly prevails in blood groups A and O, so with more than 80% of the world population being part of the A or O group, not only would it be impractical or pointless to suggest dietary changes for preventative or therapeutic purposes, but what should the recommendations be? Since there is such a wide variety of possible causes for gastritis, there are no universal therapeutic or dietary solutions that can be safely applied to such a large percentage of the population. The same circumstances apply when trying to formulate diets around blood types for any other medical disorders, as not one single disease is exclusive to one particular blood type. Ever since first becoming aware of the “eat-right-for-your-type” proposition, I was as curious and intrigued as many other researchers and practitioners to clinically apply those theories by comparing patients’ blood types to their medical disorders – looking for trends or a pattern. It quickly became apparent that high blood sugar, high blood pressure, or high stomach acid types shared the same blood groups with those exhibiting low blood sugar, low blood pressure, or low stomach acid. As expected, the same applied to people with a lifelong tendency for weight gain,

weight loss, nearsightedness, farsightedness…, as well as other “hyper” versus “hypo” conditions, so at this time, blood types don’t serve as a helpful screening method. How do different Blood Types compare to a patient’s chemical / nutritional profile? Since the “eat-right-4-your-type” concept mainly focuses on dietary lifestyles being matched to blood groups, it would stand to reason that blood types should match the chemical and nutritional profiles of an individual – sort of like the Metabolic Typing of patients – where diets are adjusted according to someone’s biochemical or genetic make-up.

Unfortunately, there is no practical or clinical match whatsoever – just like eye color and hair color are not a practical or clinical indication of a person’s present or future medical risks (other than those with blue eyes or red hair being more prone for sun damage). Years ago, plotting the Biorhythm of an individual was another popular concept that had its followers track someone’s physical, intellectual and emotional well-being (to identify critical days), although this method equally lacked scientific support.

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Blood Groups:Type OType AType BType AB

Global Distribution: 62 % 21 % 16 % 1 %

Europe: 45 % 42 % 10 % 3 %

Africa: 68 % 17 % 12 % 3 %

Arabia: 34 % 31 % 29 % 6 %

East Asia: 32 % 30 % 28 % 10 %

India: 37 % 22 % 33 % 8 %

America (US): 46 % 40 % 10 % 4 %

American Natives: 98 % 1.7 % 0.3 % 0 %

Australian Aboriginals: 69 % 30 % 1.0 % 0 %

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Of course there are people who claim that since following the “eat-right-4-your-type” recommendations

they had lost some weight, or otherwise felt better, however when asked about any specific changes
made, they invariably consisted of lifestyle changes that are universally considered to be beneficial -
regardless of someone’s blood type – such as cutting out junk food, and/or eliminating foods whicheither cause, or have an unfavorable impact on specific medical problems one is suffering from.

The decision to increase certain foods, or to eliminate food sources that someone has an intolerance or allergy to (dairy, wheat, eggs, meat, nuts, seafood, certain fruits or vegetables…) will definitely have a positive impact on someone’s health and is clinically necessary and important, but the need to do so has mostly a genetic basis that is not related blood types A, AB, B, or O.

Some patients’ medical complaints improve, or completely clear up after avoiding dairy products, or other suspect foods such as wheat, shellfish, nuts, etc., however this happens with all blood types – not just certain blood groups as claimed by “eat-right-4-your-blood type” proponents – so subsequently this does not support, but rather discredit the “Blood Type Diet” concept.

The notion that individuals with certain blood types suffer from specific medical problems (i.e. “Type O is commonly affected with hypothyroidism, high stomach acid [leading to ulcers], and thinner blood…”) is clinically incorrect. Many medical conditions develop from non-dietary causes and change over a lifetime, but would have to remain fixed according to the premises of the “Blood Type Diet.”

Fluctuating nutritional requirements as a result of aging also invalidate “eat-right-4-your-blood type” concepts, where a blood group-specific lifestyle is supposed to be maintained throughout a lifetime. For instance, a lot of changes take place post middle age. Along with the usual hormonal slowdown, an individual’s stomach acid, potassium, or zinc levels frequently decline, while phosphorus and/or sodium levels tend to increase – independent of dietary intake or blood type.

