Sue Visser
Different Gut Biomes for Different Blood Types
There are mixed feelings about the Blood Type Diet, the brainchild of Dr Peter D’Adamo who customized food selections for the ABO blood groups. Called a fad diet, it is often branded as unscientific, yet not all blood types can tolerate the same food and that is why other “cure-all” diets tend to fail! Some of D’Adamo ‘s recommendations are very important to consider, others make no sense at all. But remember the little boy who cried “Wolf.” Subsequent studies have confirmed that a “one type diet” does not work for everybody. Food affects people in different ways because of their blood type and secretor status.
Eighty percent of us have the FUT2 gene that secretes blood type traits into the blood as well as the digestive system – the gut biome. We are thus classified as blood type A, B, O or AB secretors. The remainder of the population are A, B, O or AB non-secretors. Blood type B favors dairy-based microbes whereas type A excels at digesting grains. Blood type O has a meat-digesting constitution, so they have more stomach acid. The same plate of food can either sabotage or support your teeming droves of gut bacteria that control immunity, your nervous system, blood circulation, inflammation, and your health in general.
We are truly at the mercy of our gut biome, with microbes outnumbering our human cells by 10 to 1. If the gut is fed with compatible nutritional components, all is well. Food is the primary key to cultivating a healthy happy gut. No drugs can compete with delicious combinations of cheese, whole grains, yoghurt, kimchi, legumes, pickles, fruit, nuts and vegetables. However, they need to suit your blood type – and especially your secretor status. Make the right choices and these raw materials help to create essential short chain fatty acids to establish a healthy metabolism and keep the gut and brain barriers intact. They also provide energy to colon cells that secrete substances to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria. These function as antibiotics in some cases and can eliminate pathogenic bacteria.
However, you will still suffer from an unhappy, unhealthy gut, should your food intake be in conflict with your constitution, let alone blood type. Lectins are proteins that bind to carbohydrates. Some of them are blood type specific. Avoiding your trigger lectins can avert additional inflammation, cell agglutination, and blood clotting. We also need to take our individual allergies, such as to gluten into consideration.
You may think your body craves what it needs, but it may be an allergenic addiction that perpetuates a toxic loop inside your system. People believe that just a little of what they fancy can do no harm, but that’s like giving an alcoholic a glass of wine. Gluten and other foods that do not agree with you trigger off mind-enhancing painkillers called opioids to try and ease the unpleasant and toxic effects they cause within your gut – especially if it is already leaky. If you feel sleepy after your sandwiches or have indigestion yet you crave more starchy snacks, you may have become addicted to the narcotic (but actually toxic) effect they have on you. By now we all know that modern fast food makes us sick – it definitely does not suit any blood type! Evidently one in three people today are gluten intolerant. According to trial and error, avoidance of wheat and gluten-containing foods is the only treatment–the only way to break that addiction to what most, if not all, junk food contains.
Getting to Grips with Your Gut Type
Wheat or gluten sensitivities usually indicate a lack of Bifidobacterium (typical of non-secretors) that help with the digestion of gluten. If the gut lining is damaged or leaky, then lectins that can’t be digested will invade the bloodstream, disrupt the immune system, and cause a lot of damage. Even if whole grains like oats, rye and wheat and beans are considered to be healthy choices, their lectins can wreak havoc with certain blood types. Soaking, cooking, sprouting, and fermenting destroy most of them. Yet some are still toxic, especially to non-secretor gut biomes. They cause inflammation (leaky gut), attract parasites, and increase levels of toxic lipopolysaccharides. When they seep into the bloodstream, they exacerbate many of our chronic health problems – from heart disease, depression, anxiety, and brain fog to diabetes, sleep disorders and even sepsis! Instead of being our medicine; food seems to be the primary cause of quite a lot of chronic—and often deadly ailments.
Lectins are blood type specific, so we need to fine tune our diets in order to support optimal gut health. For each of the four blood types (A, B, O and AB), there are two variations: secretor and non-secretor. Eight separate gut biomes to consider – now that is really confusing! What is more important is to first eliminate the disruptive elements.
Parasites and other pathogens may still be sabotaging your dietary reforms. Patients suffering from Lyme disease or chronic fatigue syndrome – especially the non-secretors, usually have elevated levels of the endotoxins known as lipopolysaccharides. They can impair mood, social behavior, and the ability to feel pleasure due to the way they block receptors for serotonin, dopamine, and GABA. A trip to the psychiatrist won’t heal an unhappy gut – a primary cause of these and a host of other mental afflictions.
