Dorothy, what exactly do you take on that one day fast? Just juice and spirulina? How often during the day? Do you take any vitamins too regularly? Just curious...trying to learn from someone obviously doing a good job with her health. I'm with you on the white stuff. I don't use any of it either and no dairy.

Thanks again for everyone's replies. Did you notice that I received two very different messages? One was to eat more protein, the other to eat more grains.

Being an O of Anglo-Saxon ancestry, I think I will lean more towards the protein advice. I just need to remember that protein doesn't soley mean beef!

Thanks again, everyone! I feel all alone in my real world in my quest for health. Not drinking soda is shocking to most people I know. What a nice "e community" we have!!!!

Hi mamma3,

Did you ever hear about Oprah doing that diet - where everyone got off Carbs and increased proteins? Can't recall the name of the diet, but I recall seeing a program she had - following up on the audience - who had tried it.

Some lost heaps of weight along with their sugar cravings, while others didn't do nearly as well (they gained and suffered constipation).

Also, interestingly, the ones who lost weight, were the ones who had no constipation problems from increasing their proteins, while basically eliminating all Carbs for the first few days (this is not advisabe without properly understanding the diet!!), plus they lost their cravings for sugar (the cravings varied amongst them).

Anyhow, what I'm getting at is this: I would bet a shiny gold coin, that THOSE who did well on the high protein/low-no grains/carb diet - who also lost weight and had no stool setbacks - well, I bet they were O's! Would have been very interesting if that had been tracked while she had so many people trying it out.

BTW: I'm O+ - and it worked very well for me. I really did lose most desire for sugar and can really take or leave it in tea now..was not (to my surprise) constipated at all! And, lost weight (about 10/11 pounds!).

Anyhow, the point to the diet in the beginning, is to throw the body into temporary, controlled ketosis, but this is while strictly adhering to certain guidlines so as not to cause damage to certain organs (i.e. kidneys).
(the book was written by a Cardiologist, who felt that the modern trend to give drugs to diabetics, heart patients, etc., was way out of hand..and he's helped a lot of people simply through this diet - to avoid heart surgery, insulin dependency, etc...been at it 25 years now)... He also advocates Homeopathy, from what I recall.

I know it is not homeopathic - but I can't see that it would hurt to do this for 2-4 weeks - since you are an O. I certainly would NOT advise this as a way to eat for the rest of your life, unless you truly feel much better on this diet. I also would not advise this for other blood types!!

He did say to sub Soya for wheat, but the book was written a while back...I simply didn't use Soya, as the one time I tried it, it tasted awful to me, and made me feel sick. (mine was from fresh ground beans too!).

I'm sure I'll recall the name of the book later...

If you are interested, let me know..and I can send you more details...I do recall, I ate lots of different proteins. I have some FANTASIC recipes, if you're interested! I remember eating eggs, chicken, seafood, beef, lamb, fowl (duck, goose), and lentils, pulses, etc...

Anyhow - it certainly took a bit of imagination...amazing how much we really do eat heaps of carbs...croutons, bread rolls, crackers, biscuits, cookies, pretzels....
and for me it was croutons and crackers that was the hardest to give up...
Good luck giving up the white killer (not just sugar, but the bleached and refined wheat).

Take care,
Lisa

Thanks Lisa!

Too bad Oprah couldn't "Make the Connection" with blood types!

Yes! Send me any recipes you wish to share! No lentils, though... bad for O's. (Too bad, 'cuz they're one of my favorite!)

Belive it or not, I'm pretty good at not eating wheat. I get such an aggravation from it! But I survive with the help from spelt.

I think one of my big problems was never being taught to cook. So I had to teach myself.... The average American just takes one box and adds it to another, throw in some water and some meat, and viola... dinner! So learning to make things from scratch takes time with three little ones. And no one likes change.....

Thanks!!!

Hi Lisa,
Please could you send the recipes and other info you have to me too. I surely need some help with my increasing weight now. I am O- and know very well that both sugar and wheat cause me troubles - and I so much crave them both though I have quitted the sugar and have taken some Stevia instead.

warmest regards, HLP

Oh, Wow...Okay, I will have to transcribe my recipes from my recipe-book - and it might take me a few days...but I'll send them to you both .

If you don't know what something means in the recipes, mamma - then just ask me - because to me, cooking is almost like chemistry - if you get it all in the wrong order - it tastes like cr*p ...

I'll try to include some basic definitions and little tips I know, that make food taste soo nice -just be the method one uses to actually cook it (i.e. braising, browning, marinading, etc).

