Is it true that eating a diet based on your blood group is helpful? Can such a diet improve your general health? Can it lower your risk of developing some diseases?
Naturopaths hold these claims as accurate. And, in line with these claims, this guide analyzes the blood type-specific diet. In addition, It considers the benefits of this diet.
These benefits include helping you maintain your preferred body weight. A blood type diet enables you to shed off unnecessary weight. It boosts your energy levels and helps you prevent many diseases.
So, read on to find which diet you should be eating for your blood group.
History of the Blood Type Diet
The debate on the blood type diet emerged in 1996. A naturopath physician D’Adamo Peter proposed this diet. According to Peter, your blood type directly influences your body’s response to food.
So, according to D’Adamo, your body reacts to food based on your ancestor’s blood type diet. Besides, Peter argued that every blood type has foods you need to avoid and eat.
And when you adhere to the appropriate blood type diet, you can improve your digestive health. You can also lose weight accordingly. And, you’ll enjoy excellent overall health.
Peter published his argument in a book that is still popular to date. In his book, Peter argued that food should be based on a person’s ABO blood type.
Norwegian researchers also supported the blood type diet. These researchers claimed that since the blood type diet is different from the standard American dietary needs, it has myriad benefits.
Besides, these researchers associated the blood type diet with many health outcomes because of its lack of junk food. Junk food causes most lifestyle diseases. It encourages unwanted weight gain.
Researchers have also associated the blood type diet with health benefits due to the diet’s lack of processed foods. Processed foods, too, are unhealthy. They promote unwanted weight gain and even obesity.
What Is the Blood Type Diet?
A blood type diet is a diet specific to your blood group. Check out your blood type diet below.
Blood Type A Diet
If you're a blood type A individual, your blood type diet is agrarian. This means you should eat diets free of toxic red meat. Your diet should be rich in plants.
The blood type A diet is similar to the typical vegetarian diet.
B Blood Type Diet
On the other hand, the type B blood type diet is a nomad’s diet. Hence, if your blood group is B, you should eat more meat. You can also eat plants. But, you should avoid pork and chicken.
A type B person can also eat dairy products. And they should avoid lentils, tomatoes, corn, and wheat products. Your diet is enigmatic.
AB Blood Type Diet
If you are in the type AB blood group, you have a specific AB blood type diet. So, you should combine the B blood type diet and the A blood type diet.
In addition, you should eat seafood, dairy, grains, and beans. You should also eat some tofu. But, avoid corn, beef, chicken, and kidney beans.
O Positive Blood Type Diet
The blood group O people also have an O blood type diet. People with this blood group qualify as hunters. So, you should eat fish, poultry, and meat.
You can also eat some vegetables and fruits. Yet you must limit your intake of dairy, legumes, and grains. Ensure your diet has lots of similarities with the paleo diet.
O Negative Blood Type Diet
Blood group O negative people should eat highly proteinous foods. Hence, you should eat a lot of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits.
Also, eat lots of seafood, red meat, and kelp. Broccoli, spinach, and olive oil should be present in your diet. Yet, you should avoid dairy, corn, and wheat.
Lectins and Blood Type Diet
These dietary needs thrive on lectins. Proponents of the blood type diet believe lectins are behind the blood type dietary linkage.
Lectins are a type of protein, and they bind sugar molecules. Lectins are anti-nutrients and affect the gut’s lining.
The proponents of the blood type diet believe that the ABO blood types have many lectins in their diet. So, eating the wrong lectins can cause agglutination of your red blood cells.
Again, lectins in uncooked legumes or raw food can cause agglutination to certain blood group types. A chemical reaction occurs when you eat certain foods. This implies your blood’s response to those particular foods.
Interestingly, this reaction is genetic. You inherit it from your ancestors. So, you're likely to react to the foods your grandparents also responded to.
Your digestive system and immune system also count on your blood type diet. It's the reason you have favourite dishes and detest others.
Besides, lectins help you attach yourself to natural organisms. Germs, too, use lectins to their advantage. For instance, the cells in your liver bile duct have lectins.
These lectins are on the cell's surface and snatch parasites and bacteria. Many microbes and bacteria also have lectins. These lectins are on the surfaces.
The lectins help these organisms to attach to your body’s mucosal linings. These linings are slippery.
Viruses also use specific blood type lectins to enable them to stick to the body’s linings. Lectins act in the same way in food.
For instance, you may consume proteinous food with lectins incompatible with your antigen. Such lectins target specific organs. They also target certain body systems.
The common organs lectins affect are the liver, kidney, gut, and stomach. Once they attach to these organs, the lectins interact with other tissues.
A Lectin Reaction Example
Assuming you're a blood type A person. You consume a plateful of lima beans. Your digestive enzymes in the stomach digest the lima beans through acid hydrolysis.
Since lectin is resistant to acid hydrolysis, the lima beans don’t get fully digested. So, the lima beans remain intact. As a result, lima beans may interact with your intestinal tract’s lining.
The lima beans could also interact with your stomach’s lining. Or, the lima beans could get absorbed into your bloodstream. The absorption may happen as your body absorbs the lima bean nutrients.
So, the intact lectin protein from the lima beans settles in a specific part of your body. Since lectins have a magnetic effect, they tamper with the cells in this particular type of your body.
The intact lectins clump these cells together. They destroy the cells. These lectins regard the cells as foreign invaders.
