Eating for your Bloodtype...fact or fiction?

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  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    some people just work better on a carb based diet cause of their muscle fiber types

    Example/Clarification?
  • BioShocked89
    BioShocked89 Posts: 330 Member
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    According to what I read, I (type A) am supposed to eat lots of soy and veggies because my ancestors were farmers, which is actually true to that extent. And I require light exercise. Don't like the diet but love the low exercise part. :D
  • a_stronger_steph
    a_stronger_steph Posts: 434 Member
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    Some info: http://www.skepdic.com/bloodtypediet.html
  • jazzybean1
    jazzybean1 Posts: 113
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    Wasn't fiction for me!! Had a crippling rare type of arthritis, did the allergy test and cut out all allergens...wheat, dairy, garlic, cassein etc... and my arthritis went away on its own without me having to take the harsh drugs i was given:) I checked out the eat for your blood type diet and it had the same stuff in it that my diet should include, I found it interesting. I don't always follow it but my health is better when I do, less inflammation and my psoriasis clears up.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    I've never tried it. The first time I heard of it was when a naturopathy doctor talked about it at a conference I was attending. She said she had tried it. I can't remember her blood type, but she followed it completely. She said she looked amazing, skin glowing, lost weight. People constantly commented on it. Then somehow she found out she had made a mistake, and that was not her blood type. She was supposed to be eating the complete opposite foods. ::shrug::
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I tried it (years ago) but like any restrictive diet (no tomatoes, that's hard!) I didn't stick to it.
    I also don't remember feeling any healthier or losing weight following the guidelines for my blood type.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    bump
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    I :heart: Rebekah. :flowerforyou:

    Awww, shucks! :blushing: I :heart: you too.

    SO we're all made the same according to most posters? That's just absurd. There are different body types, mesomorphic endomorphic, ectomorphic.

    Some people have a majority of different muscle times, which helps them excel in certain sports. A skinny lanky guy will never be a world class power lifter. A big husky guy will never be a world class marathon runner.

    This is due to muscle fiber types, and energy systems, some people just work better on a carb based diet cause of their muscle fiber types, and some work better on a high protein diet.

    Nobody said that we're all made the same. Of course there's genetic variation in the human population, and of course that variation affects how we respond to different foods. Nurture (as opposed to nature) has something to do with it too- we're trained from babies to like certain foods- but it's absolutely absurd to think that blood type has anything to do with nutrition.

    Red blood cells are very specialized. They carry oxygen. They buffer CO2. And that's about it.
    Some info: http://www.skepdic.com/bloodtypediet.html

    It's interesting to me that the damage done by supposed agglutinization of red blood cells, can also be done by oxidative stress, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and a whole host of other biological and environmental factors that go hand-and-hand with obesity and even with the normal aging process (you don't even have to be obese). This, to me, is really like someone noticing the sunrise in this modern day and age and insisting that the sun must therefore move around the earth. Yes, there is damage to various tissues as we age. And maybe that damage is influenced by our food choices. But explaining all that by the proteins on our red blood cells? While ignoring everything else that we've learned from science? Doesn't make sense to me.
  • suchick
    suchick Posts: 13 Member
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    I read Dr. D'Adamo's book about 20 years ago "EAt Right for Your Blood Type". I no longer adhere to his ideas around diet, but I have to say, the results were interesting. And the theory, if I recall (super simplified and dredged up from my memory banks!) is that

    - type O + (universal donor) is the oldest type of blood, found in Paleolithic people. They were hunter / gatherers, so lots of protein and carbs from veg etc. People with O+ blood do best on a Paleo type diet, and don't do well with grains and lots of complex carbs

    - about 10,000 years ago, people stopped being so nomadic and started to settle down and develop agriculture and crops. This co-incided with new blood types, specially A. This type of blood group seem to be able to process grain and complex carbs easier then type O

    - other blood types (AB and the more rare ones) came on the scene only about 7-5,000 years ago and are a happy hybrid of the two scenarios above

    I do not presume to know of the science is hooey or valid - but it made for an interesting read.

    And I'm an O+ -- when I do a Paleo style diet and eliminate all processed wheat, rye, and complex carbs from my diet, I am at my fittest and healthiest.

