The Blood Type Diet Myth

One may wonder why we are discussing myths at all. Why spend time on things that don't work or things that are scams. The answer is that these myths and deceptions are part of reality.

The blood type diet seems to be the best personalized diet. A relationship between blood type A,B,O and diet was suggested by P.J. D'Adamo in his book, Eat Right for Your Type, published in 1996. Blood type diets have attracted widespread public attention, with more than 7 million copies sold in over 60 languages and on the New York Times bestseller list. York Times.

In this book, D'Adamo argues that the optimal diet for each individual depends on the person's A,B,0 blood type. Each blood type is thought to represent genetic traits of our ancestors, including what diet they evolved to thrive on.

Here is an example of what each blood type should eat:

Type A:

He is called an agrarian or cultivator. Type A people should eat a diet rich in plants and completely free of "toxic" red meat. This is very similar to a vegetarian diet.

Type B:

Called a nomad. These people can eat plants and most meats (except chicken and pork), and they can also eat some dairy products. However, they should avoid wheat, corn, lentils, tomatoes and several other foods.

Type AB:

It's called the enigma. It is described as a mix between types A and B. Foods to eat include seafood, tofu, dairy products, beans and grains. They should avoid beans, corn, beef and chicken.

Type 0:

It's called the hunter. This is a high-protein diet based primarily on meat, fish, poultry, certain fruits and vegetables, but limited in grains, legumes, and dairy products. It is very similar to the paleo diet.

D'Adamo also recommends a variety of supplements to help with tummy troubles and other issues he says people with Type 0 tend to have.

Thus, "the Blood Type Diet advises people to eat according to their blood type A,B,0 to improve their health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease."

So much for the theory. Now where is the evidence? Until recently, all these claims were theory and there was no evidence. This does not stop believers who claim that lack of evidence is not the same as evidence of lack!

So researchers at the University of Toronto began a large-scale study with 1,455 participants to see if there was any benefit to the blood type diet. The authors came to a clear conclusion: "How an individual responds to either of these diets has absolutely nothing to do with their blood type and everything to do with their ability to stick to a reasonable vegetarian or low-carbohydrate diet."

The researchers took an existing population of mostly young, healthy adults who provided detailed information about their usual diets and provided fasting blood, which was used to isolate DNA to determine their A,B,O blood type and level of cardiometabolic risk factors. factors such as insulin, cholesterol and triglycerides. Dietary scores were calculated based on the foods listed in Eat Right for Your Type to determine relative adherence to each of the four "blood type" diets.

The associations observed between each of the four blood type diets (A, B, AB, O) and markers of health were independent of a person's blood type.

There are many more of these diets that make profound claims but provide no real evidence. The evidence used is often based on selective use of literature, pseudoscience or even manufactured.