The cell clumping may cause you to have irritable bowel syndrome. You may feel irritation in your intestines. The cell clumping could also cause liver cirrhosis.
The intact lectins could also block blood flow to your kidneys. Besides, lectins act like fake hormones. As such, they latch onto receptors of hormones.
Here, they block the regular hormonal activity as antagonists. Or, the intact lectins can rev up the non-stability of hormonal receptors in an agonistic relationship.
How Can You Tell You’ve Ingested Wrong Lectins?
You can tell that your blood type is incompatible with the lectins you've ingested with these signs:
- Unpredictable bowel movements
- Flatulence after eating
- Bloating after meals
- Hormonal imbalances
- Achy muscles and joints
- Skin allergies
- Fatigue
So, at times you may have the above signs if you eat certain foods. Such foods as seafood, vegetables, legumes, and grains have high levels of lectins.
And while it may be challenging to shun these foods, avoid lectins that cause agglutination in your blood group-type cells. Avoid wheat germ agglutinin. These agglutinins bind your small intestine’s linings.
These wheat agglutinins cause irritation to blood type O people. Some lectins, like Soy, boost the immune system. They help blood type A people avoid problematic cellular changes.
When you have the above signs, avoid nightshades. They have high lectin levels. Nightshades are vegetables that grow in the dark. Examples of those are peppers, potatoes, eggplant and tomatoes.
What Are the Health Benefits of the Blood Type Diet?
Proponents of a blood type diet believe many health benefits come with it.
You can enjoy the benefits of a blood-type diet depending on the molecules or lectins in the food.
A Positive Blood Type
If your blood group is A positive, your body quickly digests carbohydrates and vegetables. Your digestive system also struggles to digest fats and animal proteins.
People with this blood group are prone to anxiety. They have a fragile immune system.
But with the vegetarian blood type diet, you can enjoy:
- Considerable weight loss
- Improved digestion
- High energy levels
- Improved immune system
- Low cholesterol levels
- Reduced risk of cancer
- Reduced risk of diabetes
- Lower rates of anxiety disorders
- Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
- Low blood pressure
- Serum triglycerides
- Lower BMI
Yet, for you to achieve the benefits mentioned above, you must avoid consuming:
- Simple carbohydrates
- Processed foods
- Very sugary foods
And for better results, take proteins like peanuts, soy protein, or cold water fish for breakfast. You can also take low levels of animal proteins like eggs and turkey for breakfast.
B Blood Type Diet Benefits
So, consuming the B blood type diet results in you having a more robust immune system. Your digestive system will also become more tolerant.
In addition, a B blood type diet increases your adaptability compared to other blood groups. This diet will also boost your immunity against chronic fatigue.
Not to mention, the B blood type diet gives you resistance to multiple sclerosis and all lupus types.
AB Blood Type Diet Benefits
AB blood type diet helps you balance your stomach acids. The diet improves the functioning of your digestive system.
The diet also increases your metabolic efficiency. It also reduces your risks of digestive disorders. And, the diet also encourages weight loss.
The dairy products in this diet enhance your insulin production. Balanced insulin production helps your body:
- Control blood sugar levels
- Store excess glucose for energy
Hence, you can prevent diabetes with this diet. You can also burn excess calories and therefore maintain your preferred body weight.
The diet stimulates your intestinal mobility. Balanced blood glucose helps you prevent associated diseases like liver complications. This diet also reduces your risks of obesity, kidney damage, nerve damages, and blindness.
O Positive Blood Type Diet Benefits
The O-positive blood type diet helps you maintain a lean body. It enables you to shed off unwanted weight. The diet also enhances your muscular strength.
Not to mention, the diet improved your mental productivity. And you can overcome digestive issues with this O-positive blood type diet.
This diet also helps you overcome insulin resistance. It improves your thyroid performance.
O Negative Blood Type Diet Benefits
The O negative blood type diet improves your metabolism and digestion. The diet contains foods rich in iodine. Thus the diet helps you stabilize your thyroid functioning.
This diet is also rich in vitamin K. The diet enhances your blood clotting. As a result, you'll enjoy faster wound recoveries.
The O negative blood type diet also reduces your hypersensitivity problems. It reduces your digestive tract irritation. The diet helps you prevent ulcers.
The diet also balances your insulin production. As a result, it lowers your risk of diabetes. And, this diet also reduces your risk of obesity and arthritis.
The Blood Type Diet and a Healthier You
The scientific research supporting the health benefits of a blood type diet is limited. But, the diet is nevertheless beneficial. The diet prohibits processed foods and junk foods. These food types are the major contributors to many lifestyle diseases.
So, to get started with the blood type diet, first determine your blood group. Understand if your regular diet contains bad lectins. Check for the intolerant lectin signs discussed above.
And above all, a blood type diet is one step to a healthier life. You get to shed unwanted weight and maintain a balanced, strong body. Besides, the blood type diet boosts your immunity system.
Hence, you can enjoy improved metabolism and enhanced digestion. The blood type diet also helps you enjoy a reduced risk of many other diseases.
The common diseases you can prevent with a blood type diet include kidney complications and liver failures.
More interestingly, each blood diet type specifically addresses the dietary and nutritional problems of that particular blood group.
This guide has everything you need to understand about blood type diets. But if you need more details on how you can benefit from the diet, contact Insurdinary.
Our experts are always ready to cater to your health needs. And, when you need insurance plans for your comfort, we also offer comprehensive insurance. Reach out to us today to discuss how to help you enjoy good overall health.
