How to gain health and lose weight, food combining and ABO blood type eating

1. Food combining &
ABO blood type eating –
how to gain health & lose
weight in 3 weeks or less
© Ben Rockefeller 2023
Luka, Šipan, 13 September 2023

2. Disclaimer
• This presentation is not intended to diagnose,
prevent, treat, or cure any illness, chronic or acute.
• If you have a medical condition, see a medical
doctor.
• I am not a medical doctor.

3. Food for thought
“One man’s food can be another man’s poison.”
- Lucretius, 94-55 BC
“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to
the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh, contemporary Buddhist monk
« Dead doctors don’t lie. »
- Dr. Joel Wallach, ND

4. Food combining - outline
• history & (brief) bibliography
• in a nutshell (briefly)
• digestion – in brief
• details
• your questions ?

5. Food combining - bibliography
Health Via Food, Dr. William Howard Hay MD, 1929
Food Combining Made Easy, Dr. Herbert Shelton MD,
1953
Die Haysche Trennkost, Drs. Ludwig & Ilse Walb, 1972
Food Combining for Health: The Original Hay Diet,
Doris Grant and Jean Joice, 1984
The Complete Book of Food Combining,
Kathryn Marsden, 2005 …

6. Food combining – why ?
•to optimize digestion, excreting waste, and absorbing
nutrients (from food processed in a 10 meter long tube),
•enzymes (amylase, pepsin, lipase, …),
environment (pH low or high), and organs (mouth,
stomach, small intestines, …),
•different relative speeds (fastest are melons, then
sweet fruit, then citrus fruit, then vegetables, starch,
protein, and lipids the slowest to be digested).
Dr. Shelton measured this.

7. Briefly - advice
1. Separate (do not combine) starch with protein at the
same meal.
2. Drink water (or soup) at least 10-15 minutes before the
meal and none (or little wine) with the meal.
3. Eat fruit, if any, at the start of the meal (not at the end).
4. Eat dessert (cake, pie, …) on an empty stomach (or
between meals).

8. What is “starch” ?
• bread
• potatoes
• pasta
• rice
• couscous
• grains (wheat, oats, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, …)
• pulses (legumes), lentils, beans, chickpeas, dried
peas, …

9. What is (animal) “protein” ?
• beef, lamb, venison, …
• fish
• turkey
• chicken
• eggs
• cheese, milk, yogurt (dairy)

10. Why does this work ?
Protein requires an acidic medium
(pH < 7) and the enzyme pepsin (HCl)
in the stomach, …
Starch requires an alkaline medium
(pH > 7) and the enzyme amylase
(ptyalin) in the small intestine (and in
the saliva), …
Starch and protein can interfere with
each other, causing the partly digested
starch to ferment and the protein to
putrefy and the mass to accumulate.

11. What to combine with protein?
•vegetables, green or non-starchy, raw or cooked,
(spinach, kale, broccoli, parsley, parsnips, onions, …)
•salads (mixes of raw vegetables, lemon, olive oil)
•mushrooms
•oils (olive, flax, hemp, coco, …)
•nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamia, …)
•seeds (hemp, pumpkin, flax, chia, …)
•herbs & spices (garlic, cayenne, parsley, ginger, salt, …)

12. Examples of combinations
suggested to be avoided
•eggs with toast, or eggs with potatoes or beans, …
•meat with potatoes, or meat with bread, …
•fish with rice, …
•chicken with potatoes, chicken with couscous, …
Can you think of any others?

13. Healthy combinations
•eggs with spinach (or veg., herbs, spices, or nuts),
•meat with broccoli (or veg., herbs, spices, or nuts),
•chicken (or turkey) with onion (or veg., herbs,
spices, or nuts),
•soy with vegetables (vegan),
•rice with beans (vegan).
Can you think of any others?

14. Food combining – how to start?
• Drink water or soup & stop at least 15 minutes before meal.
• At this meal, do I want to eat protein, such as fish, meat, or
egs, or do I want to eat starch, such as potato, bread, or
rice (if you have a choice)?
• Eat fruit on an empty stomach, for example at the beginning
of the meal. Eat dessert at least an hour or two after the meal.
• Eat vegetables before the meat, fish, chicken, or eggs.
• Eat nuts or seeds at the end of the meal, except small
amounts of healthy oils with the vegetables or possibly a few
nuts with the fruit (or mixed with a smoothie).

