Some kinds of meat, poultry, and fish are fairly low in fat, but high in cholesterol. Fat and cholesterol are not the same thing. When it comes to heart disease, however, both saturated fat and (serum) cholesterol play a role.

Whether cholesterol in food also plays a role in causing cancer is not known. There is some evidence that a low-cholesterol diet will help to prevent cancer. But the amount of evidence is too small for making judgment.

The best course of action is to keep cholesterol intake, as well as fat intake, at a moderate level. It will help your heart and possibly help prevent other diseases, too.

Three types of food are notably high in (dietary) cholesterol:

1. Eggs (actually, the yolk only)
2. Organ meats
3. Shrimp

Of these foods, organ meats are by far the highest in  the cholesterol. Shrimp is only moderately high by comparison.

Most people don’t eat organ meats often, but if you do, you should know these facts:

• Of organ meats, brains contain the most (dietary) cholesterol
• Kidneys of any animal and chicken liver come in second for cholesterol content
• Beef liver, sweetbreads, and heart have less than these others but still quite a bit.

If you are a shrimp-lover, rest assured that a shrimp cocktail carries only a moderate cholesterol count. It is when shrimp is eaten in larger amounts – by the cup – that the cholesterol adds up.

How Many Eggs?

In most diets, eggs supply far more cholesterol than organ meats or shrimp. A good rule of thumb is to limit egg intake to 4 or 5 a week. This is especially important for people who have high blood cholesterol levels or other risk factors for heart disease: high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, or obesity.

One easy approach is to use the egg allowance for the usual egg dishes such as scrambled eggs and fried eggs. Then find replacements for the eggs used in casseroles, baking, and other multi-ingredient recipes.

One or more of the following often will successfully replace an egg used in cooking:

• one and a half to two egg whites
• one egg white plus one teaspoon of oil
• one-fourth cup of an egg substitute, preferably one containing no added oil

If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, check with your doctor or dietician before using an egg substitute. None are high in sodium (unless treated with the salt shaker). But these substitutes do have more sodium than eggs.

Fat and Calories

We’ve been   learning a lot about weight control since the turn of this century. I am willing to bet, though, that the bottom line on reducing diets will be the same then as it is now. The best way to diet is to eat less fat.

The explanation is nothing that a first-grader couldn’t understand. Fat has more calories than anything else in food. Take a look the comparison as follow:

• Protein has 4 calories per gram
• Carbohydrate has 4 calories/gram
• Alcohol has 7 calories/gram
• F a t  has 9 calories/gram

Little wonder that obesity is common in nations that have high-fat diets. (If you are wondering what a gram of fat looks like, it measures a little less than a quarter of a teaspoon).

The Weight Watchers diet, by the way, contains 30%  of calories from fat, the same figure recommended by the  Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer.

Eating Less Fat:  Harmful?

Most nutritionists would  laugh if asked this question. For decades, nutritionists have known that the body needs only about 10% of its calories from fat. Let us take a look at the case of American diet, as an example. Their diet averages four times that!

The one warning about cutting back on fat pertains only to infants. Children under one year of age should not be fed a low-fat diet unless ordered by a doctor. The reason is simple: during the first year of life, many infants need the extra calories that fat provides.

This concern about infants aside, scientists stress that there is no known harm to cutting back on fat to the level recommended by the Committee on Diet, Nutrition, and Cancer. Public health experts cannot help but notice that Japanese life expectancy is among the highest in the world. Yet fat intake in Japan is far lower than in other industrialized nations.

Don’t be Fat-phobia

I hope you view these series of article regarding fats, and some diseases deemed to have correlation with fats (serum lipids) , proportionally.

However,  it is fact that fats, saturated fats, dietary cholesterol have their specific roles in maintaining and  enhancing human health. For more comprehensive understanding, I suggest you to read the following  posts:

• We Won’t Get Fooled Again (similar to a 1974 hit song by The Who)
• The Roles of Saturated Fats for Human Health

( The previous story )

Do you know your blood type?

