Well, folks…I’m stumped.
For several years, I’ve been vaguely familiar with the Blood Type Diet introduced by Dr. Peter D’Adamo. I have type O blood and so does the rest of my family, so I’ve taken note of some of the foods that, according to Dr. D’Adamo, we should/shouldn’t eat. The bad-for-us list includes wheat products, dairy (except for mild cheeses such as feta and goat’s milk), coffee, and oranges, among others. The good-for-us list includes lean meats, poultry, several types of fish, the occasional egg, blueberries, broccoli, and kale, among others (just to give you an idea). I’ve never delved very far into the world of Eat Right for Your Type, but I have a small abridged version of the book called Blood Type O Food, Beverage and Supplement Lists from Eat Right for Your Type (wow…long name, eh?). I read through it today, and let me just say that I am very, very unsure of myself right now.
As you know, I’ve given up a lot in the last couple of weeks. After my third serious gallbladder attack a little while go, I realized that I needed to take this health issue very seriously. I thought I could skim by eating just a little bit of the “forbidden foods” (for someone who suffers from gallstones) but I found that it wasn’t working. I’d lived the past 6 months or so in constant slight discomfort anyway, not to mention constant fear that I’d experience that back-breaking pain again. I decided I was ready to get serious. Everywhere I turned, experts were recommending the elimination of all animal protiens from the diet. I realized that the only diet I could turn to would be a vegan diet – where I would consume virtually no cholesterol. Since then, I’ve done really well. I haven’t so much as eaten a sliver of cheese or a tiny piece of meat. I have had egg whites, but the egg yolk is what holds the cholesterol, anyway. I’ve learned to make some awesome dishes and I have even started making meals that incorporate tofu.
Today is where I got stuck. I was prepping some items for a yard sale and my mom found the little Blood Type book in one of my bags in the garage. I decided to look at it, and well, I’m just not sure what to do anymore. Basically, Dr. D’Adamo explains that type O’s thrive on animal protein. They must have meat. They can get very sick without it. He calls them the hunter-gatherers. Type O blood originated in Africa, where the people ate lots of meat and very little carbohydrates, and they also exercised very intensely, usually while hunting. The Blood Type Diet is just pulling from our genetic make-up and what our type has eaten from the very beginning (so he says).
While our friend Karin was visiting, she explained to me that her doctor talked her through the very same thing. He told her that she must eat meat because her blood type needed it. The problem is, for Karin, she just can’t stomach meat. She hasn’t been able to since she was a little girl. Eating meat simply isn’t an option for her. Instead of choosing to eat meat, she is very careful to incorporate large amounts of protein in her diet. She drinks “smoothies” made with hemp protein powder once and sometimes twice a day and I think she said she’s careful to incorporate lots of high-protein vegetables. I, however, thought I shouldn’t eat it because of my gallstones. I don’t have a deep longing for meat, really – I’d rather have all the dairy in the world and quit eating meat, just for the heck of it.
I’m sure you can see my dilemma. I have no way of obtaining a doctor’s opinion right now (that is, except for Dr. D’Adamo’s, of course). The truth is, most doctors I’ve spoken with in the past just want to take my gallbladder out! I’m keepin’ it! I’m just not sure where to go from here. I could get really serious about the protein and start drinking smoothies and eating lots of kale and collards and lentils. Or, maybe I ought to just eat the meats like the book says.
Honestly, all details and confusion aside…I think I just need prayer. I need clarity. I want to take care of my body. I’ve been learning so many new, amazing things about health and nutrition. I love it. I’m excited because as a result, Ryan and Jack are eating so well. We feel good and we have confidence in our food choices. Now, though, I feel like I’m at a fork in the road. Where do I go from here?
Mama Rissa 
Hi, I too serve the Lord Most High, am a home schooler and follow the Blood Type Diet or BTD as we call it.
I am a Bt A and am a vegetarian with a sprinkle of fish in my diet. I can’t say enough wonderful things about this way of chosing food. Peter D’Adamo is a man before his time, who cares about the details. I do understand that the world of food is confusing, the Atkins on one side and the Vegans on the other both telling you that they are right. The nice thing about this Way of Life ( WOL) is that it is individual, each BT has it’s own list of foods.
For me it is simply a matter eating the foods on the beneficial side of the page. I raised my children with this diet and they are healthy and strong. My children are 19 and 15.
Joy to you as you raise your family.. and may your quiver be full,
Andrea
Why not join us at http://www.dadamo.com it is free.
I don’t know too much about the BTD, but this excerpt from “The Maker’s Diet” by Jordan Rubin, a Messianic jew, had this to say about it:
“I call the blood type diet an evolution-based diet because its promoters believe our food “evolved” with mankind over 40 million years since prehistoric times in essentially four ‘flavors’ corresponding conveniently with blood types– O, A, B, or AB. This is a diet philosophy popularized by Peter D’Adamo, N.D., in his best selling book ‘Eat Right for Your Type.’
He maintains that modern human people with type O blood are descended from the earliest humans, who were physically active and ate a diet composed mostly of the meat of large herbivorous animals, with little or no grain. As ‘modern cavemen’ with type O blood, you also require large amounts of meat and lots of exercise…
Proponents of the blood-type diet claim that lectins, specialized proteins in foods such as cereals and beans, are incompatible with certain blood types, causing many ailments such as kidney failure, arthrosclerosis, and food allergies.
BENEFITS
The diet’s virtues appear to be that it is essentially a low-calorie, healthy diet. For people who typically eat junk food, adopting the blood-type diet will be an improvement, allowing them to take in fewer calories, exercise more, naturally lose weight, and feel better.
DOWNSIDE
Aside from being unbiblical, this diet is viewed as a fad by the scientific community and many nutritionists in alternative circles. It’s thesis is unproven and without solid anthropological evidence.
Once you depart from the solid foundation of biblical, historical, commonsense nutrition, you enter no-man’s-land of ‘New Age’ programs, unusual therapies, and odd diagnostic contraptions. Let the buyer beware!
You will find very motivated and sincere people who claim each of these programs worked for them. I tried many of them during my desperate search for health, but nothing restored my health except the Biblically grounded and scientifically proven foods of the Maker’s Diet. I know that desperate times require desperate measures, but before you commit to some alternative, extra-biblical diet from the bestseller list, take a chance on the historically correct and life-giving principles of the Maker’s Diet.”
I know it sounds a bit like a sales pitch, but this book has changed our lives, nutrition wise, and we have never been healthier. I wanted to share this with you in hopes that you might find solace in knowing about other alternatives that could work for you. In the meantime, I’m praying for you, girl!
Hey Rissa, this is quite a predicament. I will surely keep you and your family in prayer. I’m impressed by your willingness to so firmly stick to what you perceive to be the healthiest diet for you and I know God will honor your diligence. I know that you’ll stick to a healthy diet no matter what, so because of that, I’ll just trust God to heal your gallbladder altogether, that way whatever kind of diet you choose, you won’t have the fear of an attack coming and can simply eat good things for good health rather than not eat things out of fear of pain.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5
And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened… – Matthew 9:28-30
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God. – Psalm 42:11
Interesting enough God gave you the answer already by providing your friend Karin.