From: Dr Arpad Pusztai
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2001 6:02 PM
To: Lynne Schuler and Cheryl Owen

Subject: Dr. D'Adamo's Books

Dear Lynne and Cheryl,

We have been back from ----- for a while but have been busy with family and other matters and could not find enough time to write to you.

As I promised I tried to read the book, Live Right For Your Type, but it irritated me so much that I could not do a proper job of it.

As you may imagine I tried some of the things in the book which would personally concern me and my blood type. I am not sure whether I told you that I am AB and while I worked at the Lister in London on the chemistry of human blood group-specific substances I gave blood every day because there was nobody else of this blood group in the Institute's staff.

I have soon come to the conclusion that any little science that may have been in the first two D'Adamo's books it has vanished by the time he came to this one. You know how I feel about and judge the scientific base of the eating and cooking business vis-a-vis blood group types but in this one he has taken the scientific credibility to breaking point.

I started to read the book with the first Chapter but after I found that not very close to me I thought I should have have a look from p. 287. Here are the facts:

• I have H. pylori and high stomach acidity.  My cholesterol level is not too high for my age (over 71).
• I am not introverted, neither alienated and not depressive (though I had lots of reasons to feel depressive)
• Practically the whole page on 289 is not right for me. I like both caffeine and alcohol (good wine) but without any major consequences. I like red meat (my steaks are well-liked by myself and my family)
• In contrast to D'Adamo my sense of smell is fantastic. It is practically the only sense which works as well now as in my younger days (I am a chemist by training)
• I do not internalize my emotions and have a tendency to blow up. I never hold a grudge though (not even against people who had done me harm)
• I have no sweet tooth and no need for glutamine.

I do not want to go on but my wife had a few chuckles over the passage on food polyamines. As most people of his type, D'Adamo commits all the mistakes characteristic of people who know a little but whose knowledge is superficial. He does not fully understand the difference in physiological responses between polyamines and biogenic amines. As all cells contain polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) without which they cannot function, most cells contain very little biogenic amines and even then only under specified conditions. It is almost impossible to avoid the daily intake of large amounts of polyamines.

Susan has worked on formulating low polyamine diets for cancer sufferers which could be used together with ODC inhibitory cancer drugs because polyamines are essential for cell proliferation and the targeted reduction of the polyamine supply to tumour cells is one of the main avenues of cancer therapy.

In contrast, it is not difficult to avoid the intake of large amounts of biogenic amines. One must avoid certain types of foods which are rich in these (cheese, not fresh fish, some types of sausages, etc).

I am sure, the book will be snapped up by people with an affinity for health fads but it contains so little that is scientifically valid that it will be best not to buy and read it. I hope you will not mind this frankness.

Susan is trying to send you some of our spare books on polyamines and lectins.

Best regards Arpad

Ps. Please, come to Copenhagen in May, Susan will almost certainly give a talk on the D'Adamo books.

Dear Cheryl, Thanks for sending the book to us. I shall be reading it with interest.

However, even a cursory look gave me jolt because in the text it said that "polyamines are part of a class of proteins called biogenic amines". It is a very inauspicious start. All the same I shall read it and come back to you.

Best regards for meanwhile

Arpad

Dear Cheryl & Lynne,

This is just to let you know that the Encyclopedia has safely arrived. Apparently the US mail service is functioning well even under the conditions which exist now.

Obviously, D'Adamo is squeezing the last bits of commercial value out of this business. So far what I have seen is the same as before, just the serving up is different. I shall come back to you later.

Susan has written a review sometime ago on polyamines - we shall try to send it to you together with some of our EU books (hopefully, some of them are on their way).

Best regards

Arpad