My mom has been mostly following this diet for more than 10 years and she swears by it. I know several other people who have had good results with it as well. I just started reading the book since I live with my mom and she is on a renewed kick to be more strictly on the diet. I have to say that it makes a whole lot of sense to me but feel overwhelmed at the thought of eliminating wheat and dairy from my family's diet (we are all type O). I was raised ironically eating NO red meat ever and consequently I dislike it though I eat it occasionally - the thought of eating it often is not pleasant.
I have been working hard to eat less and less non processed food and cooking from scratch. This diet would take me several steps further - eliminating wheat and most dairy would really change what we eat.
After reading just a bit of the book and skimming through it, I suddenly feel guilty feeding myself and my children foods on the AVOID list, which the book says are like poison in our bodies. How can I feed my family poison?
What are people's thoughts on this diet? Does anyone else follow it? How strictly?
What I like about this diet is that it recognizes that we're not all the same, and a diet that works well for one person may not work well for somebody else. What I'm not so sure about is whether or not blood type is an accurate marker for these different dietary needs. Even if it works for many people, I'm willing to bet there are quite a few individuals for whom it does NOT work. I'd also guess there are individual foods that some people can't tolerate well. For example, I'm not reacting well to ANY legumes at the moment, but I think they have a list of "safe beans" for every one of the 4 types.
Or, it could be that the diet is full of junk science, but people do well on it simply because they're eating whole, minimally processed foods.
My brother swears by it. I just took it out of the library a few weeks ago. In my family, 3 of us are one blood type, 2 of us are another. So we should eat totally opposite things? And my kids have food intolerances, and it was basically telling them to eat all the things they can't have. And then I looked at my family growing up. We had every blood type. That doesn't make any sense, according to their theory. And I looked at the types of diseases that blood types usually have, and that didn't match up either. Then I talked to a blood typer at the Red Cross, and she laughed in my face!
I just came here looking for an ongoing blood type diet thread to chit chat about and couldn't find one...anyone want to start one???
I'll post here too
I've been following this diet pretty strictly for over a year now. I had done the Paleo diet for 1 full year in an attempt to heal my gut for yeast (only meat, seeds, fruits & veggies). After coming off of that diet (wrong diet for an A btw since A's should be mostly vegetarian), my body was able to tell me right away what felt right after I ate it or not. It pretty much coincided with the A blood type diet which is what I am. So I was hooked and have been ever since. I also follow some of the Nourishing Traditions too.
Both dh and I are A's. I looked it up and our children can only be an O or A blood type. I'm pretty sure based on what DD1 likes/dislikes that she's an O.
Originally Posted by Ruthla
Or, it could be that the diet is full of junk science, but people do well on it simply because they're eating whole, minimally processed foods.
That would be my guess.
And the idea that the people who it "works" for are the ones most vocal about it.
I know a couple of people who swear by it. My dh always does well on Atkins and is type O which according to the book is a hight protein lifestyle. My problem with the diet for my blood type is that I hate most of the foods I am "supposed" to eat and love all the ones I am not supposed to eat.
So I've decided that I can't currently make the drastic changes necessary for this diet - like I mentioned, I eat very little red meat and tons of wheat and dairy. I can't reverse these things - especially without spending a lot more money, something I can't afford right now. So I'm contenting myself with continuing to focus on whole foods and maybe taking the small step of reducing the wheat in my life.
I don't think that diet would work for me.
I thinks it says that type A's need tons of veggies, and less meat?
I seem to feel better when I eat lean protein, veggies, and hardly any grains.
If I don't have my protein I'm a mess.
I just got certified to teach Eat Right!! and for those that think it's hooey, that's too bad, cuz the science behind it is awesome!!
Anyway... for those needing to cut out wheat and dairy. I'm an O too and went thru this same thing this past spring. Go easy on yourself, don't go cold turkey! Wean yourself down. I chose dairy first cuz I already had cut way back so it wasn't too hard. Wheat was the tricky one. I started by allowing only one wheat product/day instead of 2 or 3 usually and then when I felt good about that cut it back to only a couple times a week, then once a week, then once every couple weeks. Then the day came where I decided no wheat ever again lol I went out for sunday brunch w/my best friend and had the most amazing french toast that sat like concrete in my body for the rest of the day. It was very uncomfortable and that was it for me I didn't want to have that experience ever ever again so I haven't eaten wheat since!
I also follow Dr. D's Genotype Diet, not Eat Right. Genotype is more specific, based on body types, not just blood type so I think it works better for more people-just my 2 cents...
I'm really passionate about this stuff so feel free to ask away!
Originally Posted by prescottchels
I just got certified to teach Eat Right!! and for those that think it's hooey, that's too bad, cuz the science behind it is awesome!!
Could you share some links about the science behind it?
I personally think that, even if blood type is one factor that determines an individual's optimal diet, it's not the only factor. Food allergies are one strong example- nobody should eat food they're allergic to now matter what their blood type!
Originally Posted by Ruthla
Could you share some links about the science behind it?
I personally think that, even if blood type is one factor that determines an individual's optimal diet, it's not the only factor. Food allergies are one strong example- nobody should eat food they're allergic to now matter what their blood type!