There are several ways to find out your blood type:

1. Donate blood. Also note that blood banks will often perform a blood type test for a fee, even if you don’t wish to give blood.
2. Ask your doctor; but don’t be surprised if he or she doesn’t know. When blood is drawn for routine cholesterol screening or other factors, blood typing is not normally done unless it has been requested.
3. There are at-home blood type testing kits available in health stores or drugstores.

In addition, it is necessary for you to know your secretor or non-secretor status. New to this matter? Below some useful information regarding the importance of knowing your secretor status.

For those suffering from a specific condition it is recommended that you get assistance from a healthcare provider. Some practitioners familiar with the significance of blood groups are listed on the internet in the Eat Right 4 Your Type practitioner registry.

The Lewis Blood Group  Test

Lewis Blood Group and Secretor Status: [Gene location: 19q13.3] The molecule that defines your blood group is called an antigen. People of each blood group have that specific antigen on their red blood cells: A has the A antigen, B has the B antigen AB has both A and B antigens and O has the H antigen. The term “ABH secretor” refers to secretion of ABO blood group antigens in fluids such as saliva, sweat, tears, semen, and breast milk. If you are an “ABH secretor”, you will secrete antigens according to your blood group. For example, group O people will secrete H antigen, group A will secrete A and H antigens, etc. Approximately 80% of people are ABH secretors.

There are several differences between ABH secretors and non-secretors, especially relating to function of the immune system. There are altered dietary requirements, which are outlined in Live Right gor Your Type and The Complete Blood Group Encyclopedia. Lewis blood group is a minor blood group that relates to salivary secretor status. Salivary ABH secretor determination is based on testing for your blood group antibodies in your saliva. Finding your Lewis blood group (Lea and Leb) will tell your ABH secretor status in most cases, irrespective of your blood group. Most ABH secretors have a Lewis group of: Lea- Leb+. Most ABH non-secretors have a Lewis group of: Lea+ Leb-. A small minority (about 5% of the population) will be Lewis Double Negative (LDN): Lea- Leb-. For LDN people Lewis blood group cannot be used to determine ABH secretor status. ABH Saliva testing is available for this purpose. LDN people share most of the same metabolic consequences as ABH non-secretors, and in a few instances they have the most severe manifestations. According to Dr. D’Adamo “It may be helpful to think of LDN individuals as a special category of non-secretor”. Although ABH salivary secretor status is often thought of as an ‘all or none’ situation, this is not always the case. Some people known as ‘partial’ or ‘weak secretors’ have a greatly reduced quantity of active A or B blood group substance in their saliva, predisposing them to similar functional problems as non-secretors. In the same way, Lewis antigens can also give a ‘weak’ result. Where relevant, weak Lewis results will be reported, as will Lea+ Leb+ (a rare temporary situation, brought about by circumstances such as pregnancy).

Secretor and Non-secretor

An overview and preview of the new saliva-based secretor test in the book Eat Right 4 Your Type, Dr. D’Adamo introduced readers to the concept of Secretors/Non-secretors. By now you are familiar with the concept that your ABO blood type is controlled by your genetics. The gene coding for your blood type lies on chromosome 9q34. However, a separate gene actually interacts with your blood type gene, determining your ability to secrete your blood type antigens into body fluids and secretions. In the genetics of the secretor system two options exist. A person can be either a Secretor (Se) or a Non-secretor (se). This is completely independent of whether you are a blood type A, B, AB, or O. This means that someone can be an A Secretor or an A Non-secretor, a B Secretor, or a B Non-secretor etc. In a simplified sense, a Secretor is defined as a person who secretes their blood type antigens into body fluids and secretions like the saliva in your mouth, the mucus in your digestive tract and respiratory cavities, etc. Basically what this means is that a secretor puts their blood type into these body fluids. A Non-secretor on the other hand puts little to none of their blood type into these same fluids. As a general rule, in the U.S. about 20% of the population are Non-secretors (with the remaining 80% being Secretors). The Secretor Edge With respect to the ABO blood types, it is very difficult to state that one type is more advantageous than another. Each blood type has its own strengths and characteristic weaknesses. However, this does not appear to be the case with the Secretor gene. As a generality, being a Non-secretor (based on all of the available information) does actually appear to be a potential health disadvantage. At a very basic level, being able to secrete blood type into your saliva, mucus, etc. allows for an added degree of protection against the environment, particularly with respect to microorganisms and lectins.

