From Cordain's newsletter:



If you want to sign up for the newsletter it is at his website: http://thepaleodiet.com/newsletter/

I don't necessarily follow his diet, but he does have interesting stuff in his newsletters.

I read the blood type diet when it came out and determined that it was long on interesting concept and short on supporting research and documentation.

However.

I recently had someone talk it up to me and pulled out my copy to look a few things over.

The list of things he specifically recommends *against* for type Os are foods that I have independently determined don't react well for me.

Did I remember from his list subconsciously? Possibly, but I read the book around 1997 and only just started in on food sensitivities in the last 3 years, so I'm guessing not after 10 years.

I have no opinion at all about his underlying theories or its validity for other blood types, but I certainly found the correlations for me fascinating.

I thought it was interesting about the plant lectins, only some can cross the gut/brain barrier.

the lectin hypothesis has been debunked thoroughly, but that's just what scientists do when they encounter something new. we all know how many doctors follow the party line about lc diets, etc LOL i think there's a lot more room for research in this area

i am somewhat sceptical of the whole lectin theory but have found that i do very well on the type 'o' diet recommendations (and am type o). i know several vegetarians irl who do very well on the type 'a' recommendations (and are type a).

there's definitely something in his work that holds up, but i think they need to do more work on the science. maybe there are 'micro' components in the lectins that they need to look at <shrug> who knows

hardly anything gets across the bloodbrain barrier, i find it really interesting that lectins could make it. i cant see the article though as it is by $ subscription

I don't pay anything for the newsletter. I think it's only if you want to read back issues.

What is the "lectin theory" you're talking about? That they make it difficult to absorb minerals? And where/when was it disproven?

I know the tight junctions in the gut barrier can be opened by gliadin and they tend to stay jammed open in some people. (Google zonulin) If the blood/brain barrier is constructed in a similar manner and also responds to zonulin then I could see a way larger proteins could cross.

But even large proteins are partially dismantled in the gut and turn into smaller chains of amino acids called peptides. Those can cross the gut, even if the tight junctions aren't jammed open, I think. Those sometimes resemble things like opioid peptides crossing over. And I think we all know opioids can cross the brain barrier, otherwise people would not be using heroin. Google caseomorphin and gliadorphin or exomorphins.

hi Nancy, i think we're totally on the same page. i'm very familiar with the leaky gut theory, casomorphin, etc. my son is on the autism spectrum and we've found the dan! protocol to be very helpful for him. most of that research is based on leaky gut science.


i'll poke around on the website again, but i wasnt able to find the article anywhere for free, everything was for $

Although I am also not completely convinced of the blood type-diet connection, I did find that D'Adamo's description for type O's suited me perfectly... Some of the foods he has on the "no" list I've had severe aversions to my whole life, even after forcing myself to try them every couple of years.

I do think it's interesting given my own personal coincidence, and will be looking forward to Dr. Cordain's newsletter. Thanks for posting, Nancy

Yes, to Nancy's post on the gut barrier - IMO a lot looser for some of us than most people think...

I am AB+ blood type & found the book "Eat Right for your Blood Type" spot on for me. I almost fell out of my chair when I read the part for me about oranges - I can eat any fruit but oranges & I would rather have an orange than any other food. But I cannot eat them - they make me very sick...

I have dealt with food allergies all my life. I am not so interested in the science of the book. I take a little information here & there & if it fits me, I use it, if not I move on...

IMO our medical science is so crude & in the stages of infancy that one has to try to figure out what works for each individual. It just excites me to think what they might figure out in the next 300 years. Well unless they are all eating grains still & have ruined their brains.

I almost hate to say it, but it turns out that the little bit that I've read in terms of the right diet for my blood type - has turned out to be accurate, in the end.

No, I haven't read the book, but I have read things here and there, explaining what the best foods are and aren't for my blood type.

Surprisingly, it seems very (almost eerily) on target.

Like I said though, I'm looking at this from the viewpoint of discovering what foods are best for me and then looking back and seeing this blood type stuff as being....pretty much exactly what I've found works for me.

Queue up the scary-movie music anytime...

I must admit, it's really kind of odd to work through all this stuff, figure out what foods are good and so on....to have it all mostly figured out - only to key in "Blood Type Diet" in the search bar, and find that everything recommended as per the so-called "Blood Type Diet" is pretty much exactly what it took me so long to figure out.

I'm always embarrassed to admit that the Blood Type diet seems to be right for me too. I am very aware that the science is totally weak but I believe in a lot of things science hasn't thoroughly studied yet. I am a type A and I do really well on a mostly vegetarian diet. Carbs give me energy and don't ever make me sleepy like they do to DH (a type O-carnivore man). Also when I try to push it and do very lc I end up getting a lot of weird symptoms that don't match what is supposed to happen. I end up with hormonal disturbances, acne, a mustache, irritability, indigestion and no energy. If I drop some of the meat and add apples and honey I seem to go back to normal within a few days. Anyone who has read my past posts knows that I have tried many times to do lc and I really stuggle with how my body reacts.

It sounds like many people happen to fit the descriptions for the blood type diet, but I think it might be coincidence. I'm also type A and a near-vegetarian diet was what got me here in the first place. Apples and honey are just about the worst for me - they mess up my stomach and make me crazy in addition to sapping my energy. I do best on almost all beef, with a little bit of sauerkraut. Aren't A's supposed to avoid red meat? Chicken and turkey are suspect foods for me - I wouldn't say I'll never have them again, but after some recent experiences with them, I'm in no hurry to try again.

Well, most people are type O so if you make a good recommendation for that one type then it will sound like you're some kind of genius. The other blood types might not be so happy, but who cares, you've got most of the world eating out of your hand.

That's funny, Nancy. Someone barged in on my journal the other day to tell me the same thing, but turned the other way around. He said the WAPF recommendations work great if you're Type O, but if you're Type A then you need to follow the Blood Type diet. His recommendations were clearly wrong for me (he told me to eat soy!), so I think your characterization makes more sense.

Regarding lectins: I keep trying to figure out what the deal is with them, but last time I was researching it, I found something interesting. There are lectins that bind to all sorts of cells in your body. I think the Blood Type diet is just concerned with lectins that bind to cells in your blood, but the ones that bind to tissues elsewhere in the body could be causing just as much trouble.