Regarding Cecil’s column on Eat Right for your Type, which is a book of recommendations based on your blood type:
I have been looking at various diets like this for many years. I do think there is some merit in this one. With a few questions, I can generally determine someone’s blood type, well between blood type O and A anyway. The first one is “do you often get acid indigestion?” If so, it is highly likely they are blood type O, even though blood type A’s can sometimes suffer it. When type A’s suffer it, it is usually caused by incomplete food digestion so taking, amazingly, taking additional acid (like vinegar) often helps. When blood type O’s get it, it is usually from the body producing too much acid. often as a result of eating too much fat, and using vinegar is the last thing they want to do.
But, a valuable fact I learned and have informally verified over the last 10 years is the body’s response to being a vegetarian. Blood type A’s can be strict vegetarians, blood type O’s cannot (in general, of course). When you see a pale, low-energy hippie working in a health food store it is highly likely they are a blood type O trying to be a vegetarian. Perhaps there is some mix of supplements that a blood type O can take (such as a lot of B-12 and MSM or other type of sulfur) that would allow them to be a vegetarian, but in general, once a blood type O uses up his stores of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, or whatever from the meat he formerly ate, his health degrades.
I have a coworker who is a strict vegetarian. I told him that’s fine for him since he is blood type A (with confidence, and it surprised him since of course, he is). He said there is no way that the ability to be a healthy vegetarian is dependent on blood type. I asked him if he had a lot of healthy vegetarian friends and he said yes. I told him that not a single one of them was blood type O, even though that is (marginally) the most popular blood type. He was astounded to find that out of all of the ones that did know their blood type, none of them was.
The evidence indicates otherwise. You may have some anecdotes but you aren’t keeping scientific track of when you are wrong. The fact is that there’s no evidence that blood type has any significant impact on diet. All of your observations don’t pan out when looked at with an unbiased eye.
I tried the Blood type diet when no doctors or any other diet method could help my daughter who was 2 at the time, who was very ill and getting worse. This was 5 odd years ago.
Within 3 days she started to get better. Now the whole family use it and the more updated version the genotype diet. all are healthier and more and more people are finding it helpful.
The only person that seems to lose on the blood type diet are Monsanto and a whole bunch of other greedy people and companies. (including the big Pharma)
None of us use any pharmaceuticals now, we all feel so , so much better. haven’t needed so much as an aspirin for 5 years. never get ill. this has happened to Me. I’m not repeating an anecdotal story.
I would strongly advise you to review you advice on this diet and highly recommend that everyone tires it. it working for a lot of people.
By the way the book was written a long time ago and is still selling loads. I think it is the most successful diet book. but it gets you healthy and quickly.
I should also like to point out that “Science states that Bumble bees cannot fly” but science forget to inform the Bees !
In fairness, researchers have found links between certain diseases and blood types. For example:
People with type B blood may have a lower incidence of Type 2 diabetes than the A, O, and AB groups. Type B folks, in fact, may have less than half the risk of type O.
One study found a weak connection between gallstone formation and blood type, with type O folks being slightly less susceptible.
A and B types are much less likely to develop peptic ulcers than O types, who are also more prone to norovirus infections. A recent study of a million Scandinavian blood donors found type AB folks were 26 percent more likely, and type B folks 8 percent less likely, to develop gastric cancers than O types. Compared to O, AB folks had 23 percent lower risk of gastric ulcers, and B people had 25 percent higher risk of duodenal ulcers.
But none of that evidence supports any of the claims of the Blood Type diet advocates. No one is arguing that blood type doesn’t have medical impact, but to go from that to the clearly and definitively false claims made by the advocates of this diet is folly. The premise of the entire movement (about the origins of blood type and its impact on diet) is false.
It’s a nice story. Folks who work with antibodies and lectins say he’s in the Dunning-Kruger zone, though. Or is that the Narrativium zone? Since I don’t have a few million to sponsor the tests, I’m just going to believe them.
It’s easy to dismiss anyone’s research. Much easier to debunk naysayers who’s opinions are based on material they’ve not personally investigated.
So have a look at the science writings of Dr. D’Adamo, and ask whether there just might be something to it. Those who have enjoy their good health with not the slightest concern whether the success of their results were earned through the imprimatur of rote skepticism.
Research Writings of Peter D’Adamo
There is no scientific research that supports this hypothesis. It’s poorly collected guesswork and anecdotes. Actual data doesn’t support the idea of the Blood Type Diet.
Oh, don’t pay no mind to Cecil. He can’t help it He’s type O. You know how emotional they get at that time of the month. Or, are they the inscrutable ones?
I checked Google Scholar for work by Peter J. D’Adamo.
There was one article in a peer-reviewed journal. That was from 2001 and was in Alternative Medicine Review: a Journal of Clinical Therapeutic. That’s not much of a body of work to base a whole discipline on.