Blood type A is very prone to blood clotting, as we have seen recently when COVID-19 took its toll. Type O’s have thinner blood and often bleed to death, especially when on Warfarin during surgery. Some people eat meat and fat and digest it well, yet others don’t. It all depends on your inherent levels of stomach acid. Blood type O has the most and blood type A has the least. Yet A-secretors (only about 20% of us) are best at digesting wheat. For them, tomatoes, green peppers, and aubergines (deadly nightshades) cause more inflammation. So much for whole wheat bread and tomatoes as a cure-all! You thus need to find the foods you are most comfortable with, “for thy stomach’s sake.” Cut out the trigger foods.
The internet provides many blood type recommendations and some of them vary quite a bit. They serve as rough guidelines. Use allergy tests to confirm their suitability. Kinesiology, muscle or pendulum testing are also effective, providing that you have mastered these skills. You will soon be able to work out your secretor status. For example, chickpeas tally with type O secretors but not lentils. The opposite is true for O type non-secretors and so on. It is essential to determine your secretor status. Otherwise submit a saliva test. People who fail to do this will not get to grips with their blood type, give up and call it a fad diet.
Fortunately, there is a wide selection of bacteria-boosting snacks and dishes that makes it easier for the chef. A lot of them are fermented (cultured) and their bacteria help to destroy most of the lectins in question. Catering for all blood types for over 20 years and setting up a nourishing, well-laden gluten-free table is easier for me than trying to convince my guests to lay off the sugar, trans-fats, lectins, and gluten! I find that festive food especially, is associated with calorie-laden globs of sugary, starchy, greasy goo. Why? I remember the food we ate in the Caucasus—the joy they took in serving every meal as a celebration. Fresh fruit, accompanied by salads, pickles, vegetables and home-made cheese—washed down with a glass of red wine. All those antioxidants and polyphenols! (See Part 1 of “Food as Medicine.”)
Preparing Your Gut for Probiotic Synergy
Diarrhea occurs when antibiotic treatment disturbs the natural balance of the gut microbiota causing harmful bacteria (i.e., Clostridium difficile) to proliferate and multiply. Controlled trials have shown that Lactobacillus GG can shorten the course of infectious diarrhea due to its ability to restore the equilibrium. The total elimination of parasites and pathogens, especially those that are sheltering behind biofilms is also advisable. For this, it is best to consult with a knowledgeable practitioner to identify and remove them. Natural substances, especially bee propolis and elemental iodine, are very effective against gram positive as well as gram negative bacteria. Furthermore, according to a number of studies, they don’t destroy beneficial microbes as do regular antibiotics.
Propolis capsules and tinctures are readily available. They can be mixed with honey, should you like to use this as a medicinal food that is dose related. Try adding a teaspoon of propolis tincture to a tablespoon of honey. Enjoy it throughout the day, on crackers, in herb tea, or on a slice of apple.
Manuka honey is a food as well as a natural medicine in its own right. It contains methylglyoxal as an active ingredient that has antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant benefits effects. It has traditionally been used for wound healing, soothing sore throats, preventing tooth decay, and improving digestive problems. I first heard about propolis tincture from an elderly gentleman who took it as a cure for stomach ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori. Away they went and then he was advised to fortify his stomach acid with an HCL (hydrochloric acid) supplement. No more acid reflux!
When stomach acid is at pH 2 (very acidic), the upper stomach valve closes. In contrast, the esophagus is an alkaline zone, so no wonder we need to isolate it. People tell me that eating a pickled onion helps to alleviate heartburn. By lowering the pH of your gastric juices, the valve will shut. We need to make stronger, more potent stomach acid and not try to inhibit it. That is why the abuse of antacids and proton pump inhibitors makes no sense. Weak stomach acid (above pH 2) cannot process a rich, fatty meal that is high in protein.
Gram-negative bacteria are enclosed in a protective capsule to prevent cells from ingesting them. An outer membrane also protects them against certain antibiotics, such as penicillin. When disrupted, this membrane releases even more endotoxins that interact with lipopolysaccharides that are a by-product of dysbiosis. This toxic load contributes to the severity of symptoms during infections with gram-negative bacteria such as Brucellosis (tick bite fever), Campylobacter infections, cat-scratch disease, cholera, pathogenic E. coli (harmless resident strains of E. coli are necessary for the production of vitamin K), Klebsiella, Legionnaires’ disease, Pertussis, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Shigellosis, Tularemia, and typhoid fever. Peritonitis (inflammation of the membrane that lines the abdominal cavity) especially poses a threat to the gut biome because it has become resistant to regular antibiotics. Taking them is not only ineffective; it destroys the beneficial bacteria that would normally regulate gut pathogens.