    Hubby is an A+ -- he can scarf back the pasta 'til the cows come home, and he's so skinny I've seen more fat on a greasy french fry. Go figure.

    Like I say -- interesting theory. Not sure if my personal experience is coincidence or not. But like all imperical theories regarding food & diet, take it with a grain of salt.
  • Tigermomma66
    Tigermomma66 Posts: 90 Member
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    Funny, but my cousin just told me about this diet this past weekend. I always thought it was hooey, but it works for her. She's a Type O so she eats meat, etc. (of course in moderation). She has severe allergies, and this was recommended to her by both her allergist and her family doctor (both "regular" doctors, not naturopaths, etc.).

    A few things she told me were rather interesting. She's seen a decrease in her symptoms, which could be the result of moderate exercise and a healthy eating plan (just because she eats meat doesn't mean she sits there like Henry VIII each night gnawing a turkey leg as a snack). I think of it like anything else. It sounds like it encourages a healthy eating plan (even the vegetarian version doesn't say eat only plants, but includes alternatives to meat for protein). And it encourages exercise. If that is what it takes to get someone eating healthier or getting up off the couch moving, that's a good thing. And if they feel better and research it to find out it's not scientifically sound - then so much the better down the road as they tweak it to fit what science supports. I don't see the problem.

    For me, I am Type A+ (know this from when I was pregnant) and I have always found that I prefer a vegetarian style of eating. I have not totally gone that direction, but I've never been real fond of meats. I also do better with things like yoga (but I am a klutz so yoga improves that and I don't look like an idiot doing aerobics :laugh: ).

    For the OP, I also had an allergy panel done years ago at Vanderbilt. I was allergic to soy (not so good for me as a Type A if I followed the plan), peanuts (not severely), and corn (it's in everything!). I just recently went for a retest and it showed nothing (but it was local and the protocol for testing was different). I still have allergies to certain foods - from hives to plain eczema. I carry an Epi-pen just in case it ever gets suddenly worse (which can happen). On the allergy note, I have a systemic reaction to poison ivy (even from just smoke when it burns). When I mentioned that I always had a fuzzy feeling in my mouth when eating mango, my allergist told me it has the same oils between the skin and the pulp as poison ivy. So, I am reacting to that and need to stay away from mango. Just FYI.

    Sorry for wandering in my post, but just several highlights I wanted to hit. :ohwell:
  • Melk967
    Melk967 Posts: 55 Member
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    Absolutely 100% truth to this. I can't get into it now because I am pressed for time, but here is a bit of info. Our hormones are carried thru our blood. Different hormones come from different glands and organs in the body. These glands and organs determine how our body does absolutely EVERYTHING. Our blood type affects how our systems work as well and certain blood types work better with certain foods. FOODS regulate hormones. One big cycle!

    Love this stuff!

    No offense... but this is WAY OVER SIMPLIFIED and B.S.

    Yes, hormones are carried through our blood.

    No, endocrine glands/organs don't control EVERYTHING. They work in concert to control a lot... but unless you're calling neurotransmitters "hormones", then you're forgetting about a pretty damn important part of the biological system. Same goes for any signaling molecule released from a cell that is not a hormone.

    Blood type is nothing more than the type of protein expressed on the surface of our red blood cells. It has absolutely no role whatsoever in the regulation of hormones in our body. None. Zip. Zero. It also has no role whatsoever in how those hormones are carried through our blood either. Blood type is simply a genetic expression of "mine" as far as the body is concerned. Your immune system recognizes your blood as something that belongs. You have similar markers on every cell in your body. Anything that doesn't have a "mine" signal on it gets attacked. (Unless it has no signal at all, in which case it can hide from the immune system, but that's another story.)

    Lastly, food only regulates SOME hormones. The rest of our hormones don't give a damn about what food is riding through our digestive tracks :P Conversely, only some hormones have any effect on food/metabolism/fat storage, etc...

    Beware of over-simplifications. They often amount to lies. Yes, they are very tempting (I'm even over-simplifying in my above explanation) but tempting or not, they are dangerous.

    THIS. It's science, people. I hate when people who don't have a science background believe in mumbo jumbo like this diet and twist facts around. As someone mentioned earlier, its probably just coincidence or that you're eating better in general that you're feeling better. Correlation does not equate cause. Again, science.... :-P
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    You seen those guys who power lift, there will never be a lanky power lifter.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt9TO2_44Js&feature=player_embedded
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    You seen those guys who power lift, there will never be a lanky power lifter.