An additional advantage of being a Secretor might be a generalized tendency to promote a stabilized, blood-type friendly intestinal bacterial ecosystem. Many of the friendly (probiotic) bacteria in your digestive system actually use your blood type as one of their preferential foods. Since Secretors have a steady supply of blood type in the mucus that lines the digestive tract, their bacteria have a much more constant food supply. Metabolic Differences Between Secretors and Non-Secretors Similar to the ABO blood types, it appears additional genetic information must be linked to the Secretor gene, because predictable trends in non-blood type aspects of physiology have a close association with Secretor/Non-secretor status. Aspects of physiology such as the relative activity of an enzyme called intestinal alkaline phosphatase; propensities toward clotting, reliability of some tumor markers, and generalized performance of your immune system have predictable trends depending upon your Secretor status. The activity of intestinal and serum alkaline phosphatase is strongly correlated with secretor phenotypes. Basically, Non-secretors, independent of their ABO blood groups, have lower alkaline phosphatase activity (as you might remember type O’s have the highest alkaline phosphatase activity and type A’s the least). It has been estimated that the serum alkaline phosphatase activity of Non-secretors is only about 20% of the active in the secretor groups.

As was mentioned in Eat Right 4 Your Type, blood type impacts the clotting ability to a significant degree. In fact, it has been estimated that a significant fraction (30%) of the genetically determined variance in plasma concentration of the von Willebrand factor antigen (vWf) is directly related to ABO blood type. As a rule, it is blood group O individuals who have the lowest amount of this clotting factor and the tendency for the lowest degree of clotting/platelet aggregation. In the Secretor/Non-secretor world, Secretors have the slowest clotting while Non-secretors have shorter bleeding times and a tendency towards higher factor VIII and vWf. ABO and Secretor genetics actually further interact to influence blood viscosity. In essence what this means is that an A Non-secretor will be at the far end of the spectrum with the slowest bleeding times, thickest blood viscosity, and the most probability to have high platelet aggregation. On the other end on the continuum will be O Secretors, who will have the longest bleeding time, thinnest blood, and least tendency for platelet aggregation. Because of this, Non-secretors (especially the type A’s) tend to be at the highest risk for future atherothromboti and heart disease. Disease Susceptibility among Secretors and Non-secretors: Digestive System As a general rule, a higher intensity of oral disease is found among Non-secretors. This includes dysplasia (precancerous changes to the tissue) and an increase in cavities. Statistically speaking, blood type A Secretors have the lowest number of cavities. Non-secretors also tend to have more digestive problems. Several studies have indicated that Non-secretors have a significantly higher rate of duodenal and peptic ulcers. Non-secretors are also less resistant to infection by Helicobacter pylori (a microbe associated with ulcers). It appears that this organism can colonize more readily and generate more inflammation in individual’s incapable of secreting their blood type into the digestive tract. Non-secretors are at an increased risk for development of celiac disease (up to 48% of patients with celiac disease have been reported to be Non-secretors). Respiratory System With regards to aspects of lung function, being a Non-secretor takes its usual place as a health disadvantage. Several researchers have suggested that being a Non-secretor might predispose an individual to damaging effects, while being a secretor might add a degree of protection against harmful environmental assaults to our lungs. Among coal miners, asthma was significantly related to Non-secretor phenotype. Secretors also appear to receive a degree of protection against some of the deleterious effects of cigarette smoking. Evidence suggests that the ability to secrete ABO blood type antigens might decrease the risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Being a Non-secretor also offers a slight increase risk for having a problem with habitual snoring.

