In 2003, I read a book that changed what I thought I understood about healthy eating. Eat Right For Your Type, although published in 1996, is still unfamiliar to most of the clients I counsel.

Originally, naturopathic doctor, James D'Adamo, discovered that most foods react predictably upon digestion depending on a person's blood type. Now James’ son, Peter D'Adamo, also a naturopath, continues the food and blood type research within his busy Connecticut practice. Many people who have followed his recommendations as outlined in Eat Right For Your Type have experienced improvement and are grateful for the wisdom in the D'Adamo teachings. I am one of them. 

Initially, I was excited to learn that I'd made a very wise decision in choosing a mostly vegetarian diet in 1980. According to the research, I don't digest meat well because I am an “A” blood type. I had always liked meat as a child, and I never noticed that I had any challenges with it. To my surprise, however, once I'd been without it for about a month, I stopped missing it.

Despite this great revelation, I was not at all pleased with Peter D'Adamo’s other "restrictions". Many of the foods I'd eaten and enjoyed for years showed up on his list of foods that aren't “friendly” to me. I'd never noticed any significant health issues, and I was rarely ill. It wasn't until I became a colonic therapist, and I began paying closer attention to different foods' effects on me, that I realized many of the symptoms I considered minor nuisances, or "my normal", were often precursors to the occasional colds, headaches, and skin blemishes I would get. Yes, even at 40, I would get occasional pimples. In addition, the first several years I was doing massage therapy, I had arthritic pain in my finger joints. I have had none of these health issues since I have maintained a cleaner digestive tract through a whole-food, mostly plant diet, and an occasional colon irrigation.

Since 2007, I have spoken to many, many people who had adjusted their dietary practices to follow the D’Adamo research. Their success stories regarding overall improvement, along with what I have learned while providing colonic services convinced me of the truth regarding the validity of the D’Adamo research. Repeatedly, I've observed that clients with the “A” blood type who eat meat regularly, and clients with the “O” blood type who eat grain in its many forms several times weekly, experience worse cramping during colonic irrigation and report more digestive dysfunction, especially chronic constipation, excessive gas, and heartburn.

A very important aspect about the above issues is that most Americans, about 85% of which are either "A" or "O" blood types, have eaten meat and processed grains (cereal, bread, pasta, pastry) almost daily from a very young age. People represented by both of these blood types have challenges digesting dairy products as well. (Please forgive me, all of you "B" and "AB" blood types - you'll have to read the books for more information on your specific guidelines.) I encourage my clients to read Eat Right For Your Type for a deeper understanding of this information. 

The clients identify the foods on their "AVOID"' lists that are eaten more than once per week. I suggest that the clients take a break from these foods for a while. Three weeks without the offending foods is usually enough time to allow the body to reduce chronic inflammation associated with these food sensitivities. Therefore, when each food is reintroduced, one at a time, the system is likely to respond as it would have with the very first exposure to it. During this three week period, the client will frequently experience relief from some of his/her health issues.

The best nutritional science teaches that the vital raw materials required by our trillions of cells, are found in the colorful, alkaline-forming vegetables and fruits, not refined grains and animal products. Our bodies age faster when we deprive our cells of vital nourishment. We function at our very best when we make it easy for our systems to maintain a steady blood pH of 7.35-7.45; this can be done most efficiently through dietary enhancements with raw, organic vegetables and/or their juices. Kudos to both doctors D'Adamo, for helping readers to understand which foods are best avoided by all of us.