These chemical changes may result in elevated blood sugar, water retention, or high blood pressure, and despite being Type O, may require a reduced intake of meat and other phosphate sources, and a higher intake of dietary or supplemental potassium and zinc. One could consider another Type O individual who has been enjoying and tolerating a high protein (red meat) diet all his life, and who eats E.Coli-contaminated hamburger, ending up with kidney damage. Obviously, his blood type is still Type O, but unless he changes more to a “Type A Diet” now (more fruits, oxalate-free vegetables, low purine diet), he will either soon encounter his first gout attack, or worse, he’ll be soon on dialysis.

In a Type O female who was previously hypo-thyroid (supposedly being prevalent with Type O), the menopause-related hormonal changes now trigger hyper-thyroidism as a result of naturally declining estrogen and manganese levels. To continue thyroid-stimulating strategies as per “blood type diet / eat right 4 your type” guidelines in this and other countless examples, instead of following proper medical procedure, could have disastrous consequences.

What It Is Eat Right for Your Type

The Eat Right for Your Type diet encourages people to eat certain foods and avoid others based on their blood type — A, B, AB, or O.

Peter J. D’Adamo, ND, the author of Eat Right for Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Weight, believes blood types affect the digestive system and that some foods good for people of one type are “dangerous” for another.

It goes further than that for D’Adamo, a naturopathic doctor, who believes that your blood type also determines your susceptibility to certain illnesses and how you should exercise.

Critics cite a lack of published evidence backing D’Adamo’s blood type-based diet plan. “I know of no plausible rationale behind the diet,” says John Foreyt, PhD, a researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

This diet may suit those enthusiastic about a plan that doesn’t involve tracking calories or fat grams, while others may find it difficult to stay within the diet’s confines, a challenge made greater if more than one person in a household follows the diet — and has a different blood type.

What You Can Eat on This Diet
What you can eat — and how you exercise — on this diet depends on who you are.

If you’re blood type O (“for old,” as in humanity’s oldest blood line) your digestive tract retains the memory of ancient times, says D’Adamo, so you’re metabolism will benefit from lean meats, poultry, and fish. You’re advised to restrict grains, breads, and legumes, and to enjoy vigorous exercise.

Type A (“for agrarian”) flourishes on vegetarian diets, “the inheritance of their more settled and less warlike farmer ancestors,” says D’Adamo. The type A diet contains soy proteins, grains, and organic vegetables and encourages gentle exercise.

The nomadic blood type B has a tolerant digestive system and can enjoy low-fat dairy, meat, and produce but, among other things, should avoid wheat, corn, and lentils, D’Adamo says. If you’re type B, it’s recommended you exercise moderately.

The “modern” blood type AB has a sensitive digestive tract and should avoid chicken, beef, and pork but enjoy seafood, tofu, dairy, and most produce. The fitness regimen for ABs is calming exercises.

How the Diet Works
D’Adamo rejects the idea that one diet fits all. With four unique blood types, why shouldn’t we have four specialized diet plans, he asks.

The right diet for your blood type comes down to lectins, food proteins each blood type digests differently, D’Adamo maintains.

If you eat foods containing lectins incompatible with your blood type, he says, you may experience inflammation, bloating, a slower metabolism, even diseases such as cancer. The best way to avoid these effects is to eat foods meant for your blood type.

All foods fall into three categories on the Eat Right for Your Type diet:

Highly beneficial
Neutral
Avoid
Beneficial foods for your blood type act like medicine, neutral foods like food, while avoid foods “act like a poison,” says D’Adamo.

For example, type Os should steer clear of whole wheat and wheat germ because “eating gluten is like putting the wrong kind of octane in your car … it clogs the works,” D’Adamo says.

What the Diet Experts Say
“Within the diet itself are generally good diet recommendations,” says David W. Grotto, RD, LD, a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association. “D’Adamo doesn’t say avoid vegetables and fruit, for example — but his specific recommendations based on blood type — the science is not there to support it. I’m not aware that anyone has duplicated his research.”

The presumption that each blood types will thrive on certain foods but not others also gives Grotto pause. “I’m type O and apparently I should be feasting over roadkill. Well, that doesn’t work for me because I don’t like too much meat.”