15. Food combining – traveling,
snacking, and eating out
• An apple or two, a boiled egg or two, and a handful of nuts
or two – could be eaten in this sequence for proper food
combining, while sailing, hiking, or traveling for the day.
• Many restaurants will substitute a salad or green vegetable
for potatoes or rice or bread, if you ask them, possibly for a
higher price.

16. Speed of digestion
ref. Dr. Shelton
•Melons (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon,…),
•Sweet fruits (banana, mango, fig, plum, papaya, date, carob, raisins, dried fruit,
persimmon, …),
•Sub-acid fruits (blueberry, cherry, apple, pear, apricot, grape, peach, raspberry,
cherimoya, …),
•Acid fruits (grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, …),
•Green and other non-starchy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, …),
•Starch (bread, potatoes, pasta, grains, cereals, rice, chickpeas, beans, peas, pumpkin,
raw carrots, beets, artichoke, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, …),
•Protein (meat, eggs, cheese, fish, chicken, soya, …),
•Lipids (nuts, oils, and seeds).

17. What do the critics say ?
1. This is too complicated. (Maybe, but starch versus protein, liquids to start, and fruit/dessert
on an empty stomach – is this too complicated ?)
2. People have been eating starch and protein together for a long time. Why isn’t everybody
becoming sick ? (Look around.)
3. Almost every food, such as broccoli or beans, contains some protein and some starch.
Separating them is not possible nor desirable. (animal protein and %)
4. Results are due to eating more vegetables and fruits and changing to whole foods.
5. The pancreas secretes amylase, protease, and lipase (digestive enzymes) at the same time.
You can multi-task, digesting fruits, proteins, and starch at the same time, so separating
fruits, protein, and starch is not necessary. (The goal is complete, optimal digestion.)
6. Nobody has ever done a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, nor
any clinical trial of this, so there is no evidence for this, and therefore it is not scientific.
7. “Better digestion” cannot be objectively measured, so why bother with this ? (See Bristol
stool test)
8. If this is true, why did I not learn this in school?

18. Food combining - method
•simple and easy to apply, if there is first a déclic
•harmless (non-toxic), effective, and cheap
•requires no change to what you eat now, but merely a
change to how you compose each meal (either starch or
protein)
•does not require you to count calories nor to weigh
portions
•works, but not for everybody (uncertainty).

19. Take home message –
suggestion – food combining
1. Separate (do not combine) starch and (animal)
protein at the same meal.
2. Drink water (or eat soup) at least 10-15 before the
meal and none with the meal.
3. Eat fruit (or dessert) on an empty stomach (not at the
end of the meal).

20. Your questions about
food combining ?
FAQ
time between a protein meal and a starch meal ?
results to hope for, if I do this ?
sugar ? dessert ?
fats ? alcohol ?
dairy ? pulses (legumes) ?
sandwiches ?
eating out at a restaurant or at an event (catering)?
broccoli,

21. ABO blood type eating - why?
• to optimize digestion
• to absorb more nutrients and to excrete less waste
•to start to recognize biochemical individuality
• to relieve constipation, bloating, excess gas, stomach
pains or indigestion after a meal
• to keep the blood thin

22. Blood type eating -
bibliography
Eat Right 4 Your Type, Dr. Peter D’Adamo ND, 1996
Dr. Mozzi's diet. Blood types and food combinations, Dr.
Pierro Mozzi MD, 2017
Blood Types, Body Types And You, Dr. Joe Christiano, 2008
“History of lectins …”, Glycobiology, vol. 14, nr. 11, 2004

23. Blood type eating - outline
• history
• briefly
• What is the blood type (ABO) ?
• What are lectins and antigens ?
• details by blood type (O, A, B, AB) and uncertainty
• FAQ and conclusion

24. Blood typing - history
•botched blood transfusions
•Dr. Karl Landsteiner, Vienna AT, 1901
•William C. Boyd, Boston University US and Karl O.
Renkonen FI, human blood type specificity of lectins
(hemagglutinins), 1940s
•Lima bean (Phaseolus limensis) extracts thicken blood type
A red blood cells (but not blood type B or O cells).
•Asparagus pea (Lotus tetragonolobus) extracts thicken blood
type O red blood cells specifically.

25. Blood type eating - history
• These ideas were first published in 1996 by Dr. Peter D’Adamo
ND, a naturopathic physician, in his book Eat Right 4 Your Type.
• Dr. D’Adamo continued the research of his father, Dr. James
D’Adamo, also a naturopathic physician, who had worked in
mountain health spas in Germany and Switzerland in the 1960s.
• After surgery and for their health, people were sent to these spas,
where they enjoyed clean mountain air and fresh vegetarian food.
• The father observed that some recovered their health, while some
clearly did not. When he went to his files, he found the pattern
that most of those who did not recover had blood type O.

