What's your type? Michael B. Jordan in Black Panther? Eric from The Little Mermaid?
No, not that type—your blood type. A buzzy diet called—wait for it—the Blood Type Diet—says it's important to know the answer so that you can eat the foods that are best suited to your unique body chemistry.
The thinking is that this will help you lose weight (or maintain a healthy weight) and lower your risk of chronic disease. Which is almost as good as going on a date with Michael B. Jordan, right? No? Okay, well then, back to the Blood Type Diet...
The basic gist: Different blood types = different dietary needs
The Blood Type Diet was founded by Peter D’Adamo, a naturopathic doctor who wrote the best-selling book Eat Right for Your Type. The overall theory is that your blood type is an important genetic factor that influences many areas of your health. Once you know it, you can supposedly eat and exercise in a way that will help you be the healthiest version of yourself, according to D’Adamo’s website.
The diet is specifically broken up by blood type—no shocker there—and there are some pretty specific recommendations for each type:
Type As are supposed to:
- Follow a vegetarian diet
- Eat pure, fresh, and organic foods
- Do hatha yoga, tai chi, and meditation to help lower their stress levels
Type Bs are supposed to:
- Steer clear of foods like corn, wheat, buckwheat, lentils, tomatoes, peanuts, and sesame seeds (since these can supposedly mess with their metabolism and make them gain weight)
- Avoid chicken (D’Adamo says it can increase your risk of strokes and immune disorders)
- Eat goat, lamb, mutton, rabbit, venison, green vegetables, eggs, and low-fat dairy
- Play tennis, do martial arts, cycle, hike, and golf to stay mentally and physically active
Type Os are supposed to:
- Avoid simple carbs and grains (type Os have higher levels of stomach acid, which, combined with these foods, can lead to bodily inflammation, D’Adamo says)
- Focus on exercise that works your cardiovascular and muscular skeletal systems, like running
Type ABs are supposed to:
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol, especially in stressful situations
- Focus on eating foods like tofu, seafood, dairy, and green vegetables, and avoid all smoked or cured meats (D’Adamo says they can increase your risk of stomach cancer)
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals
- Do a combo of calming and more intense exercises, like doing several days of running or biking, followed by yoga or tai chi
Which leads to a v imp q:
Is it safe?
Yup, the diet is safe, says Sonya Angelone, R.D., a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. At its core, the Blood Type Diet recommends eating pretty healthy stuff and doesn’t suggest eliminating entire food groups—and that’s key, Angelone says. “It is more of a shift from certain foods to other healthy options,” she adds.
Will the Blood Type Diet help you lose weight?
Given that the diet recommends that all blood types avoid processed foods and eat pretty well, you can lose weight by following it. “It may help you lose weight because it focuses on healthy, real foods and puts you on a regimen, rather than letting you stick with your normal eating behaviors that may have led to weight gain in the first place,” Julie Upton, R.D., co-founder of Appetite for Health, tells Womenshealthmag.com.
You might even see results in as little as a week, depending on what you were eating before, Upton says.
That's all well and good, but... (you know there was a but, right?): There’s no credible evidence that says the thinking behind this diet (that different blood types respond to different diet and exercise routines) is legit. There’s actually scientific research that says it’s… kinda b.s. A study published in the journal PLOS ONE in 2014 analyzed the blood types and diets of nearly 1,500 people and gave each of them a “diet score” based on how well they followed the Blood Type Diet. After analyzing all the data, the study found zero link between a person’s blood type and the benefits of eating the diet prescribed by D’Adamo.
Again, you might lose weight on this diet, but it’s really only because it encourages you to eat well, no matter which blood type you have. So you could probably pick any blood type, follow that diet, and drop a few pounds.
If you like the foods for your blood type, there's no reason not to try it
But if you don’t like them, and you know it would be hard for you to stick with the diet, skip it, Upton says. Again, there’s no scientific evidence that eating based on your blood type works—but eating well does.
“The principles of eating a primarily plant-based diet with plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, with little added sugar and moderate amounts of lean protein, works well for just about everyone who wants to lose weight—minus the gimmicks,” Upton says.
The bottom line: The Blood Type Diet can help you lose weight, but not because your blood type really impacts what you should be eating—it's just because all four variations recommend exercise and eating healthy.
