eat right for your type??

Personally, I think you have found an excellent diet. There is lots and lots of evidence that a plant based diet is healthier in every way including reducing inflammation. However, anyone who chooses to eat mainly meat, whatever their blood type, is risking cancer, heart disease etc etc. There are lots of diets purporting to be based on what our ancestors ate, and the idea is obviously appealing, but I think the science is lacking. In any case, most of us are racially mongrels. If you are pure Inuit, PERHAPS a mainly fish diet would work for you, but otherwise I would go with the mainstream dietary advice - boring old 5-10 fruits & vegetables daily etc - plus, very important, your own observations of what works for you.

When writers recommend diets which supposedly our caveman ancestors or more contemporary primitive peoples ate, they overlook the fact that all these people died very young and that their lives were so tough, probably only the very strongest, most genetically well endowed survived infancy. They ate what they could get, and often it was not enough. The vital thing was to eat. Few wild animals die a natural death, and it must have been so for "wild" people too. Who knows what diseases might have developed at age 40 in people who routinely died long before they were 30?

The important thing is that you have found a way of eating that suits you so well - congratulations!

Interestinhg observation Alix, about wild animals vs wild people. I know that some people believe that we are not animals. Laying that aside, we *are* mammals, like the other mammals.

Careful observation of animals in the wild, or even in the paddock shows that they meet their deaths in a myriad of ways, many of which are just bad luck, rather than by dis-ease. Wrong place, wrong time. I just think we humans are just better at knocking off predators, and making our environment safer, because we have bigger brains, and can predict and identify potential risks, so as to avert them or protect ourselves from them. We are dangerous creatures to be around, and even turn on ourselves at times.

It is an interesting thought though, what diseases animals would die of if they lived for longer. I think they would end up food for predators, and succumb to physical limitations of a worn out body, like broken teeth, and reduced strength with age, which would reduce their ability to feed themselves. Others, particularly males, would die from injuries sustained in fights for alpha male-dom. The females, in humans, would die in pregnancy or birthing, or as a result of gestation or labour/birth going wrong. Have a look at a pioneer graveyard to see what I mean about this. Observe a flock of sheep from birth through growth, (teenage males fighting), mating, pregnancy, birthing, through to weaning their young. If you watch them carefully enough you see all sorts of odd things. Only the strongest and luckiest survive to procreate the following generation.

The optional risks that humans are worst at avoiding are those that are related to affluence and 'enjoyment', eg the taste of sugar, fat, and things that feel nice in our mouths. But the risks also extend to mind-altering substances, too much sex with the wrong people, adrenalin rushes, prestige, power and too much money for our own good, excesses of all kinds. Endorphins have a lot to answer for!

Strange species, aren't we. If I was a martian who came to Earth, I wouldn't have stayed either.

L

ps I am *so* anticipating Christine's report on inflammation!!! It is driving me nuts waiting.

Just for the record, I certainly think humans are animals. Louise, have you read Jane Goodall's books about observing a community of wild chimpanzees long term? I have read all of them, and they have enormously enriched and expanded my ideas about human life. One of the most successful female chimps, Flo, becomes over time matriarch of a very successful family and a central character of the books. She is one of the very few to live into advanced old age and die a more or less "natural" death. Goodall's description of this is heart breaking and makes one realise there is something to be said for meeting a more sudden end, perhaps especially if one lives in the "wild".

I'm quite skeptical of the blood type diet theory, but I did look into it a few years ago. I can't find any scientific basis basis to support it and my personal experience directly contradicts the recommended diet for my own blood type, though I suppose YMMV. I am blood type A+, which if I remember right is supposed to be more "agricultural" foods, perhaps even vegetarian.

I used to eat a lot of grains, especially wheat (& too much sugar), a lot of starchy veggies, and in my 20 and 30s out of concern for CAFO issues I restricted meats and animal fats quite a bit (I ate a lot like the recommended blood type diet) and switched to high PUFA vegetable oils/low fat. I had acne in my 20s and 30s far worse than in my teens. By my 30s I was infertile, gaining too much weight, had brown spots on the backs of my hands, a basal cell carcinoma on my nose, and was borderline diabetic with very high post-meal BG much of the time. I constantly had UTIs and vaginal yeast infections. I didn't realize how much of that was due to diet, but transitioning away from that way of eating led to resolution of all of those problems (though by that time I had given up trying to conceive another child).