Overall Grotto does not recommend the diet, believing it pigeonholes people into dietary restrictions without taking into consideration individual needs and tastes.

Critics also refute D’Adamo’s theory that there’s a connection between certain blood types and specific diseases. Though the theory has been long been investigated, no conclusions have been reached, says Andrea Wiley, PhD, an associate professor of anthropology at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.

Food for Thought
As for why so many have embraced the Eat Right for Your Type diet, Wiley has a theory: ” Dieting is one of those things people feel desperate about. … The blood-type diet sounds more scientific [than some others].”

But it’s the very lack of a solid scientific background that rankles most experts.

“If this diet wasn’t coming from the whole blood-type approach, I could recommend this,” says Grotto, “but the philosophy of blood type is very obscure and lacking in science.”

By Peter D’Adamo, MD

“Eat Right 4 Your Type Hype”–A review by Sally Eauclaire Osborne, M.S.

Eating according to your blood type seems to be the hottest idea in nutrition today. Despite negative reviews in nearly every mainstream publication — nearly all of whom have proclaimed the diet to be “no bloody good” — Eat Right 4 Your Type by Peter J. D’Adamo, N.D. (Putnam, 1996) has become a bestseller.

Fad diets, of course, come and go, rarely earning kudos from anyone other than publishers and their publicists. Dr. D’Adamo’s book, however, has won the respect of fellow naturopathic doctors, many of whom now offer $20 blood typing tests to determine whether their clients are Type O, A, B or AB. After all, Dr. D’Adamo claims 4,000 case studies of people who achieved radiant good health after learning to “eat right for their type.” Supporters include Ann Louise Gittleman, M.S., C.N.S., Christiane Northrup, M.D., Bruce West, M.D., Jonathan Wright, M.D.,and scores of other respected physicians and nutritionists.

Why then have others — Brian Clement, Director at the Hippocrates Institute, Robert Crayon, M.S. of Designs for Health, and this writer, among others — seen little or nothing that clinically or scientifically supports the theory? Blood type as a factor in illness? Certainly. More than 1,000 scientific studies exist suggesting this is so.

Blood type as a factor in deciding what to eat? D’Adamo bases his theories on the assumption that early man had Type O blood, and that the A, B, and AB bloodtypes came long after. He claims that these later bloodtypes are genetically predisposed towards grains and milk products, foods that came in with agriculture and the domestication of animals, while Type Os are natural meat eaters. The evidence is less than convincing. Anthropologists can point to evidence that all four blood types existed back in the hunter/gatherer Paleolithic era,1 a fact that deflates Dr. D’Adamo’s entire theoretical structure.

That so many people have done well on Dr. D’Adamo’s blood type diet theory suggests that there is at least a drop of truth in it. Could the system work though the theories are faulty? Would that answer were as simple as four blood types, four diets!

Whether we are blood type A, B, AB or O is determined by chemical markers called antigens that lie on the surface of our red blood cells. If foreign blood enters the body — as occurs with an improperly matched blood transfusion — the immune system’s “security police” step up to check the antigen ID card to determine whether or not it should be welcomed. If not, the immune system generates antibodies to lock onto the foreign blood cells, causing them to clump together or “agglutinate.” Bodily “garbage collectors” then round up the glued-together trespassers to usher them out of the body.

Most people are familiar with this particular immune system scenario. It’s the reason why wrong blood transfusions cause hemolysis and death.

Less well known is the fact that plants and foods also contain blood-specific agglutinins known as lectins. A powerful example is a lectin known as ricin, found in the seeds of castor oil plants. If injected into the bloodstream, it agglutinizes so quickly with red blood cells that massive blood clots form and death is nearly instantaneous.

Reactions to the protein lectins in food are rarely so life threatening. (Or so unlikely, given that few people would ever think of eating the seeds of the castor oil plant much less inject them into the bloodstream.) Dr. D’Adamo, however, reports that hundreds of common food lectins are capable of causing health problems when eaten by people of the wrong blood type. Milk, he says, has “B-like qualities; if a person with Type A blood drinks it, his system will immediately start the agglutination process in order to reject it.” He reports that similar consequences accrue to Type O wheat eaters, Type B chicken eaters, Type AB anchovy eaters, and so forth. In short, there is a long list of foods that he says are best avoided by each blood type.

