Download and print: Blood-Type and Diet

          One of the major functions of the immune system is to recognize self from non-self, in order to protect itself.  One way in which the body accomplishes this is through blood type. Blood type is determined by small chains of specific sugars attached to the surface of blood cells. If a blood cell with a different sugar marker is introduced to the blood stream, antibodies attach to the foreign blood cell and coagulation rapidly occurs, and the clump is eventually removed from the system.

          There are only four human blood types: O, A, B, and AB. The appearance of each blood type coincides with a major shift in the diet and lifestyle of humans. O is the oldest blood type, arising about 40,000 BC with the evolution of Cro-Magnon ancestors. With Cro-Magnon, humans make it to the top of the food chain with a diet consisting of mostly lean meat, vegetables and fruits. As hunter-gatherers, their lifestyle is quite rigorous.  Type A arises between 25,000 and 15,000 BC as humans move into the first urban communities and rely on agriculture to provide the bulk of the food supply. Grains replace meat, while cultivated vegetables and fruits become staples. The lifestyle also becomes much more sedentary. The next major shift comes with the domestication of herds of animals, and the tribes who travel with the herds and live off the bounty of animal products, especially dairy and cheese. Type B becomes the dominate blood type in these tribes around 10,000 BC.  Finally, type AB resulted from the genetic mixing of type A and type B peoples, first occurring only about 800 years ago.

          But why should different blood types arise at the same time as major shifts in the food supply? The answer may lie in the foods themselves. Many foods have their own cell surface markers known as lectins, which are proteins. These lectins also serve as adhesive, helping cells to stick together (or in the case of bacteria, which also have lectins, helping them to stick to the cells of the host they're invading).  The sugar markers (antigen) on blood cells react with certain food lectins but not with others, depending on which blood type you are.  The foods that are completely non-reactive for a specific blood type reflect the dominant foods when that blood type evolved.

          Today, we have available just about any food, any time of the year. The problem is our blood antigen will react with the lectins of foods incompatible with our blood type, causing coagulation in our bodies.  When we eat foods incompatible with our blood type over a long period of time, chronic disease can result. Keep in mind, this is not a allergy-type reaction. The lectins react directly with the sugar markers on blood cells and cause coagulation, usually in an organ system that is also specific for that lectin. Foods that are friendly to one blood type may be the "enemy" to another blood type.

          The next few pages contain outlines for each of the blood groups. Food for each type can be classified into three groups: highly beneficial, neutral, and harmful.  Highly beneficial foods are foods that act like medicines for that blood type. Eating generous amounts of these is desired for optimum functioning. Neutral foods are basically unreactive, being neither especially helpful or harmful. If foods are not mentioned, they are probably neutral to your type. Finally, harmful foods show strong lectin- antigen cross-reactivity and are listed in the AVOID category.

          It can be extremely difficult to stay on your ideal diet 100%, as our food supply mixes everything together these days, especially in restaurants and pre-packaged foods. The sicker you are, the more important it will be to adhere strictly to the diet given. But if you're reasonably healthy, you increase the likelihood of staying that way by eating a lot of the foods that are beneficial for your type and avoiding harmful foods as much as is reasonably possible. (I still eat pizza on occasion). People who try their diet for only two weeks generally feel much more energy, and often begin to lose weight without cutting a single calorie. I believe that the most harmful thing anyone can do with food is to strip it of the joy that by nature belongs to it. How much torture has been inflicted in the name of nutrition! The most important thing is to enjoy your food always, accept it as gift, and give thanks.

          For a more complete discussion of blood type and lectins and more specific food lists, please read Dr. Peter D'Adamo's Eat Right for Your Type. Dr. D'Adamo is the first person to recognize the importance of lectin agglutination and blood type, and the first physician to apply this information clinically. The world and many healthier patients owe him great thanks.

Don't know your blood type? Want to find out? The easiest, cheapest and best way is to give a pint of blood at your local blood bank. Not only have you discovered your blood type but you may have saved a life as well.

TM Culp

Download and print the full diet plan here.