Dieting is one of the most popular things in this day and age. Not only do people look for diets that will help them to shave calories off their day, but they are even considering vegetarian and vegan dog diets that will help their pets to “eat healthy” the way they think they should.
There are hundreds of different diets to choose from – so many, in fact, that it can be hard to know whether or not a diet is healthy, safe, and effective. The Blood Type Diet is one of the most popular diets around, and yet it seems a bit fishy. Is it really all that it’s cracked up to be?
What is the Blood Type Diet?
The Blood Type Diet is a diet plan created in the 1990s by Dr. Peter Adamo. His book Eat Right 4 Your Type became an instant best-seller, as many people loved the look of the diet.
The diet is based on the various types of blood running through people’s veins. There are four blood types:
- A
- B
- AB
- O
Not only are there four blood types, but there are also three ancestral categories into which each person falls:
- Asian
- African
- Caucasian
This means that there are 12 subgroups of people living in the world today, and each of these subgroups should have a slightly different diet.
Food is divided into 16 groups, and each of the groups falls into one of three categories:
- Neutral
- Highly beneficial
- Food to avoid
The diet is very complex, and it will take a lot of hard work to understand just what is best for your specific blood type. Get ready to read the book a few times before you ever start dieting!
Does the Blood Type Diet Really Work?
The diet is based upon the theory that your blood type is an indicator of the prehistoric group from which you are supposed to have descended. It is also supposed to indicate just what types of food your digestive system is designed to handle easily.
While blood type has been known to have some effect on your health (see this article…), the truth is that you cannot limit yourself to the dietary guidelines recommended by the Blood Type Diet. For example, those with Type O Blood are supposed to be primarily meat-eaters, so grains and dairy products are off the menu. This means that Type O dieters are going to lack some pretty vital nutrients despite their protein-rich diet.
Food allergies and intolerances have been linked to blood types, and blood type can be a health factor in some cases – such as ulcers. However, creating a diet based around this supposition that certain blood types need certain types of food is coming close to the far-fetched. The human body needs a balance of nutrients, and following the Blood Type Diet can often lead to a dearth of certain nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that are needed to be healthy.
While you will find that many celebrities endorse the Blood Type Diet, most doctors will inform you that it isn’t really a healthy diet for the long term. While it can be helpful for you to get certain food allergies or intolerances under control, it’s not going to keep you healthy for many happy years to come. It’s a diet that can be severely restricting, and thus it can lead to further health problems.
Your blood type really only matters when you need a blood transfusion, but not when planning your meals.