Such clumping, according to Dr. D’Adamo’s theory, is not just a form of “corpuscle punishment;” it disrupts digestion, metabolism, nutrient absorption, insulin utilization and a host of other vital processes, which, in turn, may contribute to everything from postprandial lethargy to chronic fatigue, diabetes, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer and other ills. If so, it only makes sense to “eat right 4 your type.”

When we take a careful look at this theory it appears a bit “sticky.” The majority of scientific studies linking blood types and lectins have involved lectins added to blood isolated in test tubes.2 But foods are NOT supposed to be injected directly into the blood stream. Mother Nature designed the digestive system to process them for safe transport through the bloodstream and for easy assimilation into our cells.

A healthy body with full digestive and assimilative capabilities is completely capable of handling food lectins. In fact, this is borne out by numerous studies which suggest that lectins are either dismantled by enzymes — which are abundantly present in raw and fermented foods – or by cooking, which destroys the helpful enzymes but compensates by denaturing complex proteins so that they can more easily be broken down during the rest of the digestive process. 3

Few people today, however, can boast fully functioning digestive systems. Two health problems that have undoubtedly contributed to the ability of food lectins to slip uninvited into the bloodstream are: widespread hydrochloric acid (HCl) and trypsin deficiencies, which make it difficult for people to properly digest protein, and “leaky gut” syndrome, a condition in which large undigested or partially digested protein molecules “leak” out of the GI tract and into the bloodstream, where they do not belong and where they are likely to provoke an immune system response.

Many popular health writers, including Adelle Davis and Linda Clark, have identified problems caused by widespread HCl deficiencies, especially after the age of 40. As Davis put it, “Too little hydrochloric acid impairs protein digestion and vitamin C absorption, allows the B vitamins to be destroyed and prevents minerals from reaching the blood to the extent that anemia can develop and bones crumble.” Strong words, but backed by studies she cites from 1939 to 1961.4

More recently Robert Atkins, M.D., has taken up the cry. In Dr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution (Simon & Schuster, 1998), he writes, “A lack of stomach acid is commonplace, the result of aging genetics, use of certain medications, and a variety of other factors.” Citing 11 studies, Dr. Atkins contends that the inability to properly digest protein contributes to asthma, diabetes, food allergies, osteoporosis, iron deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, candida, rheumatoid arthritis, intestinal infections, psoriasis, vitiligo, hives, eczema, dermatitis, herpetiformis and acne.5

Why are people so short of HCl? For the body to manufacture HCl, it needs ample supplies of protein and zinc, ingredients that are in short supply in the popular low protein/high carbohydrate vegetarian and near vegetarian diets so popular today. Low HCl levels lead people to eat less meat (because they have trouble digesting it), which, in turn, leads to still lower HCl production. Once this cycle is set in motion, declining health is inevitable.

Adelle Davis did not make a link between HCl deficiencies and blood type; and Dr. Atkins does not consider blood type when he tailors programs to his clients, according to Joel Pescatore, Ph.D., a nutritional counselor at the Atkins Center.6 So it is possible that most of the people with this problem are all Type As or ABs, the types Dr. D’Adamo feels are predisposed to chronic shortfalls of HCl. The people with ample HCl may all be Type Os, as Dr. D’Adamo claims. Yet the identification of age-related deficiencies coupled with reports of failing health suggest a gradual decline of HCl over time. If so, HCl deficiency is a preventable and correctable problem, regardless of blood type.