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt9TO2_44Js&feature=player_embedded
    Good God!

    And I thought somebody that strong had to be one of those hippo-looking guys - wow!
    I am stunned!
    Thanks!
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
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    SO we're all made the same according to most posters? That's just absurd. There are different body types, mesomorphic endomorphic, ectomorphic.

    Some people have a majority of different muscle times, which helps them excel in certain sports. A skinny lanky guy will never be a world class power lifter. A big husky guy will never be a world class marathon runner.

    This is due to muscle fiber types, and energy systems, some people just work better on a carb based diet cause of their muscle fiber types, and some work better on a high protein diet.

    Can you provide any physiological evidence for these body types? All of my research has shown that the terms were developed by a psychologist and used them to justify personality types. They are named for the three types of developmental tissues, which makes no sense considering what you claim them to mean.

    I understand that one can train the muscles to have a higher concentration of slow-twitch or fast-twitch, but I have never heard of it being an innate quality.
  • shanahan_09
    shanahan_09 Posts: 238 Member
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    Funny, but my cousin just told me about this diet this past weekend. I always thought it was hooey, but it works for her. She's a Type O so she eats meat, etc. (of course in moderation). She has severe allergies, and this was recommended to her by both her allergist and her family doctor (both "regular" doctors, not naturopaths, etc.).

    A few things she told me were rather interesting. She's seen a decrease in her symptoms, which could be the result of moderate exercise and a healthy eating plan (just because she eats meat doesn't mean she sits there like Henry VIII each night gnawing a turkey leg as a snack). I think of it like anything else. It sounds like it encourages a healthy eating plan (even the vegetarian version doesn't say eat only plants, but includes alternatives to meat for protein). And it encourages exercise. If that is what it takes to get someone eating healthier or getting up off the couch moving, that's a good thing. And if they feel better and research it to find out it's not scientifically sound - then so much the better down the road as they tweak it to fit what science supports. I don't see the problem.

    For me, I am Type A+ (know this from when I was pregnant) and I have always found that I prefer a vegetarian style of eating. I have not totally gone that direction, but I've never been real fond of meats. I also do better with things like yoga (but I am a klutz so yoga improves that and I don't look like an idiot doing aerobics :laugh: ).

    For the OP, I also had an allergy panel done years ago at Vanderbilt. I was allergic to soy (not so good for me as a Type A if I followed the plan), peanuts (not severely), and corn (it's in everything!). I just recently went for a retest and it showed nothing (but it was local and the protocol for testing was different). I still have allergies to certain foods - from hives to plain eczema. I carry an Epi-pen just in case it ever gets suddenly worse (which can happen). On the allergy note, I have a systemic reaction to poison ivy (even from just smoke when it burns). When I mentioned that I always had a fuzzy feeling in my mouth when eating mango, my allergist told me it has the same oils between the skin and the pulp as poison ivy. So, I am reacting to that and need to stay away from mango. Just FYI.

    Sorry for wandering in my post, but just several highlights I wanted to hit. :ohwell:

    Interesting about the mango. I'm allergic to all fruit with a pit, and have allergies in the spring from pollen, etc.. Thank you for sharing. :)
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    Yes this is science, correlation doesn't equal causation true, but correlation doesn't mean that there is no correlation.

    Tautological post is tautological.
  • bjoy007
    bjoy007 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thais is interesting I will have to google my bloodtype and see what it says about me. I think I am A+. Thanks
  • brookepenni
    brookepenni Posts: 787 Member
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    Quick - here comes the **fad diet bus** - all hop aboard!!
  • SixCatFaerie
    SixCatFaerie Posts: 690 Member
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    Total BS.
    BTW, I'm a physician.

    Thank you!
  • JennyAnnLanders
    JennyAnnLanders Posts: 79 Member
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    I'm impressed with several that responded. I'm not really into science but reading that was interesting.
    This diet worked for my niece and she has lived by it for around 8 years. it's her lifestyle change and she is much healthier with it.
    I just think if it works for you and you're healthy and feel good, go for it.

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