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?