Have you been trying different diets to get leaner and healthier over the years with little success? This had been my problem for years as my weight yo-yoed between 68-95kg from the time I left high school in 1993 until 2000- I also had trouble with energy levels and had been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. In 2000 I went to the R.I.F.E clinic in Auckland where they took a sample of my blood to determine what my blood type was. I found out that I was Type A and with that blood type came certain genetic tendencies and food requirements which if I abided by would apparently not only improve my health and vitality, but help me to maintain a more stable and leaner body composition. I was sceptical at first, but nothing else had worked so I thought- why not?
After a couple of weeks on the diet I was amazed at how energetic I felt and the weight began to fall off me. It was tough at first eating more vegetarian proteins and not having my steak! I also began utilising the diet with my personal training clients with the same positive results. I have to say I have heard a number of people bag this approach to eating, however, these people usually haven’t even tried this diet protocol and are usually not nutritionists or doctors, whereas, Peter D’Adamo; the author of eat right for your type is both, with an extensive amount of research behind him (which his father actually started). So what does this diet involve? Here is the basic run down.
It is based on the theory that our blood type (which is a big part of our unique internal chemistry) can reflect the way our body absorbs and uses nutrients as well as our genetic predispositions for exercise, stress, health issues and even personality types. Before we start though it must be said that these tendencies need to be considered on a continuum as well as the fact that even if we are given a certain set of genetic tendencies, environmental factors come in to play as well. (D’Adamo has also identified further genetic factors like secretor status, body measurements and unique body markers which also need to be considered). So without further ado here are the general individualised approaches to diet and exercise for the different blood types.
Type O:
They should eat a high protein (which includes red meat) and unprocessed carbohydrate diet which means getting rid of most grain based foods and eating more vegetables & fruits. Exercise should be intense and is a great way to relieve stress in type O’s.
Type A:
They should eat a more vegetarian diet and avoid red meat. Exercise should be gentle and used to lower their naturally higher cortisol levels. (This does not mean type A’s can’t be involved in strenuous exercise- it just means that they will need to make sure they plan their training more carefully than a type O and involve relaxing type activities as well to avoid overtraining and excessive stress).
Type B:
They should eat a varied diet and seem to benefit from dairy products too. If you imagine Type A and Type O at either end of a continuum, B (& AB) are somewhere in the middle-with B being closer to O’s and AB’s closer to A’s in terms of their diet and exercise needs.
Type AB:
They benefit from a similar diet as a Type A with some variations that reflect their unique AB chemistry. They should also perform calming forms of exercises for health and body composition improvement.
Although this is only a simple look at the diet, you can easily access the books online or your local library for further information and specific food lists. Since 2000, Peter D’Adamo has developed further dietary protocols based on the blood type diet which I have used personally and will look at in future articles.
So how do you find out your blood type? You can find out your blood type by donating blood, visiting most naturopathic health centres or by ordering a blood type identification kit from the eat right for your type website.
If you have been struggling to lose weight or always seem to lack energy, why not give the blood type diet a try? The success rate for this diet in terms of satisfaction of results by people who try it is around 75% – other factors I have touched on that can be considered (secretor status & unique body measurements and markers) increase this even further. Just remember though if you do decide to follow the blood type diet make sure you still cover all the recommended macro and micronutrients you need for a balanced diet.