So recently people in my immediate vicinity have been raving about how much better they feel and how much weight they’ve lost (inadvertently, I might add…no effort involved at all!) since starting a diet based on their blood type.
I’m embarrassed to say I don’t even know the blood type I have coursing through my veins, nor that of my two precious sons, nor even my lovely husband. However, the Blood Type Diet does sound incredibly intriguing; so much so that I have decided I may just have to find out our blood types and give it a whirl in the next few months. Not sure, but suspiciously curious.
Here’s what the diet consists of in a nutshell:
A naturopathic doctor named Peter D’Adamo created a diet aimed at specifically targeting health issues and digestion issues for your specific blood type. The diet is based on intensive research about how each blood type developed and how the anthropological origins of each caused specific antibodies to develop, making digestion difficult for certain foods and food groups.
There are four specific blood types. These are: A, B, AB and O. According to D’Adamo, health problems arise when specific proteins, called lectins, which are found in all foods, enter the blood stream and bind to red blood cells. The process is known as agglutination. A whole host of health problems such as headaches, diarrhea, liver disease, kidney problems, stomach pains and so on can be traced to this condition.
In order to avoid agglutination, people need to stick to the types of foods, that is, meat, vegetables, grains, dairy and so on, that react best with their blood type. The research is based on the evolution of blood types; for example, Type O is the oldest and was developed in largely meat eating people. Type A came next, and at this point, humans had begun to be agriculturalists and were consuming many more vegetables. Type B was later and included more dairy products and type AB, still rare today, is a complex blood type combining many different types of dietary needs.
Apparently, the other major benefit of sticking to the foods that are right for your blood type will allow you to get down (or up) to the weight you need to be at to maintain optimum health and well being.
For more on this topic, please see the following link:
http://www.diet.com/g/blood-type-diet
Aimee Boyle lives and works in CT. She is a regular contributor to EmpowHER.