Less well known is that people with digestive problems tend to suffer from shortfalls of pancreatic enzymes, particularly the protein digesting protease trypsin. If this is not secreted in sufficient quantities, protein molecules are improperly broken down. The greater the pancreatic insufficiency, the more undigested and partially digested protein molecules that enter the system and the more likely an immune system reaction. Indeed a connection between pancreatic enzyme insufficiency and multiple food allergies was made back in 1935.7

If trypsin deficiencies are on the rise today, the culprit might be the growing popularity of soy products such as tofu, soy milk and products made with soy protein isolate, all of which contain trypsin inhibitors. Although many nutritionists believe that these inhibitors are deactivated by processing and cooking, Robert L. Anderson and Walter J. Wolfe of the USDA’s National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, IL, have shown that the ONLY way to completely deactivate trypsin inhibitors is through the old-fashioned fermentation techniques used to make tempeh, miso and natto. Otherwise some trypsin inhibitors ALWAYS remain.8 If soyfoods are only eaten occasionally, the pancreas will kick in to produce extra trypsin. A constant barrage of soyfoods, however, will cause the pancreas to become overworked over time.

The problem colloquially known as “leaky gut” syndrome occurs when the mucus membranes of the intestinal tract are damaged and no longer provide an effective barrier to pathogenic gut bacteria and macro food molecules such as undigested or partially digested large proteins.

Once these macromolecules “leak” into the system, they are either attacked as foreign antigens or join “immune complexes” that lodge elsewhere in the body, causing havoc. When food and other antigens are allowed to enter the system in excessive amounts — as is always the case in individuals with leaky gut syndrome — sensitization of the immune system occurs, contributing to, if not actually causing, auto-immune diseases.

As might be expected, permeability of the intestinal lining correlates with numerous disorders, including food and environmental allergies; bowel problems such as IBS, Crohn’s disease and celiac disease; inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis; dermatological diseases such as psoriasis, and many forms of cancer.9

Foreign proteins that pass through a “leaky gut” include not only Dr. D’Adamo’s pet lectins but also saponins and other blood factors. As clinical allergist Vincent Mark, M.D, points out, “Lectins are only another aspect of food intolerances or hyperreactivity and cannot stand alone diagnostically as its advocates imply.”10

Though Dr. D’Adamo seems well aware of the differences between food allergies (which trigger reactions of IgE antibodies), food sensitivities (which trigger delayed reactions by IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies) and lectin-related agglutinations, the bottom line is that the foods marked most often for avoidance by people of all four blood types are the very same ones that are most likely to trigger allergic reactions. Nowhere is this more true than of the Type Os, who are forbidden wheat, corn, sugar, dairy products and yeast — five of the “sinister seven” foods identified by the late Stuart Berger, M.D., as the foods most likely to cause allergies and damage the immune system.”11 As for Dr. Berger’s other two “sinister” foods, soy and eggs, Dr. D’Adamo considers soy a “neutral” that should not be eaten in quantity and advises that eggs are “generally a poor source” for the O blood type.

Dr. D’Adamo may well be correct in saying that the foods he has matched to each of the four main blood types would create no reaction in the body. More likely, such foods cause LESS of a reaction. Types A, B, AB, and O, after all, only represent the major blood types. More than 400 other blood markers exist, most of which are minor and admittedly occur only in limited geographic areas. Even so, the myriad markers mean that people have blood configurations that are as unique as their fingerprints. Take the lectin theory to its ultimate conclusion, and each of us would require a one-of-a-kind custom diet. Not four blood types, four diets, but an infinite number. It doesn’t take an IV league degree to know that this is an unworkable solution.

Wouldn’t it be wiser to clear up the problems that are causing “leaky gut” syndrome to begin with? The causes of “leaky gut” are many. More than half of the 68 million people who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen (best known under the brand names Advil, Motrin and Nuprin), naproxen, eiflunisal, profen, undomethacin, salicylate and tolmetin report some degree of digestive upset, including irritation, bleeding and ulceration. The drugs interfere with the protective mucus that nature designed to coat the GI tract.12

Other factors that contribute to leaky gut syndrome include HCl and trypsin deficiencies13, alcoholism14 and trauma.15 Aging also plays a role. As D. Hollander wrote in Gerontology, “the intestinal barrier to the absorption of potentially harmful environmental substances may be less efficient in aging animals.”16

Less publicized is the importance of diet. As Loren Cordain, Ph.D. — a proponent of the hunter/gatherer Paleo-Diet has pointed out — cereal grains, legumes, dairy products, yeast-containing foods and other products of the agricultural era all contain lectins that bind intestinal epithelial cells and change the permeability of those cells.17 These are the very foods tagged for elimination in most of the four blood type diets!

