Have you ever been cornered at a party by someone who swore they couldn’t last two days as a vegetarian? Did they tell you how they must have a bloody steak at least once a week, or they’ll collapse from exhaustion and their brain will go haywire?
Chances are that the next person you spoke to at that same party was a yoga teacher who had not only been a dedicated vegetarian for the past 15 years, but had never had a craving for flesh even once since she had given up meat.
What gives?
Is there a connection between a person’s blood type and their preferences where animal proteins are concerned? Some people believe that blood type can determine which type of proteins a person should consume. But what does the research say?
It turns out that this has been the subject of debate among scientists for many years.
Blood on the Carpet
What is known as The Blood-Type Diet was first proposed in 1996 by naturopathic physician P.J. D’Adamo in his book Eat Right For Your Type and has gained considerable attention since then. This dietary method claims that the ABO blood group of an individual can reveal optimal dietary habits that may reduce the risk of chronic illnesses and improve health overall.
According to this theory, people with blood group O should maintain a high animal-protein diet due to their ancestral connection to hunter-gatherer societies. Those with blood group A should stick to vegetarian diets, as this blood group is argued to have developed when humans began cultivating crops for their sustenance. Blood group B is supposed to benefit primarily from dairy intake, since they’re supposed to have originated from nomadic peoples who had access to livestock and therefore produced milk products. Finally, blood group AB people should stick with a moderately balanced diet between blood groups A and B in order to take advantage of all essential nutrients provided by animal-sourced products while still retaining the health benefits from plant-based foods.
Although much of the research done on this topic over the past quarter-century is inconclusive, the Blood-Type Diet continues to be an intriguing alternative dietary plan that you might look into if you’re considering tweaking your diet for health reasons.
It’s All About You
Blood type and animal-protein intake preferences remain controversial topics within the scientific community due to a lack of consensus on how blood types actually influence dietary choices. As such, it’s important to note that individual needs should be taken into consideration when making nutrition decisions. To determine precisely what these needs are, it’s essential that you listen to your body and the signals it sends you, take notes, and keep listening for a meaningful period of time – at least a year – in order to know that the signal isn’t just accidental noise.
Whether blood type does indeed play a role in dietary preferences and nutrient intake levels, it is most important for all blood types to ensure that their diets are nutritionally balanced in order to get all the necessary essential nutrients from food sources alone. Ultimately, understanding your unique nutritional needs and consulting with a qualified nutritionist or dietician can help you make informed choices about which foods will best support your goals of eating right, looking good, and feeling just fine.
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