26. Briefly – why does this work?
1. lectins,
2. selective reaction between a specific food (and its lectins)
and blood type causes the blood to thicken slightly, to
thin slightly, or has no effect on blood viscosity,
3. So certain foods for certain blood types are to be
avoided, to be beneficially consumed, or are neutral.
Individual results may vary slightly,
4. type O and stomach acidity (protein),
5. type O and alkaline phosphatase (nuts & seeds).

27. What are lectins?
• A lectin is a protein with a “sweet tooth” for blood type sugar. Lectins are made by living
organisms, most of all by legumes (beans), grains, vegetables, and seafood. About 1 to 5
% of ingested dietary lectins are absorbed into the blood stream. Lectins tend to attach to
carbohydrates, mainly sugars, specifically blood type sugars. Essentially, lectins are
present in most of the foods that we eat. Because lectins are similar in shape to certain
antibodies, they can behave in a similar way, causing potentially dangerous reactions with
our blood type antigens — depending on one's blood type.
• Also known as hemagglutinins, lectins have been known since the 19th century when ricin
was isolated. They reduce nutrient absorption and can cause indigestion, bloating, or gas
for many people.
• Many lectins are inflammatory, immunotoxic, neurotoxic and cytotoxic. Certain lectins
may also increase blood viscosity, interfere with gene expression and disrupt endocrine
function. (ref. Dr. Mercola)
• Improperly prepared raw grains, dairy, and legumes, such as peanuts and soybeans, are
high in lectins. Cooking, soaking, or fermenting may or may not reduce lectin content.

28. What are antigens?
• An antigen is a sugar molecule found inside red blood cells. It can
stimulate the production of an antibody (an immune response).
Antigens are also found in toxins, bacteria, fungi, foreign blood
cells, and the cells of transplanted organs.
• The molecule which determines your blood type is an antigen.
Outside of you, it is treated as ‘other’ by a person of another blood
type who carries an antibody against it. The particular antigens
that make a person blood type A, B, AB or O are not limited to
humans nor limited to blood. These antigens are also found on
the tongue, lungs, stomach lining, intestines, pancreas, liver,
ovary, prostate, and in all secretions.

29. Why thin the blood (slightly)?
• The thicker the blood, the harder the heart pumps to move it
around the body and the more likely it is to form clots inside
arteries and veins.
• to prevent blood clots,
• to let the blood flow everywhere, bringing oxygen to as many
cells as possible,
• to distribute nutrients (minerals and vitamins) everywhere.

30. Blood type O (D’Adamo)
• meat-eater (“hunter”)
• “strong, self-reliant, leader”,
• 40-45 % of population in most countries (EU …),
• beneficial - meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices,
• advised to avoid wheat, grains, beans, legumes, dairy, corn,
cabbage,
• benefits from salt, kelp, liver, red meat, kale, broccoli, spinach,
• vitamins B (6
,9
,12
) and K, iodine, calcium, licorice,
• intense, strenuous exercise, such as weight lifting, running, cycling,
swimming, or martial arts.

31. Blood type A (D’Adamo)
• vegetarian (“cultivator”)
• “settled, co-operative, orderly”,
• 35-40 % of population in most countries,
• beneficial - vegetables, tofu, seafood, grains, beans, legumes, fruit,
• advises avoiding red meat, dairy, wheat, bananas, kidney beans, lima
beans,
• benefits from olive oil, flax oil, pineapple,
• vitamins B, C, and E, hawthorn, milk thistle, garlic, onion,
• calming, centering exercise, such as yoga or tai chi.

32. Blood type B (D’Adamo)
• balanced omnivore (“nomad”)
• “balanced, flexible, creative”,
• 10-20 % of population in most countries (CN = 20 %),
• beneficial - meat (but not chicken), dairy, grains, beans, legumes,
vegetables, fruit,
• advises avoiding chicken, corn, lentils, peanuts, sesame seeds,
buckwheat, wheat,
• benefits from greens, eggs, venison, liver, licorice,
• magnesium (greens), licorice, ginkgo, green tea,
• moderate physical exercise, such as hiking, biking, tennis, or
swimming.

