# The Blood Type Diet - is it working or just plain crazy?



## Swede (Apr 2, 2013)

Has anyone tried it or is it just a bunch of BS? I am intrigued, but also skeptical....
Thoughts?

Link to Wikipedia & to the type A table as an example.


----------



## Belle Chat (May 24, 2013)

I read a diet review that said the premise is totally bogus (if you Google it I'm sure you'll find lots more reviews/opinions). That said, any diet that restricts calories will probably work for at least a little while. If the diet appeals to you and you can stick with it, it's probably going to work and is likely no better or worse than the zillions of other diets out there.


----------



## Frisson Messenger (Mar 8, 2013)

If anything the genotype diet seems more legitimate than the blood type diet that Dr. D'adamo is promoting.


----------



## Red Panda (Aug 18, 2010)

_Most dairy products are not digestible for Type As_

rrrriiiiight (dairies are my favourite, and my sister, who doesn't eat meat loves them)

it seems completely bogus
and the wikipedia article basically says there are no scientific evidence whatsoever about that


----------



## DiamondDays (Sep 4, 2012)

My family have been eating like this for 15 years now, and they swear by it. Me, i'm not at all convinced that it isn't just pseudo-science bullshit.

Altho there is plenty of evidence that wheat and diary products really aren't fit food for most people.


----------



## Swede (Apr 2, 2013)

Yeah, I am an A and dairy is pretty much one of my staples.... I would be a much less happy person if I couldn't drink my milk and eat my ice-cream!


----------



## DiamondDays (Sep 4, 2012)

Swede said:


> Yeah, I am an A and dairy is pretty much one of my staples.... I would be a much less happy person if I couldn't drink my milk and eat my ice-cream!


But you'd never have a stuffy nose again...


----------



## Swede (Apr 2, 2013)

> But you'd never have a stuffy nose again...


Might be true. A few years back I did an extensive food allergy test (loooong story) and I got an extensive list of foods that I should not eat. It included cows milk, even though goat milk is all right for me to consume. Other things I should stay away from are chocolate, coffee, yeast, sugar, wheat, lettuce, cucumber, turkey, fish - pretty much everything & anything, it felt like.

The foods were rated in accordance to how bad they are for me and there was only one "absolutely worst food" - CORN! I was on a 6 month detox where I cut out all the foods that I am allergic to. It was really hard, since corn includes corn syrup and corn starch. It is really hard to find anything processed that does not contain any corn. There are maybe 2 brands of yoghurt (relatively new on the market) and 1 brand of ice cream (not all flavors of that brand though). ...not that I should eat dairy, but even so....

After I had completed the detox, I had lost a ton of weight (since there was pretty much nothing I could eat), my skin looked fabulous, I slept better, had more energy and my immune system was invincible. I used to get a cold if someone sneezed 1/2 mile away, but I have been doing a lot better since. I am allowed to eat all the foods in moderation now, but I still stay away from corn as much as possible.


----------



## Mind Swirl (Sep 7, 2011)

I remember seeing this somewhere and was interested to hear _what _exactly lead them to their conclusions on blood type and diet. I'm not convinced. Also, it listed a lot of my favorite foods as "not allowed". Black tea is forbidden? You monsters! XD


----------



## TreeBob (Oct 11, 2008)

Swede said:


> Has anyone tried it or is it just a bunch of BS? I am intrigued, but also skeptical....
> Thoughts?
> 
> Link to Wikipedia & to the type A table as an example.


Did you ever end up doing this?

It isn't actually a diet, it's more like a lifestyle change. I have actually read his first book and his update (Got a lot more confusing with his update, but also more refined) and some of makes sense. You can call it bullshit (many people have), but when I changed over to it for a couple years I felt a lot better! I am O type by the way. For me, the big things I really can't handle are dairy, gluten based carbs, nuts, corn and potatoes. So the book works for me fairly well. 

Some people like to freak out at it because it usually says you can't eat something you really like. Well that is the same for any diet or lifestyle change.


----------



## Swede (Apr 2, 2013)

TreeBob said:


> Did you ever end up doing this?


