Diet Deception: Diet Deception: The Blood Type Diet

The Premise:

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. 

Diet Deception: The Fit For Life Diet

The Premise:

That weight gain is simply the result of eating inapproprite foods at inappropriate times of the body’s natural cycle. Fit for Life authors Harvey and Mari-lyn Diamond say that the body has three natural cycles: appropriation, or eating and digesting which happens from noon to 8 p.m. , assimilation or absorption and use (8 p.m. to 4 a.m.) , and elimination of body waste, which happens from 4 a.m. to noon. They further contend that since the body is made up of 70 percent water, so should your diet; hence the ratio of 70 percent fruits and vegetables to 30 percent concentrated foods (or everthing else).

The Provisions:

Just fruit juice or fruits before noon, salad and fruit for lunch,starch and either vegetable or protein for dinner, and a fruit snack at least three hours after dinner. Every two or three days, lunch should only consist of fruit, so you have two meals consisting of just fruit. You’re also allowed nuts, and nut butters, pasta, bread, and grains during lunch and dinner, but all dairy products (except butter) are strictly off limits. Consumption of meat is also discouraged.

The Promise:

Lose as much as 50 pounds in a month by eating proper food combinations at the appropriate times.

The Proof?

Christine, 23, a student says “I lost eight pounds from this diet after only three weeks, but it left me feeling weak and almost always hungry. I decided to get off it after four weeks at which I returned to eating as much of a balanced diet as I could. I try to stay away from fat as much as possible. It took me only two weeks to gain the weight back plus two more pounds. I never want to diet again.”

The Prognosis:

The weight loss Christine experienced from this diet was expected due to its low caloric intake and high  the bulk content. This diet restricts the intake of meat and carbs to a total of one to two servings per day and replaces the rest of the days’ intake with fruits and vegetables. Although it does encourage you to increase your veggie intake, this diet puts a slightly higher premium on the nutritional value of our leafy friends by claiming that all the nutrients the body needs can be found solely in foliage.

Some foibles: The authors state that “fruit should never be taken with or immediately following anything,” (an important Fit for Life rule) , and that fruit taken after a meal rots and cannot be assimilated- ir ferments and its accumulation causes obesity. But fruits in themselves contain a chemical called pectin which is fermented. Following the authors’ contention that fermentation leads to obesity, eating fruit would then lead to obesity and not cure it. Another claim that raised more than a few eyebrows in the health industry is that dairy products are indigestible and acid and mucus-forming. The authors further argue that cow’s milk is for cows and not suitable for huma ns and that the only acceptable form of dairy is butter. Unless they’re actually taking about the butter made from human milk, their arguments simply don’t make sense.

The Pros’ Position:

According to Ana Cruz,an L.A. nutritionist and dietician who once worked for the Duke University Medical Center, “The diet is highly deficient in protein, calcium, zinc, vitamins B and D and iron, and can lead to iron deficiency anemia and osteoporosis. A diet that restricts milk and protein can seriously affect the development of young children and strict adherence to the diet during pregnancy can do serious harm to a developing fetus.”

Top nutritionist Dr. Sanirose Orbeta says, “In practice, we try to avoid nutrient specificity, like emphasizing one group of food over the other. Precisely it’s the complimentary, supplementary action one food gives another food that creates the balance of nutrients. That’s the reason why a variety in food choices is important. For example, the amino acids lacking in rice or pasta together with the protein from animal meat or plant source will combine to make the food healthy and high in biologic value and nutrient density.”

Image Sources:

fruits : http://www.flickr.com/photos/feastguru_kirti/2295831315/
fruit juices: http://www.flickr.com/photos/comunicati/6071069098/
vegetables: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suckamc/2488644619/

The Importance of Health Fitness

Exercising and working out is a great way to always look and feel better in getting a total wellness for our body. The physical as well the mental well-being of a person always depends on it. One good thing about exercising is that it can help a person lessen the chances of getting heart diseases or even diabetes. It is also good in the reduction of various effects of depression and getting rid of different stressors.

Getting the mental and physical benefits of health fitness are always well worth all the hard work. It will make certain that you are able to live a happier life and is always in good shape. Now, I have one great question for everyone. Do you want to just live your life or do you want to enjoy life and take pleasure in your existence? The choice will depend on you.

Discovering different activities that will develop your current fitness level is what Health Fitness entails. Everyone has a different existing level of fitness. It varies from person to person. It can be brisk walking for 10 minutes. For some, it can be jogging an extra 1 mile. It can also be a hardcore weightlifting. So the point here is you have to begin your fitness level and you must only make an assessment to where you want your health fitness level to be, say next year or next two years. Ensure that you set realistic goals that are very tough but are still attainable.

Improving your health fitness can involve too many ways. You yourself can select and participate to different activities that you will surely enjoy. It is a good way to be healthy while getting a self motivation aside. If you love and will take pleasure in playing basketball, then let yourself be engage in that sport maybe twice a week. And if you hate gymnastics then do not force yourself to do it. Find other exercises that will promote a healthy heart but that will keep you motivated and enjoyed.

      

It has been a long time that our society, viewed doing exercises as something awful that we always have to stay away from it. And spinning the entire situation into something that is positive will do great help in achieving very promising health fitness goals.

Now, how many among us take some time to meet our own needs on a normal basis? I guess, not all of us. We have our families and career that make us busy as a bee. You then should take some time to find value in yourself for at least once a week. Grab this opportunity to do something, new things for yourself. You can simply soak in bubble bath yourself or read a very interesting book. Try as well to take a pastime that you will enjoy or will let you learn new skills. A quality time like this will surely help you get relaxed and relieved stress. It is one great importance of health fitness.

This isn’t all about exercise either. Proper way of eating also plays a vital role in health fitness. You for sure will feel very sluggish and irritable if you will consume large amounts of carbs and sugar. They will provide you a momentary boost of energy but not for so long. Consuming fresh fruits and veggies will help you sustain your energy levels all day long. This will let you consume fewer calories but you feel full all day long.

Health Fitness is an essential issue that most of us need to focus our interest on. Because it influence both our physical and our mental well-being. As a final point, it gives us the chances to be the healthiest we can be.

Images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arcticwarrior/5951391052/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben30/2931678492/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Title image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1857