Dr. D’Adamo guaranteed the phenomenal success of his book when he told people of Type O, A and B to “just say ‘no” to all commercially-made breads, bagels, muffins, flours, cakes, cookies, pastas and cereals. Whether made from refined flours or the seemingly healthier version of whole grains, these gluten-containing products injure the gut. Eliminating them from the diet is the first step in giving the injured intestinal lining a chance to rest and recover. In that the three blood types O, A and B represent 96 percent of Anerica’s white population and 93 percent of the black population, it’s no wonder that so many people have benefited mightily from Dr. D’Adamo’s diets.18

Surely another component of Dr. D’Adamo’s success is the fact that many of his clients had been eating the same foods over and over, week after week for years. A rabbi who ate kasha day in and day out, for example. A boy whose favorite foods were corn and fried chicken. A woman suffering from lupus and kidney failure who ate “substantial amounts” of dairy and wheat. It is well known that people with “leaky gut” syndrome become more and more sensitive to their favorite foods as time goes on, and that people with food allergies and sensitivities are often advised to stick to “rotation diets.”

Why else might Dr. D’Adamo’s programs work? It could be as simple as the fact that all four diets eliminate chips, candy, donuts, cinnamon rolls and other junk foods comprised of sugar, wheat, salt, hydrogenated fats, and other known health destroyers. For Americans on the Standard American diet (SAD), adoption of any of the four diets would represent a considerable improvement.

Those who would like to enjoy high energy and radiant health without subscribing to the restrictive blood type diets nor to a rigid grain-free, dairy-free and bean-free Paleolithic diet, might consider the following:

First determine if you have “leaky gut” syndrome. One diagnostic tool is the intestinal permeability test available through Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory in Asheville, N.C. For healing, what’s generally required is the elimination of wheat and other gluten-containing grain products — as well as other problematic foods such as dairy and soy — for a period of four months to a year, depending on severity of the condition. Although diet alone can sometime heal a wounded GI tract, healing is facilitated with an appropriate supplement plan.

People who have had a “leaky gut” for some time tend to be seriously deficient in vitamins and minerals, betaine-HCl, digestive enzymes, beneficial gut bacteria, and many beneficial fatty acids. Two supplements that almost always work wonders are MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) and bovine cartilage. Detoxification programs, candida cleanses and parasite purge programs are often advisable as well. Coconut cream and coconut oil — which D’Adamo says should be avoided by everybody — can be particularly helpful in combatting pathogens in the gut and in restoring proper fatty acid balance.

Upon completion of these programs — not before — I have found that people of all blood types seem able to eat MODEST amounts of nearly anything, including wheat and other grain products. The operative word, of course, is “modest,” meaning one or two small servings a day, not the whopping 6-11 servings of breads and grains currently recommended by the U.S.D.A. Food Pyramid.

To maintain ongoing gut health, breads and grains MUST be prepared for easy digestion using the soaking, fermenting and cooking instructions described in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon (NewTrends Publishing, 2000). Better yet, start making gelatin-rich soup broths, as per Fallon’s recipes.

Scientific studies dating back to the turn of the century suggest that gelatin improves the digestion of grains, beans, meat and dairy products and that it can normalize cases of hydrochloric acid deficiency. In addition, gelatin can soothe, protect and nourish the intestinal lining. As Erich Cohn of the Medical Polyclinic of the University of Bonn wrote back in 1905, “Gelatin lines the mucous membrane of the intestinal tract and guards against further injurious action on the part of the ingesta.” 19

Further support of gelatin came in 1937 when Francis Pottenger noted, “Even foods to which individuals may be definitely sensitive, as proven by the leucopenic index and elimination diets, frequently may be tolerated with slight discomfort or none at all if gelatin is made part of the diet.”20

The obvious conclusion is that proper soaking and cooking, and the use of gelatin, can make the blood-type diets irrelevant. Type Os find they can eat grains. Type A people — whom Dr. D’Adamo believes are natural vegetarians because they typically lack the abundant secretions of HCl necessary for easy digestion of meats — find meats easier to digest if they are served with a gelatin-based gravy, stewed in their own broth or served along with a cup of soup. And gelatin can alleviate the allergic reactions and sensitivities that numerous research studies have connected to blood Types B and AB.

