BTD vs Moderation

Over the years, I've had a lot of people ask me what the "Blood Type Diet" is or why we should have to avoid certain foods in order to be healthy.

There are books on the topic that I always advise people to read. Furthermore, I share BTD advice with those of my clients who are most likely to follow it. For me however, I find that following a strict Blood Type O Secretor Diet gives me optimum performance in sport, boosts my metabolism, gives me sharper mental acuity and reduces minor ailments in my skin and digestive system.

For the last few months, I decided to buy into the "everything in moderation" fad. It lead me to avoid all the foods I avoided during my healthier phase and reduce intake of the good foods I used to eat in abundance. Could it be that the "moderation" brigade" had a point? A glass here and there and a few slices every other day wouldn't make a difference?

The answer come in the form of 3 months of increasing discomfort.

The worst part about deviating from my former diet over the last 3 months was constantly having to deal with aches and pains, bloating and allergic reactions. Taking a little bit of the food I was meant to avoid over a period of time and a little less of the food I was meant to thrive on made me feel like Superman with a coin sized sliver of Kryptonite in his pocket.

Thankfully, after two weeks back on the BTD, there were a number of things I noticed clear up right away:

Dandruff and itchy, dry skin (gone)
Stamina and athletic performance (increased vastly)
Blood pressure (reduced - probably as a result of improved exercise and no salty processed foods)
Vision (much less blur at night - probably due to more Vitamin A and more water intake)
Intestinal Upset (constant for 3 months, this went away in three days)
Intestinal Gas (same as above)
Dark toe nails (vastly improved)
Ulcers in mouth (there for 3 months, now suddenly gone)
Stuffy, runny nose and sneezing (off and on for 3 months, it is now completely gone)
Sensitivity to cold (gone)
Burning soreness in colon and surrounding areas (gone)
Inflamed, stiff and painful joints. Knees, feet, ankles, shoulder and vertebrae in particular (80% gone)
Sluggishness and lack of energy during day. Dizzyness after meals. (gone

As you can see from the above, I could have generally diagnosed myself with gout, arthritis, eczema, IBS, the common cold and candida. I could have taken pain killers, decongestants and anti-histamines. Instead, I cut out all processed flour products, all dairy, beer, and incompatible fruits like apples and organges. As a result, two weeks later, I feel great and can easily get back into my work out routine.

I will officially put paid to "everything in moderation". Back to basics for me: lot's of good things in abundance (for my blood type that is a lot of fresh leafy vegetables, colourful veg like carrots and brocolli, fish and lean meat) and avoiding certain foods like (like white potatoes, bread, corn and dairy)