Eat Right 4 Your Type - Is it Hype?

Can it be possible that your blood type can determine which foods will aid in weight loss and which foods will actually cause you to gain weight? That is the claim in the book "Eat Right 4 Your Type", by Dr. Peter j. D'Adamo. The book was written in 1996 and I just recently happened across it when I was asked to do a report on the diet for a nutrition class. I had never heard of this diet or even this concept. I am not in any way trying to sell you on this book or diet, just let you know my experiences with the diet. Some of the information really is very interesting and certainly worth looking into. The idea is that depending on your blood type certain foods can actually be harmful to your system causing all sorts of problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, etc., while other foods can be very beneficial to your health and promote weight loss and reverse the signs or beginnings of some of the above mentioned health issues. I happen to have type A+ blood. I was shocked to learn that many of the foods I love and enjoy on a daily basis were actually on the foods to avoid list. I was also informed that I should be a Vegetarian, can you believe it? I am only listing a few of the recommendations. You will have to buy the book if you feel you want to follow this diet. I just found it interesting to see some of the food listed. Here is the run down of how blood type A's should eat.:   Type A's:

• We are "Cultivators", the first vegetarians
• We will be naturally thinner and will lose weight rapidly in the beginning on this type of diet if we eliminate meat products.
• We should NOT do strenuous, high intensity exercise, but rather will benefit from Tai Chi & Yoga (seriously? I have been killing myself with my workouts and love it, lol)

Food that will encourage weight gain:

• Meat (they say it will be stored as fat, yikes)
• Dairy foods - no milk, cheese, etc.
• Kidney & Lima Beans (we can have all other beans, oh my, I always eat kidney beans, oh well!)
• Wheat (we can have wheat, just not too much, but this is one thing I don't eat much of anymore so I am okay with this, lol.

Foods that will encourage weight loss (sounds good to me!):

• Soy Foods (another shocker, I have been told to avoid these foods like the plague, but maybe I will give this a shot and it will help with my awful hot flashes)
• Vegetables, (hmmm, no mystery here, anyone who eats their veggies (and not much else is bound to lose weight, right?)
• Vegetable Oils (like olive oil, so this is good, but NO coconut oil? Say it isn't so, I love the stuff, sigh!)
• Pineapple (good for digestion, okay, I will try it, I like pineapple)

Type A's can should eliminate all meats from diet, but we can have some fish and chicken a few times a week.
Fish and seafood to avoid (the list is longer, these are just my favorites):

• Crab
• Halibut
• Lobster
• Scallop
• Shrimp

Dairy & Eggs (Okay to eat):

• Eggs (1 - 3 per week, I eat 1 - 2 per day)
• Feta
• Ricotta
• Goat Cheese
• Yogurt
• Mozzarella

Bad Dairy:

• All Cheeses including cottage cheese, brie, cream cheese
• Ice Cream
• Half & Half
• Milk
• Parmesan
• Whey (seriously??? What about my protein shakes!!!)

Good Oils & Fats:

• Olive Oil
• Walnut Oil
• Flaxseed

Bad Fats & Oils:

• Coconut Oil (boo hoo, I love the stuff)
• Corn Oil
• Peanut Oil

I can go on and on, and I am sure I will be adding to this list. Type A's are also allowed to have some grains, cereals & pastas. This is good news to me but also scares me a bit. It is necessary to eat certain grains like rice when you have legumes (beans), in order to make a complete protein. This is not from the book, but a simple fact of any nutrition book you will read. It is science.

Type A's really only need to avoid these Grains, cereals & pastas:

• Cream of Wheat
• Grape Nuts
• Wheat Germ, wheat bran, shredded wheat
• Whole wheat bread, multigrain bread, high protein bread
• Whole Wheat flour (pasta, too)

Type A's need to avoid these Vegetables:

• Cabbage
• Peppers
• Olives
• Potatoes (all colors/varieties)
• Tomatoes
• Shiitake Mushrooms (all others are okay)
• Eggplant

  Type A's need to avoid these Fruits:

• Bananas
• Coconuts
• Melons
• Papayas
• Oranges/Tangerines
• Mangoes

This makes me a bit sad, I love some of these fruits. I have a banana everyday and also love oranges and tangerines, and mangos, sigh!

Lastly, Type A's must avoid these things:

• Pepper , black, cayenne, red flakes, white (all my favorites)
• Vinegar (I am italian, this could be hard)
• Ketchup
• Mayonnaise
• Pickles
• Worchestershire sauce
• Beer & alcohol
• Soda
• Tea (except green is good)

Things Beneficial to Type A's - I LOVE This:

• Coffee
• Red Wine
• Green Tea
• Chocolate (is neutral)

So, I plan to give this a try. I will let you all know how it goes. When I did my report, I concentrated on the type O blood type since most of the people in the nutrition class were type O's. If you have tried this Blood Type Diet, please feel free to leave your comments. I would love to hear how it was for you!