Peter J. D’Adamo, a naturopathic physician, was the first to bring blood group specific diets into the limelight. His two bestsellers – “Eat Right 4 Your Type” and “Live Right 4 Your Type” emphasized the importance of blood type-based diets for improving overall health.
D’Adamo suggests that people with blood type B must consume foods that are different from those that are well suited for people with blood type A or O. The theory behind this is the proteins in our food, known as lectins, react differently in people with different blood types. Certain lectins are more compatible with particular blood types than the others.
Diet Basics For Blood Type B+
Consuming foods that suit your blood type would help prevent diseases, fight against the existing ones and impede fat storage in the body. According to D’Adamo, lectins are digested differently in different people depending on their respective blood types. He believes that people should eat foods that their ancestors, with similar blood type, used to eat.
People with blood type B+ were traditionally nomads and hence, they must eat a variety of foods. D’ Adamo’s diet does not vary between positive and negative blood types. If you have blood type either B+ or B-, you must eat a fair share of both the plant and animal sources.
You should consume “beneficial meats,” such as rabbit, goat, mutton, lamb and venison. Particularly, people with blood type B+ should balance their animal selection with eggs, green vegetables and low-fat dairy.
Which Foods To Avoid?
D’Adamo emphasizes that if you have blood type either B+ or B-, you should avoid buckwheat, wheat, peanuts, corn, sesame seeds, tomatoes and lentils. He further explains that these foods negatively affect a person’s metabolism, resulting in fatigue, hypoglycemia and fluid retention.
D’ Adamo further adds that people with blood type B must also avoid chicken as it contain lectins – known to attack the person’s bloodstream – that might possibly result in stroke or immune disorders.
However, the New York University Langone Medical Center claims that this blood type-specific diets are not backed by strong scientific evidences. The institution also showed its concern by saying that restricting multiple food groups might make it difficult for a person to meet all his/her nutritional requirements. The American Academy of Family Physicians also regards these diets as just another “diet fad.”
Consult your doctor about how to reach or maintain a healthy weight according to your height and body type. The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends eating a balanced diet that has lots of fruits, green vegetables and whole grains.
Don’t skip your meals, mind your portion sizes and limit salt, sugar, cholesterol, saturated fat and trans-fat intake. It is even more important to engage in physical exercises regularly to stay healthy and sane.