Autoimmune Disease

Non-secretors appear to have an increase in the prevalence of a variety of autoimmune diseases including ankylosing spondylitis, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthropathy, Sjogren’s syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and Grave’s disease. Diabetes, Heart Disease, & Metabolic Syndrome X Non-secretors are at a greater risk of developing diabetes (especially adult onset diabetes); and they might be at a greater risk of developing complications from diabetes. Data allows the conclusion that Non-secretors are a risk factor for myocardial infarction and heart disease (note: this is particularly true for men). Several different researchers have noted a connection between a metabolic syndrome called “Syndrome X” and Non-secretor blood types. Syndrome X is a clustering of metabolic problems comprised of insulin resistance (your cells do not respond effectively to the insulin that you create), elevated plasma glucose (high blood sugar), lipid regulation problems (elevated triglycerides, increased small low-density lipoproteins, and decreased high-density lipoproteins), high blood pressure, a prothrombic state (tendency to clotting), and obesity (especially central obesity or a predisposition to gaining weight in the abdomen). This cluster of metabolic disorders seem to interact to promote the development of diabetes (adult onset type II), atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. And while insulin resistance might lie at the heart of the problem, all of these metabolic disorders appear to contribute to health problems.

Alcoholism

Alcoholism has been associated with the Non-secretor blood type. On the positive side, alcohol consumption appears to exert a protective effect on lung function and to lower the risk of heart disease more in Non-secretors than in Secretors. The key principle with the use of alcohol is for Non-secretors (and everybody actually) is moderation.

Bacteria Urinary Tract Infections (UTI)

Non-secretors are at a greater risk for recurrent UTI’s, have a greater tendency to increased inflammation, and are much more likely to develop renal scars. Being a blood type Secretor on the other hand offers a degree of protection; cutting your risk of recurrent UTI’s by greater than 50% and dramatically decreasing the likelihood you will have renal scars develop.

Candida and bacteria infection

Based upon this tendency of Non-secretor saliva to not only fail to prevent attachment of Candida, but maybe actually promote the binding of Candida to your tissue, we would expect that research would show higher tendency to Candida problems among Non-secretors. This is what we find to be true. Non-secretors are much more likely to be carriers of Candida and to have problems with persistent infections. Blood type O Non-secretors might be the most affected of the Non-secretor blood types, since Candida also appears to have an easier time colonizing (attaching to) the blood type O antigen.

Antibody levels Secretors are known to have higher levels of IgG and IgA antibodies. The lack of IgA antibodies perhaps explains the link between non-secretor status and an increased frequency of heart valve problems secondary to bacteria infection. Because IgA functions much like the way a rampart or palisade wall protects a town from invasion, most if not all non-secretors have problems with gut permiability (“leakygut“).

Reference:

• Eat Right for Your Type, DR. Peter J. D’Adamo & C. Whitney, Century Books, London, 2001
• Live Right for Your Type, DR. Peter J. D’Adamo & C. Whitney, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, NY, 2001

In attempt to heal my kidney stones  disease in natural way, I’ve been advised to carry out blood type diet according to my blood type and I had no choice, just followed the advice. I’ve been applying the diet so far and feel free to choose the various right foods according to Type B food chart. This style of diet really works for me and my family and friends as well.

Sometimes, I try to little bit break the rule and it doesn’t matter. I see some people follow the blood type diet and I see the diet is work for them; on the other hand, I see other people don’t carry out the diet and I know they get health problem. Keep in your mind that the goal of Blood Type Diet is to maximize your performance. This point is very important.

For me, the science of blood type diet has revealed already long time mystery about my health problems, such as food allergies, viral diseases, kidney stones, and myth hanging around coffee, teas, diary products, vegetarianism, and many other health  matters.

