North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["kieran or donna" <redherring@tnaccess.com>]

Rivka,

     My first thought was that they are made from wheat flour so I can't eat them, and second thought is that they probably have so much added sugar that I wouldn't WANT to eat them anyway. 

    My third thought was that according to the Blood Type Diet, some people aren't supposed to eat pomegranates.  That's something I've never seen mentioned here, is that diet.  I find his books interesting whenever I pick them up and read his theories, till I get to the actual food lists.  That's when the smoke starts coming out of my ears.  The books are so full of botanical errors that I tend to doubt anything the guy says.  I kind of suspect that Dr. D'Adamo has merely listed enough potential allergens to avoid that a lot of people are going to feel better if they try it.  I have met others initially skeptical who have heard so many success stories that they now recommend the diet.  If you haven't come across his books, you should have a look, if only to acquire the notion that plants contain toxic lectins that can affect animals that eat them.  I know this much is true because in looking up info on beans, I read about toxic lectins in exotic species of beans that can be removed by prolonged cooking, leaching, etc.  However, here are some of my objections to his diet:

 

Blood type O is told that some Brassica oleracea varieties are beneficial, some should be avoided.  These are all the same species.  Likewise, one type is told turnips are beneficial, chinese cabbage bad.  Same species.  They cross in my garden, and I save the seeds as the crosses are milder and tenderer than turnip greens but a lot hardier than chinese cabbage. 

    Type B is told to avoid corn and wheat because they act as insulin mimics and make people gain weight.  This means that if I just fed more of them to my husband that we might finally be able to get the poor guy up over 150 lbs. 

    The constant inclusion of "copper bean" drives me wild.  To my knowlege, no such thing exists, and I know a lot about beans!  However, to his credit, his weird list of good and bad beans for type O exactly fits the experiences of a type O friend who can eat some beans but not others.  Unfortunately the author never gives any rule of thumb so that I who grow and eat many heirloom beans with names like "Margaret Best's White Greasy" and "Hickler Stick" and "USDA # 248509" have no idea whether these are really good for me or really bad for me!  I do know that white beans are more prone to disease in cold soils than other beans, while purple beans are the most cold hardy.  It seems likely that the red, black, and brown colors represent chemical protectants that could have other actions in the body of those who eat them.  Lima beans, for example, have more toxins in colored beans than in white ones. 

    By the time you get to his 2nd or 3rd book, you will notice that he tells all 4 blood types to avoid wheat.  (Incidentally, from book 1 onward he tells us all to avoid pork, with no explanation.  Funny thing that the Okinawans who eat a diet based on pork live longer than anyone else on earth.)  He tells me, type O, to avoid wheat, which I do faithfully, but also says I can eat spelt and Ezekial bread.  He appears to be unaware that there is something called "Celiac Disease" which requires avoiding ALL gluten containing grains.  

    Now I'd like ya'lls opinion sometime on his list of fruits.  I haven't sat down and gone through the lists of fruits like I have the vegetables and grains.  But I'll bet that if a few of you pick up a secondhand copy of one of Dr. Adamo's books for some winter reading, that you'll have some comments to make on his fruit lists.  Either you'll think they are rubbish or you'll find that some friend's blood type and experiences fit his lists.  I find his notions interesting, even if he doesn't seem to know a damned thing about plants.      Donna