The Blood Type diet was created by Dr Peter D’Adamo and is based on the idea that if you eat a diet that is specific to your blood group, you will lose weight, boost your immune system and feel healthier too.
This diet has attracted a lot of attention partly because of it’s number of celebrity followers, including Sir Cliff Richard, Martine McCutcheon and Cheryl Cole – who has spoken about it in Hello Magazine.
In addition, Hollywood stars Jennifer Lopez, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Hurley and Ellen DeGeneres all support D’Adamo’s book “Eat Right For Your Blood Type”.
So how does Blood Group Diet work ?
To follow the diet you first have to identify your blood group and then follow the diet that is suitable for your type.
This is because your genetic makeup, indicated by your blood group, is influenced by what your ancestors 50,000 years ago were doing.
According to Dr D’Adamo, all blood types evolved at different points in history and by eating the same type of food as eaten by our ancestors we will stay fit and healthy.
There are only major four blood groups in the UK. These are O, A, B and AB, but the most common groups are O and A.
Blood group O is the oldest blood type and according to Dr Adamo belonged to our earliest hunter-gatherer ancestors. To reflect this, Blood group Os should eat a high-protein diet with lots of meat and fish but no carbohydrates dairy products, wheat or grains.
The ancestors who had blood group A came along later and were the first people to set up farming systems. They ate grains, nuts, seeds, and very little meat so people with this blood group should follow a near vegetarian diet
People with blood group B originated from the Himalayan region and travelled throughout Europe. If you have blood type B, this diet is easiest because your ancestors kept dairy cattle, ate meat and grains nuts and seeds so you can eat just about anything you like.
Unfortunately this blood group is not as common as O or A.
People with blood group AB should eat a combination of A’s and B’s diets so again this gives the rare ABs a wider choice.
Can you lose weight with the Blood Group Diet?
Scientific opinion is that this diet is yet another nonsensical fad that has no basis in fact or evidence. Having said that, some people have reported weight loss and improved health by following the diet and associated exercise plan.
However, this could be because when you look at the most common blood groups O and A you realise that it practically mirrors the Atkins diet.
