Blood Types and Nutrition
"Your blood type refers to your internal chemistry and is the key that unlocks the mysteries of disease, longevity, fitness, and emotional strength," states Dr. Peter D'Adamo in his book, Eat Right for Your Type (G.P. Putnam's Sons, NY). "In fact, what foods we absorb well and how our bodies handle stress differ with each blood type."
Interest in this approach began more than 40 years ago when Dr. James D'Adamo, a naturopath, observed differences in his patients who had returned from spas where healthy, nutritious, low-calorie diets were consumed by everyone.
In spite of the consistent healthy diet, he noticed that some people lost weight, some stayed the same, and some even gained weight. This intrigued him so he began to conduct more observations in his own practice and noticed a correlation between foods, weight gain or loss, and the blood type of the individual patient.
"Most food affect the blood of each blood types in different ways."
Dr. James D'Adamo's son Dr. Peter D'Adamo continued this work and scrutinized the effect of foods on blood under the microscope. Sure enough, most foods affected the blood of different blood types in different ways. Yet, each food affected the same blood type in the same way each time, so there was consistency among the blood types.
To understand why there is a difference in each blood type's response to food it is necessary to understand how the food is processed and absorbed by the body.
"You are chemically suited to eat certain foods."
For example, we have isolated that schizophrenia is largely linked to Blood Type O. Genetic predisposition to alcoholism runs in Blood Type A. There is continuous on-going research, but links are being identified.
You can see manifestations of this clumping in the emotions: depression in Blood Type O, for instance. Often they are not eating enough protein, and when they start eating more protein they begin to feel much better. Most notably, mental functioning improves, whether on or off medication.
"Wheat is highly inflammatory."
"Research is showing that wheat is highly inflammatory. It can cause changes in brain chemistry. In fact in Alzheimer's Disease, we are finding that there may be a connection with wheat and memory loss; this is due to an inflammation in the brain causing the brain to swell, changing brain chemistry.”
In our culture wheat is so rampant, it is a culprit. Blood Types O and B are most sensitive to wheat. Blood Type A and Blood Type AB less so, unless an AB manifests more as a B, then the person would be more sensitive to wheat.
Food sensitivity and food allergies are two completely different things.
Food sensitivity is a biochemical reaction to a food which can change the emotional state or the physical state, an example would be water retention and bloating. Whereas an allergy is a physical reaction, such as breaking out in hives, the throat closing up or being unable to breath. An allergy is more noticeable, while a food sensitivity is more subtle."
The basic diet of the 4 blood types: A, AB, B, and O
Blood Type O
The O blood type was the first type to evolve and was prevalent in the stone-age period. Here the diet was high in red meat and virtually void of grains and dairy. This hardy digestive tract has been passed on from one generation to another. As a result, the type O thrives on a meat-eating diet. As the diet is high in animal protein, the type O requires intense physical exercise to help burn off the meat.
Type Os are prone to digestive disorders resulting from over-secretion of stomach acid. They can also be more susceptible to arthritis and thyroid disease due to an overactive immune system. Wheat and dairy also promote inflammation in this blood type which can trigger an imbalance in immunity.
Blood Type A
Type A was the second blood type to evolve as populations settled into agrarian lifestyles. People with blood type A do best on a vegetarian diet especially the macrobiotic diet. The type A individual hardly produces much hydrochloric acid and therefore does poorly on meat and dairy. As the type A individual should not eat red meat, he/she should also refrain from intense exercise and focus more on yoga, meditation and stretch classes. This is because type As consume less calories in general when they are not eating meat.
Type As are generally more prone to cancer, diabetes and heart disease, if they do not take charge of their health. The gene for alcoholism is also found in type As.
Blood Type B
The third blood type to evolve was type B. Type Bs were nomads who traveled and adapted to different ethnic diets. As a result, type B individuals do best on a dairy diet with some meat (no chicken) and few grains. Type Bs also function better on a moderate exercise program.
TypeBs suffer from the highest incidence of bladder and urinary tract infections. They are also prone to viral diseases when their immune system is compromised. Viral diseases such as pneumonia, M.S., and Lou Gehrig's disease are some examples.
Blood Type AB
The rarest and newest blood type to evolve is blood type AB. This blood type is the most well adapted to a moderate diet. Type AB individuals benefit from both the A and B type diets. Meat is not as well digested as fresh fish, dairy, wheat-free grains and soy foods. Exercise prescription for the type AB is more yoga, meditation and mentally quieting exercises to calm and invigorate. Aerobic type exercise is fine as long as it is not done to the extreme.
AB types are prone to either diseases encountered by the type A or the type B individuals. By undergoing further metabolic typing, one can determine susceptibility to diseases.
The blood type approach to health and well-being is perhaps a more realistic lifestyle to follow than recommending that everyone should be either a vegetarian or exclusively a meat-eater.
Before beginning any change in your health program consult your physician. For information on this weight loss approach, contact us for a Consultation or call Dina Khader TOLL FREE: 888-625-2008