Now I eat a more "paleo-oriented diet" and consume lots of animal protein and organs (from animals raised on family farms on pasture or wild game that my huntress sister shares with me), lots of natural fats from healthy non-CAFO animals, lots of "backyard" eggs, lots of non-starchy seasonal local produce, and not much high-sugar tropical fruit, not many starchy veggies, not much sugar (I buy far more to fill the hummingbird feeders) and NO grain. At age 47 I feel better and healthier than I 10-15 years ago (no UTIs and yeast infections in years) and my weight is stable again at 22 BMI. My skin is clearer than it's been since puberty (but it breaks out quickly if I stray from my current way of eating).

Hi SueHill,

I will answer your question, but please bear with me while I set the context for what I eat/don't eat.

I have a problem with my blood glucose regulation so I eat in a way that maintains my BG steady and normal (80-120 mg/dl) throughout the day to avoid killing my beta cells and damaging other cells throughout my body (cellular damage occurs any time BG rises above 140 mg). I am hoping to prevent or at least stall progression to full-blown diabetes by avoiding the roller coaster BGs. I am normal weight (125 lbs +/- 2 lbs, 5'3" height, 22 BMI, but I gain weight easily when I eat carbs in the amounts recommended by the conventional dietary authorities (USDA food pyramid, ADA, AHA, etc.). I peaked at 140# before I realized it was the carbs causing the weight gain, not dietary fat (excess carbs convert to stored fat by insulin and the liver). There was no family history of diabetes 12 years ago when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Since then n my mother's side, my uncle, his son, and now my mom are diagnosed T2. So something in these two generations is expressing our genes and leading to diabetes.

Insulin is usually secreted in two phases; first the stored insulin when you begin to eat (or even when you anticipate eating and can smell aromas salivate, etc.), and then again in about an hour the beta cells start cranking out insulin if the first spurt of stored insulin wasn't enough to keep BG in check. Despite what you hear about needing glucose, excess glucose is very toxic to all cells and the body works hard to keep homeostasis (like goldilocks - not too little and not too much). A healthy adult in homeostasis would only have about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (2-4 grams) of glucose circulating at any time. Consider how many grams of non-fiber carbohydrate are in typically eaten high-carb foods, whether they are considered healthy or junk foods - often it is many teaspoons or even tablespoons per serving, and that doesn't even account for overeating.

Glucose is glucose when it is in the blood, regardless of the source. Sugars in fruits are a mixture of sugars that mostly break down to glucose and fructose. Fructose doesn't directly raise BG, but it does go to the liver for processing and excess amounts are converted to fat for storage and increased Insulin Resistance, which indirectly raises BG ( that's how a low fat diet that is high in carbs is really a high fat diet). Refined table sugar (sucrose) is 50-50% glucose-fructose. Honey has some glucose, but is more than 50% fructose, and though it has some nutrients, I use honey and maple syrup very sparingly as the sugars are too high in relation to whatever nutrients come along with the sugars. Agave syrup is quite high in fructose, as much as 92% in some brands, and I value my liver too much to subject it to that much fructose, even if the low glucose content means it won't directly raise my BG much.

For whatever reason (genetic, perhaps expressed by the low fat/high carb diet I ate for years), my first phase seems to be defective and inadequate. So if I eat more than about 30-40 grams of carbs in a meal (from any source), my BG rises quite fast ( a bowl of Cheerios with some milk equaling 75 gms of CHO has raised my BG to over 250 mg/dl - pizza or bagels are much the same result). By the time the second phase insulin response kicks in, my BG is really high (sometimes into diabetic ranges, like into the 200s). If I have enough fat or protein, that slows the glucose, but then it's moderately elevated for many hours, which also isn't good.

If my BG goes very high rapidly, my 2nd phase insulin response kicks in too robustly, and then overshoots the target and drives down the glucose with a bit too much gusto, creating an awful shaky, irritable, nervous hypoglycemic feeling (often if I check my BG, it sometimes isn't even low at all, but it's the rapid change in BG that creates the feeling). It isn't nice for me or my family when I'm experiencing this exaggerated insulin response to glucose, so that's another reason I avoid that roller-coaster BG situation. And that high insulin, rapid change in BG tricks the body into craving quick, easy high carb foods so it's too easy to fall face down in whatever sugar or starch is handy). I find it better to avoid this situation because even my willpower gives out to this impaired biochemistry.

Ok, on to what you asked (sorry, but I thought you should have a context).

We get a weekly box of seasonal produce from a local farm (CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - www.localharvest.org for more information on CSAs in your area), so that makes up the bulk of my produce choices. Luckily we are in So Cal and are blessed with a year-round growing season and our CSA doesn't rely too much on potatoes and other starchy veggies.

