My favorite book of all times is “Eat Right 4 Your Type” by Dr. Peter D’Adamo. It has turned my health around 180 degrees. In fact, it has done the same for thousands and thousands of people around the world. To find out what this book has done for me and for so many other people, check out this video that I have made for you:
Some of you prefer to listen to podcasts rather than watch videos. If that’s the case for you, please head over to my podcast channel on Soundcloud:
If you like what you have seen/heard, subscribe to my YouTube and Soundcloud channels where I will be doing more sharing of the blood type diet and how to eat and cook right for your type.
To get updates on my blog posts like this and healthy recipes, please subscribe to my newsletter at: eatrightwithlouisa.com/subscribe/
If you are interested in purchasing the book, click here (Free shipping on my store with any order of above $59). Alternately, you can get an electronic copy on your Kindle by clicking here.
Cucumbers made the news headline when Gwyneth Paltrow’s health website Goop was ridiculed for warning against the crunchy vegetable that many people love to put in their salad or eat right off the bat. A 2017 article on Goop claimed that cucumbers could cause dementia.
The scientific basis I am talking about can be summed up with the concept of “lectins.” This is one of the main foundations of the Blood Type Diet and was discovered by Dr. Peter D’Adamo more than two decades ago. According to his observations, the interactions between lectins from the food we eat and our blood, gut as well as internal organs play a big role in disease manifestations. Dr. D’Adamo’s groundbreaking discovery is that such interactions are blood-type specific.
What Exactly Are Lectins?
Lectins are not only found in can be found in cucumbers, tomatoes and whole grains, as mentioned by Goop’s Dr Steven Gundry. In fact, most foods, including grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, seafood and meat, contain lectins. Not all lectins are considered “friends” or “foes” by your body. Depending on your blood type and genetics, a particular lectin may cause a certain reaction once entered into your bloodstream.
In the case of the now-infamous cucumber, its lectins are harmful to Type Os but are, in fact, beneficial to Type AB.
So what do “enemy lectins” do in your body? They may clump or bind to your blood cells, eventually destroying them. Alternately, when they enter the digestive tract, they can cause inflammation of the mucous linings and mimic many of the symptoms of food allergies.
Even tiny amounts of a lectin is enough to clump huge numbers of cells, so it doesn’t matter if you eat “only a small amount” of a food that your blood regards as “foe.” If you regularly eat a certain food that contains “enemy” lectins for your blood type, and if you have been eating it for a long time, you will find specific problems in your digestion, joints, immune system and/or metabolism caused by this lectin.
When a certain lectin from food is regarded as “enemy” lectin (incompatible with specific blood type), red blood cells clump up in a process known as “agglutination.” If the same lectin enters the bloodstream day in and day out, systemic inflammation results, leading to chronic and various other types of diseases.
That is why it is so important to completely stay away from the foods that are considered “avoids” for your blood type, especially when you are trying to heal from certain diseases or ailments.
Following an individualized diet based on your blood type can therefore protect you from the harmful effects of dietary lectins.
The following video gives a very good explanation of what lectins are and what they do to the body. Have a look!
If you find this article useful and you’d like more just like it, sign up for my Eat Right with Louisa Newsletter. You’ll receive a free mini-email course on How to Eat Your Way to Optimal Health. It teaches you how to choose the right food that is tailored for your unique body type–based on Dr. D’Adamo’s principle of lectins, so you will reach your health goals in the most efficient way without wasting any effort or money.
Subscribe to my newsletter
Subscribe to get updates from your "Eat Right Coach"!
Success! Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter! You should be receiving my welcome email shortly.
If you don’t see an email from me after a while, please check your spam folder and add admin@eatrightwithlouisa.com to your email contacts.
I am so excited to get to know you and be a part of your personal health journey.
If you ever have any questions, simply reply to your newsletter or use the contact form on this site to get in touch.