Facts on the Blood Type Diet

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1. Blood Type Diet: Fact or Fiction?

The controversial Blood Type Diet, created by Peter D'Adamo. gets mixed reviews from the diet community. The theory behind the diet is that if you eat foods based on your blood type, you'll not only lose weight, but improve your overall health. After determining your blood type, you stick to the foods recommended for that particular blood type. If you eat the wrong foods, you'll consequently gain weight and suffer adverse health consequences. Since the Blood Type Diet is often referred to as a fad diet, you may want a diet that has a history of providing dieters with longterm sustainable results. The criticisms come mostly from the fact that there is little evidence supporting the claim that eating based on your blood type can help you lose weight.

2. Eat Right for Your Blood Type

While following the Blood Type Diet, you need to eat the foods recommended for your blood type: Type A, Type B, Type O or Type AB. Since Type O blood types emerged first, they should rely on foods that reflect the time period of their ancestors. They hunted for food, so Type O people should eat a lot of meat in their diet. Type A ancestors grew a lot of their own food, so if this is your blood type you should eat more vegetables. Type B's were wanderers, so they ate a variety of foods. Type AB's combine the diets followed by the Type A and Type B groups.

3. Exercise Properly for Your Type

In the Blood Type Diet, your blood type also determines the type of exercise that you should perform. If you're a Type O, then your ancestors were very active individuals. Therefore, you should take part in high intensity aerobic exercises, like running and cycling. Type A people can do moderate exercises, such as yoga and jogging. If you're Type B, then you should combine both low and moderate intensity exercises, like hiking. Type AB's are less active and should do calming exercises often, like deep breathing.

4. Vegetarians: Skip the Type Hype

One of the main drawbacks of the Blood Type Diet is that it's not suitable for vegetarians unless you have Type A blood. All the other blood type diets make meat one of your staple foods. If you're a vegetarian, you should look for a diet that's more suitable and can meet your nutritional requirements.

5. Give It Two Weeks

Peter D'Adamo recommends that you subscribe to the Blood Type Diet practices for at least 2 weeks. Over the course of 2 weeks, you may lose weight because you are following a strict eating plan that eliminates many processed and fatty foods from your diet. However, if you don't see a change in your body weight or overall health at this point, try another diet with more scientific research to support its claims.

About this Author

Heather Topham Wood has written for several different Internet and print publications and is the author of a series of articles focused on health concerns. She pursues an active lifestyle through running, biking and skiing.

Last updated on: 11/18/09

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