On Fri, 24 Apr 1998, EllaLane wrote:

> Todd,
> Some questions concerning the blood type/lectin theory.  1.  Doesn't
> chimpanzees have the same ABO system as humans, so the evolutionary theory of
> Type A, B, and AB happening later come into question?

Yes, they do, but we are not the descendants of chimpanzees.
They are as recent as we are.  Anyway, I don't think the point is
that the A and B genes appeared out of nowhere, but it is very
clear from paleoanthropological studies that in *humans* the O
type was the only game in town until 35K years ago, at the
earliest, when the A type appeared.  And it didn't *proliferate*
until about 10 or 15K years ago.

> 2.  D'adamo does not
> mention anything concerning celiac disease in his book (at least from my quick
> overview), and is that not suspected of causing autoimmune disorders due to
> gluten (foreign protein) assimilation?  Which also brings to question the
> blood type groups that he says are immune to wheat and the other grains that
> contain gluten,  who have celiac responses?

I think there is some information about celiac disease at his web
site, but I'd have to check. Wheat is on the "avoid" list for
types O, A, and B.  According to his theory, then, only type AB
can tolerate the stuff.  This is the rarest type, representing
only about 4% of the population.  It is also the most recent
blood type, appearing only about 900 years ago.

> 3.  Has there been a survey to
> identify any hunter/gatherer groups that have any blood types other than Type
> O?
> I know these questions are probably very rudimentary, but these would help
> clarify issues concerning the paleo lifestyle for alot of us who don't have on
> hand expertise materiel.

As far as I have been able to find out, by looking through some
of D'Adamo's source material, all known h/g groups are type O.
This is mainly because they tend to be isolated populations that
have stayed put since before the other blood types proliferated.

I should mention that there is one other "objective" measure that
D'Adamo uses.  I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but here it
is.

        There is also a more direct scientific barometer that can
        be used to measure the presence of lectins in your
        system.  The barometer is a simple urine test called the
        Indican Scale.  The Indican Scale measures a factor
        called bowel putrefaction.  When the liver and intestines
        don't properly metabolize proteins, they produce toxic
        by-products called indols.  The level of these toxic
        by-products is shown on the Indican Scale.

As I say, I don't know what to think about this, because I've
never heard of it.  The "indols" are also called "polyamines" and
I have seen a fair amount of research concerning the health
(especially cancer) implications of polyamines.  At any rate, if
this is correct there is an objective way to determine how well
food is being digested.

Todd Moody
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