Eating by blood types

[trcrampton]

I totally agree with you! It is not just your imagination. I really believe no one should eat gluten and I'll go as far as saying I believe no one should eat grains. I have read a lot about the Paleolithic Diet which essentially argues that our DNA is nearly unchanged since Paleolithic times (before the use of fire for cooking) yet we are not only eating foods that were toxic then (because these foods...i.e grains, beans, potatoes need to be soaked and cooked in order to make them digestible) we are eating them in obscene abundance laced with pesticides, stripped of all nutrients and processed into Toaster Strudels!!!! All ready to be MICROWAVED!

I look around when I'm in line at grocery stores and I obsess about how UNHEALTHY everyone looks as I overhear people in front of me discussing Ethel's diabetes and people in back of me discussing Tony's cancer. I can't help but peek in their carriages...only to find...you guessed it......TOASTER STRUDELS!!!! I want to get on the loud speaker and announce, "Put back the toaster strudels! They are killing you!" But I think they'll call security on me.

Okay it's really late and I need to remember...Gentle guidance...that's how you have to win them. I wait for the smallest opportunity to discuss what I've read when people are ready to listen. Many are, it's simply a matter of proper timing and not overwhelming them with too much info all at once. I have found that their are many people willing to discuss "Low Carb Diets" and this is my "in" for discussing the negative impact of gluten. I find I tune so many out when I bring up the subject of celiac. It's too unknown to them and therefore too difficult to grasp, the cancer subject scares them speechless, but the subject of weight loss in our vain society always makes for a lively conversation.

Traci

[seeking-wholeness]

Traci,

I am beginning to agree that gluten is simply toxic to humans, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that ALL grains are. I follow the Open Original Shared Link (Type A), modified to be gluten-free of course, and the proposed dietary history of the different blood types makes a lot of sense to me. The Type O diet is quite similar in nature to the Paleolithic diet, which is unsurprising since our Paleolithic ancestors were all Type O. I, on the other hand, digest meats poorly (I have tested this) and do much better with fish, tofu, beans, and a bit of poultry. (Now if I could only find a source of truly uncontaminated beans.... )

As far as grains go on the BTD, Type O's are encouraged to minimize them or avoid them altogether, and none are considered beneficial. B's are encouraged to include a few grain-free days per week and emphasize millet, oats, and brown rice. It is suggested that Type A's eat ONE serving of grain each day (preferably amaranth, buckwheat, or oats), the highest base amount of any type. The recommendations for AB's are midway between those for B's and those for A's (and AB's should avoid buckwheat, but the other grains mentioned are beneficial). Whole wheat products are to be avoided by everyone, while quinoa, rice, and millet are OK for all. A serving of grain, by the way, consists of two slices of bread or an amount of cooked whole grain or pasta that you could hold in your cupped hands. That's not much grain for anyone! Beans follow the same pattern, and so does dairy (although in this case it is Type B's who are lucky enough to have one small serving per day, while A's should skip some days).

Your comments about discussing diet with other people rang a bell, too. The BTD was originally touted as a weight-loss diet because that would get people's attention and not scare them off. With the further research that has been done, however, it is becoming clear that the BTD is an eating plan that promotes optimal health in many, many ways.

I wish you the best of health!

[trcrampton]

Sarah-

I've read D'Adamo's works and find them interesting but still had questions. I do agree that one man's medicine is another's poison and regional influences & food eaten in those regions played a monumental role in developing the different blood types. I thought...Okay some blood types have evolved to digest grains, but they needed to evolve and adapt to them...they weren't in their diet prior to agriculture because grains and beans just weren't worth the effort and didn't taste good uncooked. It seems that grains came into the picture only when populations grew and there was food shortage. It took thousands of years for certain blood types to evolve to digest a food that is essentially designed to be undigestible (contains very tough storage proteins designed by nature to withstand the cold in order to grow into a new plant...not so good travelling throough the human's digestive track). So I guess I just question their usefulness in our diet. Especilly since now there is evidence that we need far less of them then previously believed. Granted I can't pretend to be an expert as I had a big struggle giving them up and still crave them. I just know it feels better if I avoid them and my daughter is healthier. She too had trouble digesting meats until we removed all grains (the fat digestion seemed to be a real issue). We eat very little red meat... mostly fish, poultry and lots of veggies and fruits. And I guess I'm not suprised, when I think of things from this perspective, that so many people have trouble with red meat as most cattle are primarily "grain fed" in today's world when their natural diet is to eat the grasses not the grain. They are fed the grain to "fatten" them up because it gives them the flavor the consumer seeks (which is basically the flavor of toxins accumulating in the fat of unhealthy cattle....UMMM sounds appealing huh?). Is the grain making them more unhealthy too, promoting more disease in livestock which is then treated with courses of antibiotic, etc. It doesn't seem too far fetched considering the damage gluten does to us.

Just more food for thought.

Traci