RA and the Blood Type Diet

I was in the prime of my life, physically fit, eating nutritiously, doing everything I thought would keep me healthy for years to come. Then just like that I'm hit with rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis comes in various forms and although it is more common among women it affects hundreds of thousands of men as well. It seems like every other commercial on tv is about arthritis. Well I guess this will be my commercial.

I wrote about my condition before and the amazing results I was able to achieve by using Chinese herbal remedies. While I was able to do just about all the activities I wanted I was still only 95% back to normal. This was great but did not stop me from looking for more information about my condition and how I can do better. Then I hear about this new (new to me) diet from a friend that's designed specifically for your blood type. Now I'm 5"11 and weigh 175 lbs, not over weight and not looking to lose it. This is something else.

The Blood Type Diet is based on ancestral diets. Basically the type of food your blood type ancestors ate. Now this started making perfect sense to me because how else can you explain why some people can eat one thing and have no weight change and another person eat the same thing and the same amount and gain weight. Your probably thinking because their body chemistry, genetics, metabolism, or somewhere along those lines right? Well that's exactly right!

Now for me, I am blood type O positive. I learned that whole grains like wheat, corn and barley are not the best for me. This hit me right between the eyes because every morning I would have my bowl of whole grain cereal thinking I was doing my body good when I was actually adding to the inflammatory responses in my blood. I'm getting really interested at this point. I read on and discover one of my favorite meats is off limits as well, pork. I love my swine. Carnitas, bacon, pork chops, all that good stuff is not good for me. Well not if I want to reduce my inflammation. Turtle is also on the avoid list, who cares, I love my pig. Man this was looking like it was going to be hard to stick to this diet. The list of foods to avoid goes on, almost all dairy products, fish is good but a few are bad, most oils are bad but my favorites are good (relief), Some nuts, some beans, and a lot of my commonly used veggies I'm to avoid as well. This diet breaks it all down for each blood type, secretors and non-secretors, what herbs to use, exercise routines, supplements, and it even gives you recipes and daily meal plans to help you get results.

The books I discovered to be the best are "Eat Right For Your Blood Type" which you can find anywhere and another specifically for arthritis sufferers called "Arthritis: Fight It with the Blood Type Diet". These books are an interesting read and easy to digest. Just remember to always consult your physician before trying any kind of diet or exercise routine and never settle when it comes to your health!