Peter J. D’ Adamo, author of Eat Right for Your Type, says that in order to optimize the use of your food intake and channel it into the proper caloric expenditures needed to keep the body healthy, you must take into consideration your blood type. The basic premise is that Type Os are the dominant, hunter/caveman types and thus, are mainly carnivores; Type As are docile vegetarians and Type Bs are dairy-eating omnivores. According to D’ Adamo, this fact is supported by the action of lectins, sugar-wielding proteins found on the surface of certain foods that cause various molecules and cells to stick together.
The Provisions:
Type Os should stick mainly to protein-rich foods: meat, fish, tofu, eggs etc; Type As to vegetables and food of plant origins: vegetable oils, peanut butter, wheat-based products like pasta and breads, and should stay away from milk as this blood type cannot process milk. Type Bs can eat all the dairy products they want: butter, creams, etc. and since most of these products come from animal sources, meat and poultry is allowed in minimal amounts.
The Promise:
Reduces the risks of heart disease and steers you away from multi-organ dysfunction. Plus, it can ensure the proper processing of your daily intake and channel it into healthier, more effective means of expenditure.
The Prognosis:
The book contains a lot of scientifically dissatisfying, one-size-fits-all statements such as “Type Os don’t tolerate whole wheat products at all,” which leads one to believe that Type Os can generally die from taking wheat products. How much wheat can Type Os tolerate before it leads to massive heart failure or smoke?
Another argument is that “if a Type A drinks milk, her system will immediate start the agglutination process in order to reject it.” But the author offers no proof to support this statement. No statements are even offered explaining why Type As who drink milk (sometimes massive quantities of it) aren’t rushing to their graves as a result of strokes when their blood agglutinates in their entire system
Agglutination is when the red blood cells (RBC) stick together to form clumps; a process that happens when the surface of red blood cells become coated with fat or other substances that make them adhere to each other’s surfaces. When agglutination occurs, the RBC can block the blood flow in the smaller capillaries and obstruct the flow of oxygen to vital organs such as the brain, the heart and the kidneys. Oxygen deprivation leads to infraction of the tissue or cell death. Again, the whole concept of the Blood Type diet is to eat only foods compatible to your blood type to prevent agglutination. Eating incompatibility can lead to fatal consequences and eventually death.
Most people aren’t even aware of their blood types so one can safely assume that on a daily basis and based on the premise of this diet; a person eats the wrong type of food regularly. According to the author, it’s only a matter of time before it takes its toll on the person’s health causing severe damages to his vital organs.
Search if you will, but you’ll find no pathologist to support the contention that tissue infraction from lectin-induced red cell agglutination causes disease and death in humas.
The Pros’ Position:
“Being that there are no concrete medical studies to back up the author’s assertions. I don’t think this diet holds much water. If milk’s really bad for you, why does entire government launch elaborate campaigns to promote it? Why there has been no documentation on people being hospitalized by the dozen because their blood cells stuck together?” says Ana Cruz, an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center.