We talked last month about the blood type diet and how specifically gluten intolerance might be associated with Type O. Well this month I’d like to go into Type A: the Vegetarian/Vegan.

The type A blood developed about 200,000 BC when man first started to move from hunting/gathering to an agricultural society. As settlements and farming developed, those who adapted best to this new lifestyle where those with blood type A. They thrived on consuming vegetables, grains and legumes that they cultivated on their farms. Since many of these settlements developed near the coast lines where water for irrigation was easily accessible, seafood and sea vegetables also became staples of their diet. 

People with A blood don’t do well with animal meats and are best suited for a vegetarian lifestyle. In fact, dairy is also not recommended, so many type A’s do best on a vegan diet. For those in this category, dairy causes excessive mucous production, sluggish immune system and problems with digestion. In fact diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes are prominent in type A’s who stray from their ideal vegetarian diet. Amazing reversal of these diseases has been observed when they consume vegetarian and vegan diets. 

Here’s a breakdown of the prominence of type A by ethnicity:

•   Western European 47%
•     Jewish 41% 
•    Caucasian Americans 40%
•    Japanese 38% 
•      Korean 32%
•     Hispanic 31%
•     African Americans 27%
•      Chinese 25%
•      Indians 22%
•      American Indians 16%

Thai Rice Farmer

Interesting how the majority of these groups are coastal and agricultural communities. Many are Asian, and still maintain a highly vegetarian based cultural cuisine. In fact those communities which continue to eat traditionally have seen very low incidence of “Western Disease” such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. On the other hand, once they begin to eat the traditional Western diet (highly processed food, almost no vegetables and rich in meat and dairy) the incidence of these diseases increases tremendously to dangerous levels. 

An interesting note is that wheat is not recommended for Type A’s (if you recall it wasn’t recommended for Type O either.) Wheat was still not cultivated for food yet during the development of type A blood. Interesting to consider.

Have you checked your blood type yet?

What's Blood Type Got to do With it: Gluten

Hey baby… what’s you’re type? Blood type that is <wink, wink> Sounds like a corny pick-up line… but there’s more to your blood type than you’d expect. Some have called the Blood Type diet another fad to go the way of polyester suits and bell bottoms. But there’s some research that would argue otherwise. 

The Blood Type diet is an eating plan made famous by Dr D’Adamo in his book “Eat Right 4 Your Type.” The book explains that optimal health it is important to understand the correlation between the four blood types and the appropriate diet for each group. It breaks down the various blood types: O, A, B and AB and explains what foods are beneficial and which are harmful and lead to disease. His assertions are backed by decades of clinical experience in his both his own practice as well as his father’s work. He’s also conducted a multitude of lab tests to prove his observations.

What I find fascinating by the blood type theory is the simplicity of the observations.  For example, he explains that type O (the oldest blood type) does best to eat more animal proteins, certain vegetables and avoid most grains. He even goes as far as to say that the majority of blood type O might be sensitive or intolerant to gluten and/or wheat. This makes sense since type O is the first blood type to evolve, and predates the introduction of wheat into our ancestors’ diets (during the Middle Ages.) Therefore it’s not farfetched that those with type O blood lack the genetic adaptation to properly digest the protein gluten. Furthermore, the wheat products in today’s food (those giant, although delicious, bagels, oversized pastries and puffy not-so-Wonder bread) have higher quantities of gluten than the traditional products eaten by our ancestors… but I digress…

The blood type theory explains that foods contain lectins, but that the lectins in certain foods maybe toxic for certain people. Our immune system’s job is to defend us against intruders. When a harmful lectin enters, it strikes and causes an inflammatory reaction. The inflammatory reaction can cause damage to the digestive tract as well as to the blood cells, leading to diseases like irritable bowel disease (IBS) and arteriosclerosis among others. 

So how do you know if the food you’re eating contains lectins that are harming your body and causing inflammation? Well there’s always elimination/reintroduction diets where you remove a suspected food, one at a time and check your symptoms. The Blood Type Diet helps by clump the various types of lectins into categories, then makes recommendations based on those categories and the individual blood types. In that way, it simplifies the elimination diet by providing a roadmap.

arthritis can be due to food allergies

An old adage says , “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” Considering that there’s much evidence that proves that some people just don’t do well with certain foods, it would so helpful to have a simple way to determine one’s optimal diet. Looking at blood type might provide a good start to figuring out which foods work best for an individual. 

As I do more research I’ll share more of my findings… stay tuned! ! And don’t forget that I’m conducting a detoxin January- that might be a perfect time to start an elimination/reintroduction diet if you suspect that you might be sensitive to wheat/gluten or any other food allergens.  Email me (Lara@WealthofHealthRX.com) if you think you need help navigating the field of proper food choices