No, thanks for reminding me. 
Now is actually a good time for me to try it out, since I am done with pregnancies and nursing, so I ought to look into it again. I was just thinking the other day that it is time to get back into shape and start looking after my health - I need a huge life-style change back for the better (food, exercise, and better sleeping habits).

I noticed a few years back that I get outbreaks when I drink milk, so I already knew that I should stay away from dairy.  The allergy/detox diet that I did excluded dairy, so from that aspect, the blood type diet (type A) seems to be in agreement with my allergy test.

It honestly doesn't look like there are a whole lot of foods that I would miss - the detox was much more restricted. The only thing is that on this type of diet (I agree with the life-style change statement, btw), it's easier to prep and haul around your own food. Fast food it out and frozen box lunches as well. So, it needs a little more planning & prepping, but if the changes are beneficial it is definitely worth it.

You are right in that people often finds arguments against when they know they can't pull something off. When I was on my detox and I got all these compliments on my skin, one of my friends decided that it was my facial creams that was working wonders and that the dietary change had nothing to do with it (I know for a fact that it was the diet). It is so much easier to just slap a layer of lotion on than cleaning out the fridge and keep track of everything we eat. 

I'll look back into it and I might report back. No promises though - I can be quite lazy... lol


----------



## LadyO.W.BernieBro (Sep 4, 2010)

well, it isn't all about 'blood' per se. Type A blood type individuals, for example, are known to have digestive issues related to stomach acid production(lower) and higher rates of GI cancer. May not be true for every individual but its an observed trend.

The outliers may notice things like this, while type O is most common and doesn't have a lot of issues that most of the population doesn't share.

<=======A-


----------



## Stelmaria (Sep 30, 2011)

Just plain crazy. :wink:


----------



## ScientiaOmnisEst (Oct 2, 2013)

My mother swears by it and sometimes nags me to not eat certain things because blood type. I don't buy it; her response to my doubts usually amounts to "Oh, did you read that on _the internet_? Of course it's a lie!" She claims that the differences in blood type - the antigens - are the reason why certain blood types can't handle certain foods. Come to think of it, I never got around to looking it up....yet all I remember about antigens is they're related to immune system responses, specifically antibody generation....

So, heavily doubting.


----------



## Diogenes (Jun 30, 2011)

ScientiaOmnemEst said:


> My mother swears by it and sometimes nags me to not eat certain things because blood type. I don't buy it; her response to my doubts usually amounts to "Oh, did you read that on _the internet_? Of course it's a lie!" She claims that the differences in blood type - the antigens - are the reason why certain blood types can't handle certain foods. Come to think of it, I never got around to looking it up....yet all I remember about antigens is they're related to immune system responses, specifically antibody generation....


They're related to antibody generation in the sense that you're not going to have antibodies against the antigens that are found on the surface of your red blood cells (for obvious reasons).
But that's basically it.
Some blood types _might _correlate with some diseases but even then it's not clear why.


----------



## Inveniet (Aug 21, 2009)

I'd like to see more science on the whole blood interaction with the substances 
who supposedly are bad for me.
I'm type 0, and I'm supposed to binge on meat and be real primitive and stuff.

I know that diary products are bad for me regardless of the accuracy of this stuff.
Some types of grains give me lots of gas.
Hardly evidence for stuff going on at the cellural level because of the unique receptors of my blood.

Edit:
I looked over the tables of no go food and many of the foods I hate the most is on
the nogo list for type 0, it isn't proof, 
but it is interesting enough to warrant a closer inspection.


----------



## Swede (Apr 2, 2013)

hornet said:


> Edit:
> I looked over the tables of no go food and many of the foods I hate the most is on
> the nogo list for type 0, it isn't proof,
> but it is interesting enough to warrant a closer inspection.