33. Blood type AB (D’Adamo)
• mixed diet in moderation (“enigma”)
• “rare, charismatic, mysterious”,
• 4-6 % of population in most countries,
• beneficial - tofu, certain seafood, certain dairy, green vegetables, kelp,
pineapple,
• advises avoiding red meat, kidney beans, lima beans, seeds, corn,
buckwheat, wheat,
• benefits from cod, sardine, feta, goat cheese, olive oil, walnuts,
soybeans, oatmeal, millet, spelt, beets, broccoli, sweet potato, …,
• vitamin C, hawthorn, milk thistle, garlic, onion,
• yoga, tai chi, hiking, cycling, tennis.

34. Other personal typing systems
• body morphology (ectomorph, mesomorph,
endomorph) in Western naturopathy,
• doshas in Ayurveda (Vata, Kappa, Pitta),
• constitutions in ancient Chinese medicine, hot or
cold, dry or wet
• temperaments/Hippocrates (sanguine, choleric,
melancholic, phlegmatic),
• metabolic typing (Dr. Mercola and others)

35. Blood type eating – method -
how to try it – for 1-3 weeks
1. Know or find out your own blood type (O, A, B, AB).
2. Depending on your blood type and the specific food,
skip all foods to be avoided. (Specifically, cut dairy and
wheat [O, A].)
3. Choose to eat only foods that are either beneficial or
neutral.
4. Keep a log (or not).
5. If you feel better in 1-3 weeks, why stop?

36. What do the critics say ?
1. This is too restrictive (to be practical). What do you value more ?
2. Blood type eating has been “debunked” by a study by Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy, a
professor and researcher at the University of Toronto. (Greger, vegans, study design)
3. There are no proven relationships between lectins and the molecules that determine
blood type. (Research Andrew Weil, Richard Boyd, Martin Nachbar, and thesis)
4. If you’re seeing results, it is because you are eating better (more vegetables and fruits)
– not because of your blood type. (Wikipedia denounces eating according to your
blood type.)
5. “Nobody has ever done a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.”
6. “Better digestion” cannot be objectively measured, so why bother with this ? (See
Bristol stool test.)
7. If this is true, why have we not heard of this before?
8. “I never learned this in medical school, so this can’t be true.”

37. Take home message
1. Certain proteins, called lectins, are found in many
foods.
2. The reaction between the specific food and the blood
type causes the blood to thicken slightly, to thin
slightly, or to stay constant in viscosity, depending on
the specific blood type and the specific food.
3. Certain foods for certain blood types are therefore to
be avoided, to be beneficially consumed, or are
neutral. Individual results may vary slightly.

39. What is Happiness ?
Health
AND (some) pleasure (that you truly enjoy)
AND (some) inner truth (inner peace/light) not illusions
= Happiness

40. After blood type eating …
The most common food intolerances and sensitivities:
• Wheat bran and wheat-based breakfast cereals, corn, bread, pasta, cakes, pastry, …
• Food additives (E621, E250, E110, E102, …),
• Cow’s dairy,
• Sugar and sugary foods,
• Eggs,
• “Nightshades” (aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes, paprika),
• Coffee, chocolate, black tea, caffeinated drinks, alcohol
• Soybeans, peanuts,
• Shellfish.

41. You have nothing to lose
but your …
•Ill health,
•Fatigue,
•Chronic illness.

42. Context
• Epidemic of chronic illness and obesity
• Widespread disenchantment with the medical-
industrial complex, their model, methods and products
• A jungle (or a desert) of reliable information and
advice about health and how to maintain it yourself

43. Food combining – Dr. Hay
1. “Vegetables, salads, and fruits should make up most of the
food consumed.”
2. “Proteins, starches, and fats should be eaten in small
quantities.”
3. “Wait four to four and a half hours between starch and
protein meals.”
…

44. Speed of digestion
ref. Dr. Shelton
•Melons (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon,…),
•Sweet fruits (banana, mango, fig, plum, papaya, date, carob, raisins, dried fruit,
persimmon, …),
•Sub-acid fruits (blueberry, cherry, apple, pear, apricot, grape, peach, raspberry,
cherimoya, …),
•Acid fruits (grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, …),
•Green and other non-starchy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, kale, chard, …),
•Starch (bread, potatoes, pasta, grains, cereals, rice, chickpeas, beans, peas, pumpkin,
raw carrots, beets, artichoke, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, …),
•Protein (meat, eggs, cheese, fish, chicken, soya, …),
•Lipids (nuts, oils, and seeds).