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Eating by Blood Type

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viviennem

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Since the 'Viv's Diet' thread is getting swamped by a discussion about dietary fat intake, I thought I'd start a new thread to ask this one:

I have read a book in the past about choosing the foods you eat according to your blood group. I can't remember the author's name, but the book is call 'Eat Right for Your Type'. I did search but couldn't find a previous thread on this subject. Sorry if there is one!

His underlying thesis is that as humans have developed and our lifestyles have changed, so our blood groups have mutated (this is not cause-and-effect, by the way - just over a period of time).

He postulates that all early hunter-gatherers were Type O, so all modern Type Os should eat a hunter-gatherer type diet (that would be the Palaeolithic Diet by any other name).

As we settled down and became agriculturalists, growing food including grains (about 12,000 years ago), blood group mutations appeared, giving us Type A and Type B. Type AB is the latest. These groups can tolerate more carbohydrates and dairy in their diet.

I found this an interesting idea, though I'm not sure there is enough human palaeolithic material in existence from the archaeological record to back his claim that all early hunter-gatherers were Type O. I don't know about modern hunter-gatherer groups.

I didn't follow through on this because his diet wouldn't allow me to eat pork ( :shock: ). However, I am Type O, and there is no doubt that a Palaeolithic-type diet suits me better than one high in grains, though dairy is okay for me.

Any thoughts?

Viv 8)
 
I saw a doctor on tv - can't remember who - rubbishing this. Cheryl Cole is a great believer in it, but according to this doctor our basic metabolism etc., is all the same. I'm a type A+ blood group. My other question is how did they know that our early ancestors were type O - and was that positive or negative. Blood typing for transfusions started in 1901 (http://nobelprize.org/educational/medic ... dmore.html). It sounds a bit like dieting according to your Astrological Chart.

Aileen
 
Sorry Viv, I think it's a bit more woo.
more details if you google
Skeptics dictionary blood type diet.

According to the article the author got his original ideas about the evolutionary order and place of origin of the various blood types wrong anyway...
A is the oldest blood type. Studies in humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos show that alleles coding for blood type A are the most ancient version of the ABO blood group. This trait was shared prior to the evolutionary split between chimpanzees and hominids five to six million years ago. B blood type split from A about 3.5 million years ago and O blood type split from A about 2.5 million years ago. From this error regarding the age of type O, D'Adamo reasons that people with type O blood should eat the kind of diet the earliest humans ate: one rich in fat and protein
Click to expand...

so even if he were right about adopting the diet current when the blood type evolved, his diets aren't the ones eaten at the time. More to the point your blood type has very little to do with digestion.
 
For those interested in this subject here is a bit more information from Wikipedia. He is no Dr BTW :

The blood type diet is a diet advocated by Peter D'Adamo, a naturopathic physician, and outlined in his book Eat Right 4 Your Type. D'Adamo's claim is that ABO blood type is the most important factor in determining a healthy diet, and he promotes distinct diets for people with O, A, B, and AB blood types.

Throughout his books D'Adamo cites the works of biochemists and glycobiologists who have researched blood groups, claiming or implying that their research supports this theory. Nevertheless, the consensus among dieticians, physicians, and scientists is that the theory is unsupported by scientific evidence
Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_type_diet

On the Quackometer : He gets 9/10 Canards........for the reference to the diet......

The black duck says...This web site is using serious amounts of quack medicine terms. It is full of scientific jargon that is out of place and probably doesn't know the meaning of any of the terms. It shows little or no critical thought and so should be treated with caution! It also looks like this site is trying to sell stuff. Buyer Beware!
Click to expand...

So Folks.......is it bunkum.......or a valid hypothesis.......I know what I think :roll:
 
Ailz, provided the bone from early humans is well-preserved, it is possible to extract all sorts of info from it, including DNA and (I believe) blood type. The problem is, there is very little bone from this period and most of it is not at all well-preserved. There would need to be a very big sample to be able to make any statements with certainty.

Thanks to all who have posted so far on this. Some useful info and good links! Don't apologise, Phoenix - I never said I believed it, mainly because of his claims about prehistory (which is why I no longr have the book), and your info about great apes and hominids rather kicks his argument straight into touch.

Has anyone, quack or otherwise, actually produced a diet based on astrological signs? :shock:

Viv 8)
 
viviennem said:
Has anyone, quack or otherwise, actually produced a diet based on astrological signs? :shock:

Viv 8)
Click to expand...


