The Blood Type Diet: How Knowing Your Blood Type Can Help You Lose Weight and Live Longer

The documentary Fat, Sick, Nearly Dead is the story of how two men completely reversed their health and lives with a 60 day juice cleanse – yet some people literally can’t function – let alone heal – if they don’t have a certain amount of protein each day.

Personally, the raw foods cleanse invigorated me, filling me with energy and clarity and helping me to lose several pounds; my friend however felt tired, sluggish and bloated – and eating mostly raw fruits and vegetables, she gained weight.

Why is it that some people thrive on a vegetarian – or even vegan diet – and others cannot fathom a day without meat?

Protein, fats and carbohydrates are macronutrients, and they metabolize differently in each person. Likewise, the individual constituents of foods react differently in each person as well. Dairy causes excess mucous in some people. Other people can’t digest gluten well. Some people truly feel their best when they’re eating animal protein at every meal. Fruit can cause some people’s blood sugar to spike so frequently they may become hypoglycemic. Even though all of our body’s are made up of the same basic parts, for some reason our physiological reactions can greatly differ when it comes to what we put in them.

Dr. James D’Adamo and his son Dr. Peter D’Adamo reasoned that as blood is the fundamental source of nourishment to the body, perhaps these drastic differences could be accounted for by an individual’s blood type.

If you haven’t donated blood or needed a transfusion, chances are you may not even know your blood type. Blood type is one of those things that is rarely thought of outside the hospital. This, however, is unfortunate. Your blood type is the key to your entire immune system. It controls the influence of many immune compromising factors, including: viruses, bacteria, infections, chemicals, stress and foreign invaders.

The immune systems most fundamental job is to protect against foreign invaders, and to do that it has to be able to distinguish between the “self” and “non-self”. Its mentality is basically protect “us” and destroy “them”. One way it does this is by recognizing antigens.

Antigens are chemical markers that are found on every living thing, from simple viruses to complex human cells. Each blood type has its own antigen with a unique chemical structure. When the immune system senses an invader the first thing it does is look to your blood type antigen to determine if the intruder is friend or foe.

Antigens create antibodies that attach to the invader and mark it for destruction. The immune system manufactures countless varieties of antibodies, each specially designed to attach to a specific foreign molecule. When an antibody encounters the antigen of an invader a reaction called agglutination occurs. The antibody attaches to the antigen and makes it very sticky. When cells, viruses, parasites and bacteria are agglutinated they stick together forming clumps that are easier for the body to eliminate. Scouring the system antibodies are able to lump together invaders for easy identification and disposal.

Interestingly, many foods also agglutinate the cells of certain blood types and not others. Meaning a food that is harmful for one person may be quite beneficial to another. Lectins, which are proteins found in foods, have agglutinating properties that affect your blood. Because different lectins target different organs and body systems, when you eat a food that contains lectins that are incompatible with your blood type the lectins begin to agglutinate cells in the area of that organ or bodily system.

For example, of the four blood types: A, B, AB, and O, milk has B-like qualities meaning that if a person with Type A blood drinks it, his system will immediately start the agglutination process in an effort to reject it.

Lectin protein is almost like a magnet. Once it has settled somewhere, it continues its agglutination and clumps the cells together in that region of the body. These healthy cells are now marked and targeted for destruction, as if they were foreign invaders. The agglutination of healthy cells can cause a myriad of problems which eventually results in chronic illness or disease.

Our immune system protects us from most lectins. 95% of the lectins we ingest are eliminated by the body. However, 5% of the lectins we eat are absorbed into the bloodstream where they react with and destroy red and white blood cells, inflame the digestive tract and damage nerve tissue over time.

This is not meant to scare you away from eating. Lectins are found in virtually all foods including seafood, grains, vegetables and legumes. What you are encouraged to do is find out your blood type and talk to a practitioner trained in the blood type diet, particularly if you have asthma, allergies (either food or seasonal), autoimmune conditions or are overweight.

The blood type diet is based in science. The D’Adamo’s have tested most common foods for blood type reactions using both clinical and laboratory studies. The effects of antigens, antibodies, lectins and agglutination on your body is proven. Following the blood type diet can help you:
• Avoid many common viruses and infections
• Rid your body of fats and toxins allowing you to lose unwanted weight
• Slow down the aging process by avoiding many of the factors that cause rapid cell deterioration
• Take control of life-threatening diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and liver failure.

For more information check out One Man’s Food…is Someone Else’s Poison by Dr. James D’Adamo, Eat Right For Your Type by Dr. Peter D’Adamo or www.pranaenergetics.com for more information on your body type with guides, food lists and sample recipes.