And, I'll try to make sure you know how long the recipes take...etc.etc.

Okay - so look for some recipes soon! And let me know how they turn out!!!

PS, I don't have Adamo's book...so if anything in my recipes is not good for O...ask me what you can use to substitute - and I can probably give you a good suggestion...as, I said before, it took some imagination at times, to get things tasting nice and yummy.

Happy Cooking All
Lisa

There is a diet called The Zone Diet (or something similar) which is supposed to meet the body's exact nutritional needs with the ratio of proteins, carbs and fats being most important - aims to keep insulin levels steady - they have a website called zoneperfect.com - it does make fascinating reading (whether it is true is another thing) - I did look at the book but as it is American I didn't understand what foods they were recommending and it looked like it took a lot of planning (can't do this with working and 2 small kids) - would be interested to hear from anyone who has tried this.

Thanks Lisa. I'll be looking for them!

Linda, from my understanding the Zone diet is mosty right for the blood type O.... High protein, low carb. Interestingly, I have known people who have gone on the Adkins diet, which is similar. The O's have done well, the A's and AB's have done poorly. That Peter D'Adamo is pretty smart....

THAT IS IT!!!! The Atkins diet!! That is the one, Mamma.

I only appreciated what he had to say, once I had heard of Adamo's book. Dont'even ask me how my reasoning came round to it...but I just kept thinking about why some people did so darned well on that diet, while others put on weight and really didn't succeed on it.

Anyhow, I'm convinced there must be a connection to the blood types!

As I said before, I didn't cut out all carbs, but I certainly cut out refined ones, and feel much better for it! (Also gave up coffee, although I have an occasionaly cup, but the craving is gone - due to homeo treatment, I believe).

I WILL get some recipes to you - sorry things are a wee bit crazy here, still, but I will do it .
Lisa

Hi Mamma;
I can empathize with what you are going through because my nutritionist has also placed me on an 'elimination' diet. I suppose that your very smart friend suspected that you have candidas (yeast) am I right? That is why most people go on this type of diet. But hope prevails, once the candidas is gone, one can introduce foods back into ones diet. However many people feel that they no longer have the addictions and the cravings to eat these foods again. I too have a problem with eliminating fruit from the diet but it is only temporary and depends on how severe the candidas problem is. I put my son on this diet when he was 2 years old. In a perfect situation because I controlled what went into his mouth at all times. He was only on it for 6 weeks and it changed our lives! He had candidas severely and was allergic to antibiotics which the allopathic doctors had been prescribing for his entire life. When I finally found a doctor that could treat him he had double pneumonia and was limp in my arms. I changed his diet, took him off antibiotics, put good flora back in his body and feed him supplements to nurse him back to health. He is now 17, never had a vaccination and is 6'5, 220 lbs. He drinks only purified water, healthy food and supplements his nutrition. (body builder too using only nutrition to build with along with his exercise regime) Almost perfect if you consider that he is a teen!
While it is suggested that one goes 'cold turkey' on this diet, I am unable to.
What I have done, as suggested by my nutritionist of course, was to eliminate dairy and wheat! Easier said than done though.
Some suggestions to ease the pain of that is to purchase soy milk, almond milk or rice milk. To help with the wheat free portion, I buy bread at the Healthfood store that is made with brown rice and gluten free. (does contain sweetener using fruit juice).
This is my experience ... may not be right for you but it helped me from gnawing off my arm in the late afternoon/early evenings.
I eat an apple a day and drink a fruit smoothie (frozen fruit and soy milk)in the morning with the supplements that I need to take.
It's not completely sugar free - but when you eliminate the dairy and the wheat you will be surprised that those things combined contribute a lot to your sugar intake. (I also bought a brown rice cereal)I only use turbinado sugar and a small amount of organic honey daily ... again in moderation for both of these (use sparingly!)
Don't set yourself up for failure - give yourself a period of time to work into the program and find out from your friend the reasons why he wants you to do this and for how long.
I know the hope is that you will continue to eat like this and that you will see the difference in how well you feel from the outcome of the diet.
Then is when you will probably be interested in using The Zone diet. Then buy the book "Mastering The Zone" by Barry Sears (not The Zone)because he translates all the difficult language that he used in the first book and simplifies it for novices. Best part of the book is the Hand. Eat 5 x per day and only a portion of protein the size of your palm divided by 3. More on this in the book.
The first few days on the elimination diet are the most difficult.
If you want a buddy - (I have only been doing this for a few days again) - feel free to contact me privately.
Take care, have fun, and feel great!
From the fattest city in America ... houstonqt