In the two  years since publication of the best seller Eat Right 4 Your Type in 1996, Dr. D’adamo, the author,  said that he have communicated with thousands of people during media appearance, on the Web, over the phone, by mail, at lectures, and in his office. Many of them have been curious, a few skeptic, and some true believers in the Blood Type Diet. In his Website, people share, with touching detail, their long efforts to find a key to a chronic illness or a battle with obesity (you can visit www.dadamo.com). He told that their stories have many common elements, but at the core they are unique and individual – just like the people themselves. He admitted that they have helped him appreciate more than ever before the countless variations among human beings.

Does the Blood Type Diet Work?

Dr.D’adamo said that he has learned from collecting thousands of certified medical results from readers and patients that the diet works  for nine out of ten people and that the more severe the problem, the faster it works. But the real question each person needs to ask is, ‘ Does it work for me?’ It is not as important to have a theory that works for everybody in a generic way as it to have a theory that takes into account individual variations.

It is not as important to have a theory that works for everybody in a generic way as it to have a theory that takes into account individual variations.

The Blood Type Diet is really about the expression of individuality. Properly understood, individuality becomes a powerful friend, allowing a deeper grasp of the whys and wherefores of a given medical or health condition. If individual variations are ignored or downplayed, they become roadblocks that devalue the very best science has to offer. So when you hear or read about a new scientific finding, always ask the question, ‘Are they talking about me?’

So when you hear or read about a new scientific finding, always ask the question, ‘Are they talking about me?’

How can you find out if the Blood Type Diet is right for you? First, you must be willing to change your mindset about food. We have all been conditioned to view food as one thing and medicine another. We are rarely asked to consider the multifaceted ways in which the food we eat affects every cell in our bodies. Because of this, it can be uncomfortable to grapple with new ideas like those presented in the Blood Type Diet. But when you consider that most of our current knowledge about human nutrition has been acquired in this century, you can see that we are only just beginning to understand the effect of foods on our body systems.

No Absolutes in Blood Type Diet

You should  have a point of view that no absolutes in the Blood Type Diet. This science has never been about rigid rules and regulations. Nor it is about superimposing an artificial set of values on the way you already live. Eating right for your blood type simply means following the ancient codes that are still imprinted in every cell of your body. Think of it as one of the ways you can celebrate the miracle of human individuality.

The Science of Blood Type has been evolving ever since the beginning of  known human history. It is the science of individuality – an acknowledgment that each of us has a genetic fingerprint located in the cells of our bodies.

First of all, you need to understand the reason why your blood type can make such a crucial difference in how you live and what you eat. Blood type is not a neutral factor. Rather, it behaves as the control valve of your immune and digestive systems, a biological watchdog that enhances your body’s ability to survive and thrive.

In his great first book, Eat Right 4 Your Type,  Dr.Peter D’adamo fully explains the mechanism by which your blood type responds to the food you eat – either for good or for ill. It details the scientific and anthropological reasons for the four distinct blood type. The following is a brief summary of that information.

The Key to Survival

Almost everyone, including doctors, considers the importance of blood type only in relation to transfusions. The gross limitations imposed by such a narrow view become readily apparent when you consider the central role blood type has played in the survival of  the human race. Consider this: were it not for the unique adaptations that have taken place within the blood, the human race would not have been able to survive.

Each of the blood types evolved in response to both the physiological development of the species and changing climate conditions over the aeons since humankind first trod the Earth. This is the vital clue to the importance of blood type. The adaptations that occurred in the course of evolution not only strengthened our immune systems against new bacterial, viral and environmental assailants, but at the same time permitted our vurnerable digestive systems to adapt to a wide range of unfamiliar foods.

The Blood Type – Diet Connection

How does the composition of the sugars that make up the blood types relate to what you eat? A chemical reaction occurs between your blood and the food you consume. We know this because of a factor called lectins. Lectins are abundant and diverse proteins found in food. They are agglutinating – gluing or sticking – properties that affect your blood. When you eat a food containing protein lectins that are incompatible with your blood type antigen, the lectins target an organ and begin to agglutinate blood cells in that area. In effect, lectins gum up the works, interfering with digestion, insulin production, food metabolism, and hormonal balance.