In the meantime, take a tapeworm remedy such as Mebendazole and repeat the dose 3 weeks later. This has a profound effect on the gut biome. These creepy crawlies may be harboring other parasites (flukes, amoeba, protozoa, etc.) and consuming all the carefully selected probiotic—as well as prebiotic-based foods that you may have already included in your dietary protocol. Your blood type antigens affect the bacterial composition of the entire ecosystem of the digestive tract. Keeping the gut in balance averts inflammation and supports immunity, the nervous system, pain control, energy levels, and the metabolism. It also produces antioxidants and vitamins to protect and nurture the body. Some of these strains also oust harmful bacteria that can produce toxic by-products, especially the disruptive endotoxins called lipopolysaccharides that are made from lipids and sugar complexes.
The Most Popular Probiotics and Prebiotics
After the removal of parasites, the best way to initiate a healthy gut-routine is with probiotics and prebiotics. Carefully selected probiotics provide colonies of beneficial bacteria—meaning that they are not in conflict with your blood type and they are compliant with your secretor status. When probiotics are integrated with fermented food and vegetable fiber, they soon repopulate the gut and generate those much-needed short chain fatty acids. You will begin to feel more comfortable. No more gas and bloating as they confront the pathogenic microbes—especially the overgrowth of yeast, known as candidiasis. As the epithelium tightens up, leaky gut discomfort will abate. Lipopolysaccharides, lectins, parasites, and pathogens will then be isolated and excreted into the toilet as opposed to being circulated throughout the body.
Firstly, we are told to eat more fiber for the sake of prebiotics that provide the growth medium for probiotics. So grab those onions, garlic, leeks, cocoa, apples, asparagus, and especially flaxseeds. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milled or crushed flaxseeds (linseeds) to foods or smoothies each day as they also combat insulin resistance. (Bananas, oats and barley are not for all blood types but that is up to you!) Prebiotics are classified as indigestible food ingredients that are of particular benefit to our Bifidobacteria strains. Adding prebiotic supplements to an infant formula is of great benefit to non-secretor mothers who may be deficient in Bifidobacteria. Along with Lactobacillus they produce large quantities of lactase. Lactase converts milk sugar to lactic acid, as a way to circumvent lactose intolerance. Most probiotics are strain specific. Short chain fatty acids are produced when bacteria break down our fibrous foods and resistant starches. Resistant starch is a type of starch that is not digested in the small intestine (“resistant” to digestion) but passes to the large intestine where it can serve as an energy source for our gut bacteria–for instance, day-old potatoes and cold rice. They are lower in calories, and more filling than their regular counterparts. Is that why we love potato salad?
Dairy products provide an instant source of short chain fatty acids that provide energy to colon cells. So enjoy your butter, ghee, and other cheeses, knowing that they are excellent sources of both probiotics as well as prebiotics. The best sources of Lactobacillus are from yoghurt, kimchi, kefir and sourdough bread. Sauerkraut contains Lactobacillus plantarum – good to know for vegans. Lactic acid makes milk curdle, separating the curds and whey to produce cheese. But it’s also been used in other products like pickled vegetables, bread, kefir, and buttermilk. Most of our popular cheeses contain the Lactococcus lacti strain, another beneficial probiotic – best enjoyed as cheese. It also destroys pathogenic bacteria in the mouth. Being overly pedantic about using oral antiseptics will destroy the beneficial bacteria every time you use it. Slowly savouring a lump of cheese helps you to restore the health of your oral biome. It promotes healthy saliva and tastes nicer than a fluoride-laden, antiseptic mouthwash!
Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus paracasei, and Bifidobacterium lactis are best known for the treatment of lactose intolerance, immune response modulation, and protection against Helicobacter pylori infections (stomach ulcers). We know they are widely used to treat diarrhea caused by rotavirus, Clostridium difficile as well as antibiotic-associated diarrhea. We need to have adequate levels of these strains because they help to boost our immunity. They produce inhibitory substances such as organic acids, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins that inhibit both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. They also stick to the intestinal epithelial surface and block the bacterial adhesion sites and inhibit their food supply. This close and specific contact with human cells, exchanging nutrients and metabolic wastes, makes symbiotic bacteria an integral part of a more cooperative digestive system.
Healthy, well-nourished colon cells will then be able to secrete substances that promote the growth of good bacteria. Exercise also increases the abundance of health-promoting bacteria, so include some activities such as brisk walking, jogging, or going to the gym every day. This will also help to modulate the gut-brain axis, ease depression, and encourage insulin sensitivity and weight loss.