Those who don’t care to keep their stock pots simmering, can achieve similar benefits by taking bovine cartilage supplements. More than 40 years of studies by the late John F. Prudden, M.D., D.Sci., showed that cartilage can soothe inflammation anywhere in the body, particularly the GI tract.21

Follow these simple, old-fashioned rules and those pesky lectins will be dismantled in your healthy gut and never cause problems in the bloodstream. If so, you’ll have the high energy and good health needed to mine yet another vein of the blood type controversy — the possible link between blood type and personality. Since 1920, it’s been a hot subject in Japan, where political candidates advertise their blood type, where dating services inform prospective partners about each other’s antigens and where a TV sitcom was entitled “I Am Type O.” Even condoms are sold by blood type and come packaged with little “success cards” advising which types will make red-blooded romantics.

References

E-mail from Ruediger Hoeflechner on the subject of the Paleodiet, September 14-24, 1998.
Freed, D. L.F., “Dietary Lectins and Disease,” Chapter 21 from Section B. “Non-Allergic Effects of Food,” pp. 375-381 from an unidentified medical textbook in the collection of Vincent Mark.
Ibid.
Davis, Adele, Let’s Get Well (Signet, 1972), p. 142.
Atkins, Robert, Dr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution (Simon & Schuster, 1998), pp. 234-235.
Author’s conversation with Joel Pescatore at the American College of Clinical Nutrition’s annual convention, Albuquerque, N.M., October 2, 1998.
Oelgoetz, A.W, “The Treatment of Food Allergy and Indigestion of Pancreatic Origin with Pancreatic Enzymes,” American Journal of Digestive Disturbances Nutrition, 1935, Volume 2, pp. 422-426.
Anderson, Robert L., and Wolf, Walter, J., “Compositional changes in trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, saponins and isoflavones related to soybean processing,” The Journal of Nutrition, March 1995, pp. 518S-588S.
For 52 references see the 1996 manual Assessing Physiological Function published by the Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory, Interpretive Guidelines, Intestinal Permeability, p. 6.
Correspondence of Vincent Mark, M.D., to Pat Connolly, February 19, 1998.
Berger, Stuart, Dr. Berger’s Immune Power Diet (New American Library, 1985).
Margolis, Simeon and Flynn, John A., Arthritis: The Johns Hopkins White Papers 1997 (Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 1997), pp. 15-19.
Mack, David R.; Flick, Jonathan A.; et al; “Correlation of intestinal lactulose permeability with exocrine pancreatic dysfunction,” Journal of Pediatrics, 1992, Volume 120, pp. 696-701.
Bjarnason, Ingvar; Ward, Kevin; and Peters, Timothy; “The leaky gut of alcoholism: possible route of entry for toxic compounds,” The Lancet, January 28, 1984, pp. 179-182.
Freed, D.L.F., p. 380.
Hollander, D and Tarnawski, H., “Aging-associated increase in intestinal absorption of macromolecules,” Gerontology, 1985, Vol.31, No. 3, pp. 133-137.
E-mail from Loren Cordain on the subject of Paleo diets, March 29-30, 1998.
The incidence in the white population is: type A, 41 percent; type B, 10 percent; type AB, 4 percent; type O, 45 percent. Among blacks, the frequencies are: Type A, 27 percent; Type B, 20 percent; Type AB, 7 percent; Type O 46 percent. Source: Tortora, Gerard, J., and Anagnostakos, Nicholas P., Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, Sixth Edition, (Harper & Row, 1990), p. 563.
Gotthoffer, N. R., Gelatin in Nutrition and Medicine (Grayslake, IL, Grayslake Gelatin Company, 1945).
Ibid, p. 62.
Pottenger, F. M., “Hydrophilic Colloid Diet,” PPNF Health Journal, Spring 1997, Vol. 21, no. 1, p. 17.
Prudden, John F., and Balassa, Leslie L.,”The Biological Activity of Bovine Cartilage Preparations,” Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, Vol. III, No. 4, Summer 1974.