The blood type diet found its way into the fold of many celebrities early on in its creation. Singer Cliff Richard (70) has been using it to maintain his healthy youth-like appearance for years, X Factor judge and singer Cheryl Cole admitted it to be her secret weapon for her weight loss and maintaining her slim and healthy figure, Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr swears by it, as does others such as Demi Moore and Jason Lee to mention a few. And these stars are not the only ones often passionately defending the blood type diet; tens of thousands of people around the world have reported success in weight loss while following the diet.
However, the debate about whether the blood type diet can be supported by science continues in the scientific community. It should be noted that while many still dismiss its validity, not all nutritionists are as opposed to the diet. This can be seen in a recent article in blisstree.com bellow.
Miranda Kerr. Jason Lee. Demi Moore. These are just a few of the celebrities who’ve credited their svelte bodies or good health to something called the ‘blood type diet,’ where dieters follow one of four food regimens depending on their blood type. Unlike some fad diets, the blood type diet is pretty nutritionally sound—no lemon water and hot sauce cleanses, no red meat bonanzas. Regardless of which blood type’s plan you follow, you’ll be eating lots of healthy stuff. And that’s why the diet ‘works’—not because there’s any merit to the idea that different blood types have different dietary needs.
What The Blood Type Diet Is
The idea of eating according to your blood type was popularized in a 1996 book, Eat Right 4 Your Type, by naturopath doctor Peter D’Adamo. The diet’s premise—that O, A, B, and AB blood types have different dietary needs—is based on the theory that the same genes controlling blood type also affect how we relate to and digest foods.
According to D’Adamo, people with type O blood “fare best on intense physical exercise and animal proteins and less well on dairy products and grains.” Those with blood type A “are more naturally suited to a vegetarian diet and foods that are fresh, pure and organic” (apparently, other blood types fare just fine with pesticides?). Type B’s—with their genetic roots in the Himalayan Highlands—should avoid chicken, buckwheat, lentils and tomatoes but eat lots of goat, lamb, mutton and green veggies. Those with AB blood should avoid caffeine, alcohol and cured meats and focus on foods such as tofu, seafood and greens.
D’Adamo even goes so far as to specify which types of physical activity are best for each blood type. Types O’s, for instance, should try aerobics, martial arts, contact sports and running. Type B’s should try hiking, cycling, tennis and swimming. Ultimately blood type, “with its digestive and immune specificity, is a window on a person’s probably susceptibility to or power over disease,” D’Adamo claims.
What Doctors And Nutritionists Say
The Chicago Tribune recently ran a piece on the blood type diet, noting that while this diet plan “has stamina,” experts say it “isn’t worth its weight in salt.”
The evidence supporting the blood-type diet is based largely on anecdotes and research showing links between blood type and certain illnesses (for example, Type O’s are more likely to have stomach ulcers). There have been no peer-reviewed studies published showing that different blood types perform better on certain foods.
Dr. Michael Greger, founder of NutritionFacts.org, said the premise of the blood-type diet is wrong: The blood-type system, which predates humans, is far more complicated than just ABO, he said. ”People crave individualized, personalized science, but this is pseudoscience,” said Greger, a general practitioner specializing in clinical nutrition.
Most of the nutritionists I contacted agreed. “While it enjoys current popularity, the blood type diet hasn’t been proven by the scientific community,” says Jackie Keller, founding director and executive chef for Los Angeles-based Nutrifit. “There is no statistically relevant data to support D’Adamo’s contention that your blood type determines the best foods for you.”
Nutritionist and authorMonica Reinagel, host of the Nutrition Diva podcast, says the reason so many people report positive results from following the blood type diet is that all four of the individualized blood type diet plans are reasonably healthy.
“For example, none of them include Twinkies or French fries (apparently, the blood type that thrives on the typical modern diet has yet to emerge),” Reinagel notes. “Anyone who eliminates junk food, refined sugar and processed foods and replaces them with whole fruits and vegetables and lean protein is probably going to be a lot healthier. And that’s what everyone following D’Adamo’s dietary advice will end up doing, regardless of their blood type.”
As with the popular ‘Paleo Diet,’ the problem with the blood type diet isn’t so much with what dieters are told to consume, it’s what they’re told not to consume. These diets are overly restrictive, without much good reason to be. Sure, avoiding tomatoes if you’re a type B wont’ hurt you, just like cutting out grains from your diet, even if you don’t have a wheat intolerance, won’t cause some sort of personal nutrition apocalypse. But there’s no good evidence that, as a whole, it will make folks healthier than following a balanced, whole foods diet without random dos and don’ts.
“I’d put this dietary concept in the ‘Might Help, Probably Won’t Hurt’ category,” says Reinagel. Eating based on D’Adamo’s guidelines, “you’ll end up giving up a lot of healthy foods that aren’t ‘right’ for your type. As long as you continue to eat other healthy foods, there’s no harm—but whether or not it’s truly necessary is very much an open question.”
“Concepts don’t ‘stick’ if they don’t work,” Schehr adds, “and for many, feeling better is enough evidence for them that the blood type diet is effective.”
All in all there seems to be little middle ground for the blood type diet; the followers defend it eagerly while the competitors are quick to attack and dismiss it. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss the fact that the diet does indeed work. And thus, a question is raised; if it actually does work as it proclaims, leading to rapid and maintainable weight loss and better health, does it really matter if it is 100% scientifically proven? The answer to that is best left to be answered individually.
To your health in life!