You know, that was in part why I am not writing this off directly. Too many things that I just don't like are on that no list. The only things I would have a really hard time parting with are shrimp and milk. I don't really eat a lot of breads and I am not a red meat lover. On the other hand, an A should stay away from pretty much all grains and potatoes, which definitely makes life a whole lot less convenient. :-(

The largest red flag I saw when I skimmed through info on the net stated that


> Blood group *B* is called _the nomad_ by D'Adamo, who estimates this group to have arrived 10,000 years ago. He states that this type is associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. He also asserts that people of blood type B are the only people able to thrive on dairy products; this is contradicted by the fact that while people with blood type B tend to be from Asia (specifically, China or India), lactose intolerance is most common among people of Asian, South American, and African descent and least common among those descended from northern Europe or northwestern India.[SUP][13][/SUP][SUP][14][/SUP][SUP][15][/SUP]


I assume that he explains this better in his book? Do you happen to recall what his explanation for this was, @_TreeBob_?


----------



## Inveniet (Aug 21, 2009)

Swede said:


> You know, that was in part why I am not writing this off directly. Too many things that I just don't like are on that no list. The only things I would have a really hard time parting with are shrimp and milk. I don't really eat a lot of breads and I am not a red meat lover. On the other hand, an A should stay away from pretty much all grains and potatoes, which definitely makes life a whole lot less convenient. :-(


The biggest red flag for me is that on a superficial level the evidence seems to fall apart.
Now I can imagine several reasons for this.

*His theory of why it happens is wrong, but it does happen.
*In other words that people with the blood type actually react, 
but there are other factors than what he reports involved.

*His theory of why it happens are wrong, and the things on the nogo list 
are just generally bad for a lot of people for other reasons.*
This leads to confirmation bias in the people that sees correlations with his theory.
Yes that stuff is bad for you as an individual, but it has nothing to do with your blood.

*His theory of why it happens are wrong, and it is all just a bunch of crap.*
What the critics are saying.

*His theories are right, the critics are lying bastards that should have their genitals mutilated.*
Some sort of conspiracy needed, not too likely, but you never know.

You could probably divide it more fine grained than this, but I think it works. =D


----------



## TreeBob (Oct 11, 2008)

Swede said:


> You know, that was in part why I am not writing this off directly. Too many things that I just don't like are on that no list. The only things I would have a really hard time parting with are shrimp and milk. I don't really eat a lot of breads and I am not a red meat lover. On the other hand, an A should stay away from pretty much all grains and potatoes, which definitely makes life a whole lot less convenient. :-(
> 
> The largest red flag I saw when I skimmed through info on the net stated that
> I assume that he explains this better in his book? Do you happen to recall what his explanation for this was, @_TreeBob_?


He doens't get into Lactose Intolerance being more prevalent with Asians. That wiki entry you quoted though was posted by some wiki person trying to disprove the blood type theory, so it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I mean let's take a look at that statement. D'Adamo says that B blood type is more common in Asia and some other places, but he doesn't state a percentage of how many Asians are B type. He does state however that only 10% of the worlds population is B type. Even if it is half of Asia as B type that still leaves a tonne of Asians that could be lactose intolerant. Not everyone is even born lactose intolerant either, you can become lactose intolerant after becoming ill. My ex-wife is someone like that. Not to mention SE Asians don't eat dairy at all really because it was seen as the food of barbarians. If you never eat dairy then all of sudden increase dairy in your diet, what do you think will happen? I assume it won't go over very well. 

No matter what, the internet makes a living of trying to refute anything that it out there. For fun do some hard research on iron and you will soon discovery all the false shit being spread online and even some deliberately being spread by USDA (about vitamin C helping you digest iron). Vegans think you can get all the iron you need from a plant based (non-heme) diet, but in actuality people barely process 1/4 of non-heme sources. 

I am getting off topic, but whether his science is legit or not, it doesn't really matter. Try it out and see how you feel. That is all that really matters. The O type worked for me.


----------



## Swede (Apr 2, 2013)

@TreeBob, you are right about just trying it out. 

Many of us make up excuses because it is easier than to change our lifestyle and attitude. 
I was convinced for a long time that I had slow metabolism until I tried WW and it worked, so it's not a valid excuse anymore. My husband stubbornly claimed a perpetual cold when he was coughing all the time back when he smoked. Most of the Western countries are denying the fact that the population is growing more and more unhealthy as a function of poor nutritional choices and a immobile lifestyle and that some serious changes are needed to get back on track.

Thanks for the response!


----------