Lectins

Many people never heard about lectins before and some were sceptical. In fact, hundreds of papers have been written about the effect of lectins. The fact that they haven’t had wider public exposure relegates lectins to the province of a well-kept secret. Apparently, Eat Right 4 Your Type was the first time that the results of the extensive scientific research had ever appeared in a mainstream publication.

Knowing about the potential danger of lectins does not mean that you should suddenly become fearful of every food you eat! After all, lectins are widely abundant and hard to avoid. The key is to avoid the lectins that agglutinate your blood type. For example, gluten, the most common lectin found in wheat, has a shape different from the lectin found in soya, and it attaches to a different combination of sugars. Gluten binds to the lining of the small intestine and cause substansial inflammation and painful irritation in some blood types, particularly Type O. Chicken, on the other hand, which is fine for Type Os  and Type As, contains a lectin in its muscle tissue that agglutinates Type B and Type AB blood cells.

What This Means for You?

Here’s the bottom line:  we are predisposed to certain strength and weaknesses according to our blood types. We can maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses by knowing what our bodies need and by feeding ourselves and our families accordingly.

The crux of Blood Type Diet is the fact that certain foods complement certain blood types. Other foods antagonize and debilitate particular blood types. By stressing complementary foods and eliminating clearly antagonistic foods, you can promote the best possible balance for your immune and digestive systems. Most of your compatible foods correspond to your  blood type’s evolutionary development. In other words, the foods that fit your blood type are often the very foods that were predominant at the time in history when your blood type first appeared. For example:

If you are Type O, you respond best to a high- protein diet, including meat, poultry, fish and variety of fruits  and vegetables. Many grains, legumes, and dairy products are incompatible with your blood type.

If you are Type A, you thrive on primarily vegetarian diet, including soya products, beans and legumes, grains, vegetables, and fruits, with small portions of fish.

If you are Type B, your optimal diet includes game meat like rabbit and venison as well as herd meats, such as lamb and mutton. However, Type B should avoid chicken. Unlike Type O and Type A, Type B benefits from a variety of dairy products. Some grains, beans and legumes cause problems for type B, but there is a wide selection of vegetables and fruits available. In almost every respect, the Type B Diet is the most varied.

If you are Type AB, your diet is more complex – a combination of Type A and Type B. Type AB can eat most of the foods that are good for these blood types, but must avoid or limit most of the foods that agglutinate them. The best diet for Type AB consists primarily of vegetarian fare, with modest supplements of meat and dairy.

To help you eat right for your blood type, refer to detailed food charts and information for Type O, Type A, Type B, and Type AB in www.blogofhealth.co.cc. That means emphasizing the foods you find on the Highly Beneficial lists, restricting the foods you should Avoid, and incorporating the wide range of Neutral foods in a balanced and healthy way. As I and  many people around the world  have discovered, eating right for your blood type can produce extraordinary and almost immediate results in combating allergies or other chronic conditions. Following your Blood Type Diet can also result in immediate changes such as:

• Weight lost
• Restoration of normal insulin production
• Cessation of troublesome digestive problem
• An increase in energy and stamina

The long-term benefits are even meaningful. The Blood Type Diet can help you:

• Combat serious illness, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease
• Avoid common viruses and infections
• Eliminate the toxins and fats that contribute to obesity, and
• Slow the process of cell deterioration that accompanies ageing
• Pass out kidney stones of your body in  natural way (as in my case)

And the best news of all is that you can achieve all these benefits while enjoying a healthy, satisfying, and varied diet. Good living  and good health are yours to enjoy.

References:

1. “Cook Right 4 Your Type”, Dr. Peter J. D’adamo & C. Whitney, Century, 2001
2. www.4yourtype.com
3. www.dadamo.com
4. www.wikipedia.org