The most widely used probiotic strains in terms of popularity, blood type compatibility and safety are:
- Bifidobacterium (adolescentis, animalis, bifidum, breve and longum)
- Lactobacillus (acidophilus, brevis, casei, fermentum, gasseri, johnsonii, paracasei, plantarum, delbrueckii, and rhamnosus)
A deficiency of Bifidobaceria in the gut (typical of non-secretors) links to obesity, diabetes, celiac disease, dermatitis, and allergic asthma. Higher levels on the other hand, improve BMI significantly, reduce cholesterol, combat cancer, and reduce symptoms of IBS, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and psoriasis. When combined with other probiotics such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacteria reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression by alleviating psychological distress and negative thoughts. (Even without drugs and a long suffering therapist!) Bifidobacteria also helps to degrade oxalates, the organic compounds found in spinach, fruits, and nuts that can disrupt calcium levels and cause kidney stones.
The genus Saccharomyces is used in the brewing and baking industries. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (also said to be synonymous with S boullardii) is present in brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast, and yeast extracts such as Marmite. What they call medicinal Saccharomyces boullardii has been used to treat gut infections for more than 30 years, particularly antibiotic-associated diarrhea. It successfully combats bacterial (E.coli), parasite (B. hominis, giardia, amoebiasis) and fungal infections. It also supports the human immune system.
Contraindications: Use it with caution if you are allergic to yeast, have candidiasis, Crohn’s disease, IBS or ulcerative colitis because it may increase the severity of gut inflammation. Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibody (ASCA) levels are often higher in these patients, especially when their condition is chronic. A person whose immune system is compromised may also experience adverse effects. It would also be advisable to consult with your healthcare professional before using therapeutic doses of any kind of yeast. Even beer and kombucha can cause problems for them.
A Beginner’s Guide to Food That Generates Good Gut Feelings
It is best to begin with only a few changes to get familiar with gut terminology. Food that suits all blood types does not contain any disruptive lectins. Cans of cooked dry beans especially, make a good base for stews, soups, and creamy spreads that are rich in fiber-based prebiotics that are also precursors to short chain fatty acids. Best all-rounders are small white haricot beans, cannellini beans, broad beans, and butter beans. Evidently chickpeas only suit Type O secretors, so make your own, using a can of lectin-free beans. Fully rinse the beans and blend them up with oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and chopped onions. Spread this onto a slice of sourdough bread and add a piece of cheese and some pickles (lacto-fermented) for a perfect ‘pro-pre-biotic’ combination.
Marmite is also a probiotic in its own right and contains brewer’s yeast, rich in beneficial Saccharomycetes yeast. (See caution in previous section.) At last, health concerns surrounding MSG have been debunked. A study concluded that MSG’s umami-rich taste in Marmite can trick your brain into feeling satisfied, helping you to abstain from gluttony and food cravings. (Is that why I crave Marmite?) It shuts down ghrelin—the hunger-stimulating hormone and is said to reduce belly blubber. Furthermore, it’s rich supply of B-vitamins, lithium, selenium, and nucleotides give the brain a boost and alleviate fatigue and depression. A tiny smear won’t be effective, so a teaspoon a day is usually the recommended dose. This can be enjoyed in soup, as a spread or used to brighten up your spreads and dips. You can season with miso for extra probiotic oomph. Adding ground-up flaxseeds to these mixtures will provide soluble as well as insoluble fiber and gives them a bulkier texture.
Millet, brown rice, and quinoa are good sources of fiber-rich carbohydrates that are suitable for all blood types. Although lentils are not good for blood type B or O secretors, sprouting them destroys most of the lectins and they make a delicious crunchy addition to any meal. When you pre-soak sprouts in water, add ½ teaspoon of iodine (the plain old cheap one) to a cup of water. We tested the sprouts and found that they absorb the iodine, adding to their medicinal effects. As we know, iodine is a great antimicrobial, so now you can take it as a tasty snack. I even add raw sprouts to omelettes, cooked rice, and soup – raw! You can mix them with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and seasoning. Remember to test for iodine sensitivity by rubbing some onto your wrist beforehand. If it does not burn the skin, you are OK. If the yellow stain goes away quickly, you need more iodine. Add a shake of MSG to food to help with digestion, reduce your sodium intake, and curb the inevitable gassiness. Although controversial, this source of glutamate is part of the chemistry required to help us generate key neurochemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. The full story is available online, courtesy of Townsend Letter.