There are loads available....just Google 'Astrological Diet'........more bunkum for you to read.. :roll:
 
Well if people with type AB are supposed to tolerate carbs more, I've personally squashed that theory.

I'm type AB Positive, and I certainly don't tolerate carbs better than anyone else.

Helena.
 
Jimmy Moore interviewed him on his podcasts, so you can hear him quack if you want.
 
I wish I could join in this conversation but I've never been told what my blood type is. I have requested if the doctors would find out for me but they refused because there wasn't enough grounds for them to find out.

I'm guessing those of you that do know, you've had something happen to you so that you needed a blood donation? I know you can't have got your knowledge from giving blood (well, maybe if you're Type 2).

Maybe one day I shall know... :( Heh, it's almost like I'm wishing ill health on myself though now that I think about it lol.
 
I used to give blood, and that's how I found out - O positive!

I don't see why they can't tell you, or even ask for it to be typed when you have your blood tests done. It's hardly an expensive or a difficult test, as far as I know - and it can be useful to know.

It ought to be on your earliest medical records, if you were born in GB! :lol:

Viv 8)
 
I was diagnosed when I was 5 so it's impossible that I would have given blood at any point of my life.

I have asked about it and they don't know so I would assume that it's not on my records. They'll tell me when it's on a need to know basis considering what they've said to me.

I was born and bred in GB, thanks. Considering you say yourself that you learnt yours through giving blood (a need to know basis), I'm very skeptical about your "early records" statement.

Has anyone ever had their blood type just told to them for the sake of it?

Edit:
Here we go, if you're on the NHS, it doesn't happen:

http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1014.aspx?C ... goryID=162
"To find out someone’s blood group, a sample of their blood has to be taken and tested. However, GPs do not routinely check people’s blood groups."

"Healthcare professionals will also check a person’s blood group before they:
* give blood
* have an operation (surgery)
* donate an organ for transplant"

I guess I'll never know until something serious happens to me...
 
I was given mine in the hospital where I had my first child, which was many years ago. Don't know why they gave me it. It's a little card that slots into a plastic cover.

Helena
 
My "early records" comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, because since they've computerised my records they can't go back beyond 2008 so I have to remember what I've had and what's been done to me!

As far as I know they do a blood-type for every new-born baby, just in case of any rhesus-factor problems. Of course I could be wrong, never having had children myself, and if so I apologise.

Viv 8)

Edit: I wasn't suggesting you aren't British! but I know a few of my generation who have been born abroad - Army and Diplomatic families, for instance - so it can happen. I'm sorry if you misunderstood me - no offence intended!
 
I was also told my type when i had my first son. I am however being typed again as i'm having an angiogram and possible angioplasty in a few weeks and may need a transfusion.
 
viviennem said:
My "early records" comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, because since they've computerised my records they can't go back beyond 2008 so I have to remember what I've had and what's been done to me!

As far as I know they do a blood-type for every new-born baby, just in case of any rhesus-factor problems. Of course I could be wrong, never having had children myself, and if so I apologise.
Click to expand...

I see. Perhaps they used to, but now wait until they have any indication of problems? I was trouble free I suppose... Mom certainly hasn't really complained about it when talking about the births of my lot of siblings lol. Any problems popped up later than their births. :)

Edit: I wasn't suggesting you aren't British! but I know a few of my generation who have been born abroad - Army and Diplomatic families, for instance - so it can happen. I'm sorry if you misunderstood me - no offence intended!
Click to expand...

My bad - I did wonder what you were hinting at, but we're cool! I understand better what you meant now anyway, thanks! :) I'm just a typical (boring lol) UK lass that was born in London. Both my parents are typically white british so yeah lol. Would be cool if I was born abroad though or of mixed heritage! ^0^
 
I found out my blood info after I had given birth to my first child and the day after was approached by a nurse bearing a large needle and loaded syringe! :shock:

This was a dose of the Anti-D antibodies (I think I have got that right :? ) which I needed to prevent my body rejecting any future pregancies where I might carry a O Positive baby, my blood group is O Negative.

3 out of my 5 children are O Positive but I had to have 4 lots of anti-D. Just my luck to be carrying twins where one was O Negative and the other O positive!

Blood group info should really be accessable information shouldn't it?
 
If you are or have been a blood donor, have been pregnant or had an operation then you would have had your blood group tested.

I'm a drop of the rare stuff AB+
 
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