I'm right there w/you. I don't believe blood type is the only factor either, and that's partly why I choose to follow Dr. D's Genotype Diet instead of his blood type diet. Genotype is more body specific and thus the food lists are more refined as well. If you were to find out your genotype for example you may discover that a food that was on your good list w/eat right, that you're allergic too is now listed on the bad list for your genotype, b/c he's done lots more research since '96. It also possible for a person's body to be so unbalanced that a food on the good list causes a reaction that it wouldn't if the body was balanced.
The links I have are hard core scientific writing. We'll have to see about publishing some articles that are more friendly for the average person.
BUT here are some of the more salient points simplified...
One of the main keys in all of this is in regard to lectins. They are proteins found in, humans, plants, insects, etc. Lectins interact w/the sugars in the food we eat and many are blood type specific. That is to say that the lectins in red meat for example respond differently in me being an O than in my best friend who is an A. More specifically the lectins in the red meat that my best friend eats will cause her blood cells to clump, and not mine. That's how the division of foods was devised, basically speaking. Does this food cause this body/blood type's blood to clump or not? How 'bout this one? and on and on...
Back to blood clumping... When lectins from the food we eat cause our blood to clump, those clumps become the foundation for other things to grab onto such as bacteria. Ever play glob tag? Where every person you tag has to hold hands and can tag that many more people? That's what happens in your blood stream.
Lectins can also cause red blood cells to burst as well as destroy other cells that contain histamines which causes the allergic reactions we experience.
On the flip side lectins have also been found to cause cancer cells to clump and commit suicide as it were, so they're not all bad. It just depends on what foods we eat!!
Honestly, I wouldn't put much stock in this. I am an O, the carnivore. I was totally unable to eat red meat or fat. I hated it from the day I was born. I had to go through medical treatment and take digestive enzymes. That's me, how I was born, what my body had to say about it, from day 1. I lived several years as a vegetarian. I do eat plenty of meat now, but it took a lot before I could do that. During my last pregnancy I could only eat pork and seafood without getting violently ill.
I think just about any diet that forces you to think about your food choices and eat whole, unprocessed foods is going to make you feel better.
Have the people who felt better based on their type tried other whole food diets? I don't notice a difference from Atkins VS traditional foods for me, unless I'm actively trying to lose weight. This is just as much a grouping of people into arbitrary categories as anything else.
BTW, I'm the only type O in my family, how should we eat??!
Originally Posted by KoalaMommy
I think just about any diet that forces you to think about your food choices and eat whole, unprocessed foods is going to make you feel better.
Have the people who felt better based on their type tried other whole food diets? I don't notice a difference from Atkins VS traditional foods for me, unless I'm actively trying to lose weight. This is just as much a grouping of people into arbitrary categories as anything else.
BTW, I'm the only type O in my family, how should we eat??!
I ate no refined sugar, organic whole, unprocessed food and still felt like crapola all the time so the genotype diet has been a boon for me.
With the Genotype diet more than just your blood type is taken into account so it's possible for folks to have different blood types and still be in the same genotype (b/c of similar body type) and/or there is usually enough overlap in good and neutral foods for people of different genotypes in the same house to make it work.
I spent a while doing the Type O diet (Dh and I are both O) and it was TOUGH. Some of the things I wasn't allowed to eat were nutritious and tasty favorites of mine. And going without wheat and dairy ... I was hungry all the time, even though figs helped the cravings. We did go cold-turkey, so maybe that had something to do with it.
We also spent a year as vegetarians (although he sometimes ate meat when he was out and about... I didn't eat any) and even though that should have been the opposite for me, it was pretty much the same.
Could be we did the Blood Type diet wrong, but I'm pretty much a stickler when I invest in something. And I was loaded up on figs (supposedly a great food for us Os.)
I tried searching for info on the genotype diet but the website isn't working, so I'll have to see what I can find. It seems... just from glancing at it briefly... that it's almost like ayurveda with the doshas. Interesting.
Collinsky, I would definitely recommend you try genotype. It's hard to get any in depth info even from the website, cuz they have it set up as a diet support group kind of thing that you have to pay to join. So it's best to just get the book. I checked it out at the library before I bought it...
Being an O myself who's tried all 3 of the O genotype food lists-which I don't recommend lol I can give you all kinds of tricks and tips and recipes!
I haven't heard of the genotype...I'll check that out. I'm passionate about feeding my body good foods. See, I'm one of those who's eaten an organic wholefoods diets for years now but I felt the best eating by the blood type diet. I realized that bloating, gas and tiredness after eating is not a normal part of digestion which I had prior to the blood type diet.
My mom got into the blood type diet a few years ago. She likes it, and I also like that it doesn't treat the entire population of this planet as having identical body chemistry, the way mainstream medicine does. That said...I have a great deal of difficulty buying into it. I'm not interested in following it, as I recall finding the restriction on my type (AB) very stringent, and cutting out way too many of the foods that I like. It just didn't work for me.
I also found some of the assertions in the books really weird. I can't remember if it was Eat Right or Live Right, but one of the books recommended yoga for me and Tai Chi for my mom (she's either A or B, but I can't remember which - dh is the other one, and I always get them mixed up). I'm sorry, but I don't believe for one minute that one's blood type determines whether yoga or Tai Chi is the ideal exercise for them. Yoga does happen to work for me, but Tai Chi drove my mom nuts. (Neither of us is very coordinated.) That kind of ridiculous nitpicking just turned me right off the whole premise...
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