Molasses contains highly active growth promoters for probiotics. The bitter blackstrap molasses is especially rich in nutrients such as copper, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, phosphorous, pantothenic acid, vitamin E and Inositol. A good pick me up is a teaspoon of molasses stirred into a cup of boiling water. It also contains high concentrations of C6 sugars and other fermentable carbohydrates as well as significant concentrations of B vitamins, especially biotin, all of which enhance fermentation rates. To get the most value out of probiotic tablets and capsules, you can add them to a glass of milk, yoghurt or water with a teaspoon of molasses. Allow it to stand for a day or two. We have done tests with our liquid probiotic supplements and found that the TMA (total microbial activity) doubled overnight when added to a glass of water. We can also add probiotic supplements to yoghurt and mix them with sauerkraut (L plantarum). It is a good way to get more out of expensive supplements. This also helps to introduce probiotics into the entire length of the digestive system.
Apart from saving money, creating gut-efficient food combinations can be great fun for the whole family. The more they enjoy it, the greater the effect. It is important to prepare dishes according to their preferences – and suggestions. We often have our twin grandchildren over for dinner. They love our mayonnaise and tomato sauce – well spiked with probiotics, miso, and marmite sploshed onto everything! Their smoothies are masterpieces of disguise for molasses, yoghurt, flaxseed oil and any leftover fruit. Their gluten-free pizzas are topped with cheese and a tomato paste that is bulked up with last night’s abandoned veggies and seasoned with Marmite. These have become our firm favorites, along with pickles, sourdough bread, homemade cottage cheese, and propolis honey with a slice of apple. A small beginning, but pointing in the right direction! Our kitchen has become a medicine chest in its own right.
Like medicine, food should be well prescribed, dose related, and side effects need to be considered.
References and Resources
https://www.drlaurendeville.com/blood-type-and-your-microbiome/
https://www.geneticlifehacks.com/gut-health-and-your-genes-fut2/
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physiolgenomics.00043.2017
Follow Blood Type Diet To Negate Impact Of Dietary Lectins (curejoy.com)
Everything You Need to Know About Lectins: The Ultimate Guide (precisionnutrition.com)
Is Gluten Really the Cause? – Natural Medicine World (natmedworld.com)
14 Factors that May Reduce Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) – SelfHacked
Section 2 https://www.wakopyrostar.com/blog/post/the-impact-of-endotoxin-on-the-human-body/
Gut Check: Is Bee Propolis Good for Your Gut Microbiome? | Everyday Health
Preventing and treating diseases with iodine | Medical Academic
https://www.medicalacademic.co.za/courses/biofilms-and-antibiotic-resistance/
Section 3 Prebiotics: The 19 Best Prebiotic Foods You Should Eat (healthline.com)
https://www.4yourtype.com/polyflora-blood-type-pre-probiotic/
https://dadamo.com/txt/index.pl?0010
https://www.4yourtype.com/august-2016-dadamo-newsletter/
Probiotic bacteria for better blood sugar (scientificwellness.com)
https://biomesight.com/blog/bifidobacteria-spotlight
7 Proven Benefits and Uses of Manuka Honey (healthline.com)
Asparagus: Nutrition, benefits, and risks (medicalnewstoday.com)
Flaxseed better than a probiotic? (scientificwellness.com)
Lactococcus Lactis Benefits: Top 3 Reasons This Probiotic Works – Performance Lab®
Section 4 Saccharomyces Species – Doctor Fungus (drfungus.org)
Is Brewers Yeast Ok on The Candida Diet? (yeastinfectionadvisor.com)
https://www.leighmerotto.com/blog/resistant-starches-worth-the-hype
Section 5 How Marmite Can Help You Eat Healthier (menshealth.com)
Introduction to blood group eating (naturefresh.co.za)
https://ispub.com/IJMB/5/1/10975
Preventing and treating diseases with iodine | Medical Academic
Published August 12, 2023
About the Author
Sue Visseris the health researcher and product developer for Nature Fresh Health Products. She has developed over 45 products, beginning with her unique Calcium Complex formulation in 1997. With over 25 years of experience in complementary and especially traditional medicine, Sue shares her articles freely with doctors (SA Medical Academic) and other publications. For many years, Sue has given free presentations, radio shows, workshops and has appeared in the two TV series on local herbs (Nature’s Health – 2007 and 2009). She is the author of two books and dozens of research papers and published articles. Sue investigates current health trends, products and modalities on a constant basis and interacts with fellow South Africans at all levels to learn more about their health issues. Artemisia annua and other anti-malarial species, especially Olea Europa/Afra have now come to the fore as treatments for Covid-19. The new Nature Fresh prototypes are having very successful results with viral infections by using herbs that treat malaria. Contact: sue@naturefresh.co.za ; info@naturefresh.co.za