The Blood Type Diet Works!

I started studying blood type and diet with Dr. James D'Adamo's 30 year practice compilatio
"One Man's Food... Is another Man's Poison" in 1995. The information was fascinating: specific foods could have a beneficial, neutral, or negative effect on human health and functioning!

In 1997, Dr. Peter D'Adamo, son of Dr. James D'Adamo published "Eat Right 4 Your Type". A patient bought me a copy as a gift and handed it to me with a look on his face like, "Hey Dr. Saks, I guess you were serious about the connection between blood type and diet!"

So here we are, many years later with so much more science, research and data on the connection between blood type and diet. The concept is really quite simple. The protein on your blood cells can have a beneficial, neutral or negative reaction to the chemical composition (protein structure) in food; thus, our health can greatly improve if our diet leans greatly toward our beneficial foods and we lean heavily away from our avoid foods. Incidentally, I stopped giving patients the avoid list years ago - so I could avoid "aw-man, you mea
I can't have..." reaction!

As a Naturopath, Chiropractor, and Health and Wellness Coach, I recommend each person have their blood type tested (can be easily done at home) or more specifically, get your type and your secretor status checked with one salivary evaluation. Solutions to many of your health issues, even the difficult ones, may lie less in the intake of vitamins, minerals, and supplements than in the creation of a personalized “Bio-Logikal Diet”. Doctors all over the country have started talking about the need for diets customized for specific individuals. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all health and wellness programs.

A Brief Summary of the Concept of Blood Type and Diet:

Each blood cell has encoded proteins on its outer shell . These proteins are immune defense mechanisms called antigens. These blood antigens are used by the body to determine "friend or foe" when floating about the body. If the antigens come in contact with other proteins seen as foreign (such as on bacteria), the antigens create antibodies to fight off the intruder(s). Each blood type has a specific type of antigen unique to its own chemical structure. Your blood type is named for the antigen found on your red blood cells (A, B, O, AB).

The red blood cells not only interact with foreign organisms such as bacteria and viruses, but they also come in contact with proteins found on all foods. The foods that we eat contain proteins called Lectins. When broken down and absorbed by the small intestine, these proteins are collected by red blood cells for distribution throughout the body. A chemical reaction takes place between your blood and the food you eat. Simply put, some lectins will interact positively with your blood, some will have a neutral effect and some will have a negative effect. What foods react in what way depends on ....you've got it! Your blood type!

Foods that have a negative effect in your body are the ones that have lectins that interact with your blood and create an immune response. The immune response leads to thickening of the blood and ultimately lowered health and immunity. Here are some of the symptoms experienced by people who regularly eat foods that are not within the suggested list for their type: fatigue, allergies, joint pain, and headaches.

There are many other important facts in Dr. D'Adamo's book. One thing that stood out the most was his statements about grains, particularly wheat and corn and how too much of them can destroy insulin sufficiency and thyroid production in the body. How many millions of Americans are considered diabetic, pre-diabetic or hypothyroid? How many people are fatigued or overweight?

I have found that blood typing alone can give me 80-85% accuracy with a clinical diet for a patient, WITHOUT having to use a food allergy test. Further, if we know the person's blood type and secretor status, we can fine tune their diet to 90% or better as compared to food allergy testing. Food allergy testing can still be very useful, but it’s expensive and not absolute. This makes blood typing and secretor status testing a phenomenal clinic tool. In case you’re wondering, secretor status indicates whether a person secretes his/her blood type antigens into their mucous membranes (eyes, intestines, urine, etc.). About 80% of the U.S. population are "secretors", while 20% are "non- secretors". Secretor status can be very beneficial when recommending a therapeutic or wellness diet for my patients and clients.

Dr. D'Adamo continues to research, publish and even treat patient in his clinic in Connecticut. His most recent publication is quite complex and primarily deals with heredity, genetic expression and blood type.

I had the opportunity to hear Dr. D'Adamo speak at his conference for The Institute for Human Individuality in Tempe, AZ April 2005. He started many doctors on a quest to learn more about blood typing, genetic expression, and dermatoglyphics (fingerprinting) as a means of recognizing patterns of dysfunction and disease.

I recommend Dr. D'Adamo's book Eat Right For Your Type for everyone. It is easy and vital reading for a healthy body and mind.