Accordingly, a nutritionist can prescribe a suitable diet compatible with one's blood group.
Blood group O It is believed to be the earliest human blood group, originating 30,000 years ago. Dr D'Adamo recommends that this blood group consume a high protein diet.
Blood group A Dr D'Adamo believes it to be a more recently evolved blood type, dating back from the dawn of agriculture about 20,000 years ago. He recommends that individuals of this blood group consume a diet consisting largely of vegetables and free of red meat, i.e. a more vegetarian food intake.
Blood group B This blood type is associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. According Dr D'Adamo, people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products. It is estimated that blood type B arrived 10,000 years ago.
Blood group AB According to D'Adamo, this is the most recent evolved type, arriving less than 1,000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, his blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.
How does it work Naturopathic physician Peter D'Adamo charted out the Blood Type Diet in his book, Eat Right 4 Your Type. His theory states that each blood group contains its own unique antigen (an antigen is any substance that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against it) marker, which has a tendency to react badly with certain foods, thereby leading to potential health problems. D'Adamo believes that because blood types evolved at different times throughout history, we should eat a diet based on the types of foods our ancestors typically ate at the time.
Nutritionist and naturopath Zainab Syed explains, As per the diet, the compatibility or incompatibility of protein lectins found in the food we eat with the blood type antigens targets various body organs or the system. If you're toying with the idea of trying out this diet but are quite impatient when it comes to seeing the results, no need to fret as depending on the age, health concerns, genetic disposition, it would take minimum of a week to about three weeks to see the result of this diet.
Benefits The diet suggests consuming more natural foods and therefore cuts down the intake of processed food, junk food, alcohol and chocolates. Reducing the intake of these foods also helps to reduce one's risk of heart disease, blood pressure and weight gain. Following such a diet has reported many benefits for individuals that range from helping them in reducing weight, preventing blood clotting disorder, delaying the progress of inflammatory diseases like arthritis, reducing risks of severe ailments like cancer, anemia, gall bladder disorders, chronic fatigue disorders and in some cases even auto immune disorders. Each blood group has its own set of unique diet that helps us addressing various diseases.
Cons Some celebs who undergo this diet, end up as ambassadors for it. However, there are some experts who are sceptical of this diet. Dietician Carlyne Remedios points out one major con, The diet can be extremely restrictive, especially the diets recommended for blood groups O and A are considerably limited and cut out major groups of foods in the long run this can lead to severe nutritional deficiencies. Obesity specialist Dr Muffazal Lakdawala also agrees saying, Because this diet can be very restrictive following this diet will definitely result in considerable weight loss. However, being extremely restrictive the diet is difficult to sustain in the long run. The dieter will then resume his normal eating pattern and this will eventually result in weight regain.
Another drawback is that there's no calorie counting measured on the blood type diet. It is a relatively new concept and therefore more scientific evidence is required to ascertain if there could be any drawbacks. Also, the food list remains same for blood type positive and negative, says Syed. However, not dismissing the diet entirely she opines that there's no harm in trying the diet as most of us are unconsciously aware of what suits us and what food makes us uncomfortable. We have definitely seen results with those suffering from weight problem, arthritis and chronic fatigue. It is required to observe one's genetic medical history and check for any predisposition to any disease.
Source: Times of India
BDST: 1730 HRS, NOV- 02, 2015
Edited by: Sharmina Islam, Lifestyle Editor