In the last year they have reduced the amount of greens a bit (phew!) and added some seasonal fruit in most boxes - citrus, apples, pears, berries, strawberries, blueberries, plums, peaches, pluots, apricots, grapes). Our son eats most of the fruit before I get a chance, LOL! But I do have some some, especially when strawberries are in season. Bananas, pineapple, grapes etc. are fairly high in sugar so I keep my consumption of those to a minimum amount and not very often. Non-starchy veggies are more nutritionally dense without the sugars, so that's the direction I lean in. If I make a fruit smoothie, it's usually with a handful of berries and a fair amount of coconut milk or heavy cream for some fat to slow down the sugar and for energy (I rely more on natural fats for energy since I don't eat much sugar or starch for energy). I also put a raw egg yolk or two in my smoothies.

Generally I have at least one leafy green salad daily (half my dinner plate usually), sometimes also for lunch, with varying degrees of complexity to the salad (added veggies might include tomatoes, onions, beets, carrots, cukes, fennel, artichoke hearts, radishes, cabbage, bok choy, home-raised sprouts, etc.). Our box usually provides some kind of lettuce and one or two greens; chard, kale, mizuna, dandelion greens, or other greens, sometimes bunches of parsley and herbs. Plus there are usually some root veggies; carrots, beets, turnips, radishes (root veggies often also have usable greens). Seasonal items are green beans, artichokes, avocados, broccoli, fennel bulb, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, pea pods, occasionally a shell bean, scallions, leeks, and winter squash (I love winter squash but only take a small portion because it is starchier and can raise my BG). I rarely need to buy much produce from a store anymore, but I do buy cauliflower frequently, as it is useful in creating some faux-starchy side dishes (pureed, gratin, roasted, etc.), especially for chowders, stews, soups, and braised meat dishes that create a sauce that screams to be poured over something soft and mashed.

I also usually serve at least one side veggie dish in addition to the salad, sometimes two, especially if I need to make room for an incoming box of veggies. Last night, for example, in addition to a big salad of romaine lettuce, tiny pear tomatoes, & vinaigrette, we had creamed leeks and roasted beets with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, & salt & pepper, plus thick baked pork chops. Tonight we'll probably have braised or roasted kale, a salad, and some more beets.

If I have dinner guests who might not be used to eating the vegetables we have or who are used to filling up on starchy side dishes, I will sometimes make a bit of quinoa or an extra veggie so there are more choices. I use quinoa instead of bulgar wheat when I make tabouli and it's heavier on the parsley and tomatoes than the quinoa. I also sometimes throw a handful or two of soaked quinoa into a too thin stew during the last 10 minutes of cooking to thicken it up a bit. But overall, our meals are generally low in starch and high in nutrient-dense old fashioned foods. Now and then I'll make some a small amount of rice (1-2 times a month?), but I limit myself to only 1/4 cup. The other have no more than 1/2 cup.

I found the From Asparagus to Zucchini CSA cookbook (available on Amazon) to be especially useful in making the best use of my CSA box (far easier to consult its chard section than to pull out several cookbooks looking for individual chard recipes). I also have many low carb cookbooks by Dana Carpender that I use all the time for vegetable recipes, though I adapt some of them because I don't use many of the LC specialty ingredients like LC baking mix, sugar alcohols, etc.

HTH and I haven't put you to sleep.

The Blood Type Diet is fantastic. I've been on it for nearly 5 years now. I'm a Type A non-secretor. For those who have tried the BTD and didn't like the results, the GenoType diet might be better. Dr. D'Adamo has gone a step further than just the BTD and the GTD is more specific. You can read all about it at www.dadamo.com. I go by the name Ribbit on those forums as well. I'd be happy to talk about this with anybody who's interested.

I've had to amend my diet even more than the GTD recommends, however. Because I now have severe constipation, I have to be extra careful. I have to eat huge amounts of vegetables, very few grains (no wheat at all! Wheat clogs the digestive system) and very little meat. I seem to be able to handle fish and occasionally a tiny bit of turkey, but other than that I need to eat plants.

I'm still very stopped up, and that's very frustrating, but it's better than it was.

The diet works! I've been doing it for years. However, after going to a naturopath that studied with the older Dr. D'Adamo, I gleaned some freedom, which I was happy about after years of restrictions. I find that even though I am an A I can occasionally eat beef if it is undercooked. It is also better if it is ground meat which I find easier to digest. More tender cuts are the way to go too. I got really sick of chicken and had to try beef, which was a taste relief. My naturopath also helped me to discover my albumin and tumeric intolerances, which helped my digestive problems that I was unfortunately still having on the A type diet. I believe the new book, whose name I cannot remember, also has beneficial changes. Fish is very much the best meat for me and I'm sure for most except O types, who excel on heavy meats because of so much stomach acid.

The new book is called The GenoType Diet. It's been better than the BTD for both me and my husband.