“The naturopathic degree has given me freedom. It’s a license to think any thought possible. To me, that constitutes being a doctor.”
Laying the groundwork to become an ND
Despite his father’s hopes of him becoming a medical doctor to escape the scrutiny he had endured in his own career, Dr. Peter D’Adamo pursued his passion as a naturopathic doctor. Naturopathic medicine was already his way of life and he was determined to continue the research his father had initiated on personalized, blood-type based dietary parameters.
Bastyr as a springboard
Dr. D’Adamo credits Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington for the extensive and hands-on naturopathic medical education that led to his success. “I learned how to chase down a concept, how to navigate scientific literature and how to perform my own versions of meta-analysis.” The faculty encouraged his interest in continuing to research the relationship between blood type and diets.
“To this day, that’s what I enjoy most – finding cyclical, scientific references to the ideas found in traditional sources, and giving a different type of imprimatur to what naturopathic doctors of earlier generations were doing.”
Finding fulfillment as an ND
Dr. D’Adamo is a prolific author of the 1996 New York Times Bestseller “Eat Right 4 Your Type” which was followed by a series of books on the connections between blood type and many of the nation’s most serious health problems, including diabetes, cancer and heart disease. In 2007, he published “The GenoType Diet,” offering a therapeutic series of diets for six different genotypes. Building on blood type, the book explores the concept of epigenetics – the way in which our genes respond to our environment and create differences that we then pass along to our children. Dr. D’Adamo also developed a software program that generates a personalized, unique diet for each of his patients. Dr. D’Adamo is considered a world expert in glycobiology, principally the ABO (ABH) blood groups and the secretor (FUT2) polymorphisms. He is also the founder of the Institute for Human Individuality (IfHI) which was developed to promote the education and research in the expanding fields of human nutrigenomics and epigenetics
Dr. D’Adamo is a distinguished professor of clinical sciences at the University of Bridgeport School of Naturopathic Medicine (UBSNM) in Bridgeport, CT where he directs the Center of Excellence in Generative Medicine (COE). In addition, he is an adjunct clinical professor for both the Sonoran University of Health Sciences (Sonoran University) in Tempe AZ, and the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, OR. His current projects incorporate his love of computer programming and knowledge of genetics and biochemistry. Many of his software tools are used at the COE as part of basic patient care.
In his spare time, Dr. D’Adamo enjoys a variety of hobbies including reading about ancient history, medical software, martial arts (Tai Chi and Tang Soo Do), repairing antique clocks, woodworking and cabinetry, sailing and vintage Volkswagen restoration.
Advice for aspiring NDs
Naturopathic medicine is not for everyone but “if you’re not averse to trying harder in response to futility, if you’re not uncomfortable with failure, and you know that it accompanies any first effort, then this is a good profession for you.”
Furthermore, you need to be a flexible and continuous learner. A successful ND needs to be able to balance the demands of practicing both medicine and business.
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