How to Improve Digestion by Eating for Your Blood Type

The four blood types O, A, B, and AB developed at different points in human history and tend to be concentrated differently around the world. As a result, your blood type may contain helpful clues as to which foods to avoid and which to include in your diet. Eating with your blood type can ultimately lead to improved digestion, energy, and even weight loss.

Blood Type O

The oldest blood type, O developed during the hunter-gatherer stage of human history. As a consequence, people of this type may do best on a high-protein diet including meat and have difficulty being vegetarian. Other “caveman” foods include nuts, fruit, and vegetables. Type Os may have issues processing less digestion-friendly foods including dairy, beans, and grains, particularly wheat. If weight is an issue, reducing the consumption of wheat and baked goods may help.

Blood Type A

Type A evolved out of the agrarian or farming culture. People of these type tend to have an easy time digesting ancient grains like rice and corn, though this is not the case for the more recently-adopted grains, including wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Type As are also adept at digesting beans, and can likely become vegetarian or vegan without difficulty. For non-vegetarian Type As, taking hydrochloric acid supplements aid with the digestion of red meat.

Blood Type B

Ancient B types kept livestock, so modern Bs are the only group capable of easily digesting milk products. B types thrive as omnivores and can tolerate beans, ancient grains, and legumes well, though they process chicken poorly and are sensitive to gluten.

Blood Type AB

The most recent blood-type development, ABs are a relative rarity. Tending to have a mixed profile of A- and B-type strengths and weaknesses, AB types need less protein than Bs, but should still beware chicken. ABs tolerate dairy and gluten moderately well. Seafood and tofu are especially good food choices.

People of all blood types benefit from the reduction of wheat and gluten in the diet. For optimal digestion and possible weight loss, it’s best to take special care around other foods that people are commonly allergic to, including dairy, corn, and legumes such as peanuts. These foods can provoke inflammation in the body, slow the digestive system, lower your energy and sour your mood.

12 Responses

  • Yes, finally, acknowledgment of this way of life from a lifestyle expert. I have been following this way of life for about 16 years. I never get colds or flu and my psoriasis has cleared 100%.

    If your readers would like more information:

    http://www.dadamo.com

  • I’ve been following the Blood Type diet since 1998 & my health has improved tremendously! I rarely get sick & taming that midlife midsection is not a problem.

    Thank you for posting this article, Cathe. You’re the best. 😀

    Here’s a tutorial for the Blood Type diet…

    http://www.dadamo.com/knowbase/newbie/1.htm

  • My mother has been telling me about Dr. D’Adamo’s book Eat Right For Your Type for years now, but I have always been skeptical about it. I read this article today and called her and she told me that she was actually talking about it at work. I’m a type A and I guess it can’t hurt to try the diet. I should avoid red meat since they’re supposed to be in the list of foods to avoid, chicken and turkey are neutral for my type (no benefits no harm) and I can eat most fish. What I really find odd is that the doctor also recommends different types of exercises according to blood type. For my type, I should be doing yoga and golf. Uh huh, I can stand yoga only once a week, but golf is just too slow for me. Nobody is taking away my hiit, tabata, kickboxing, and weight training.

  • Sharon,

    I found out my blood type by asking my doctor for a lab test. One test is to find out if you are A, B, AB or O and the other is to find out if you are + or -. Most people are + and type O. I am A+. If you know your parents’ blood type you can guess what yours might be. For you to be type O, both of your parents have to be O. For A, you only need one A provided by either of your parents being type A or type AB so if one of your parents is O and the other is AB you have 50% chance of being type A and 50% of being type B, but you won’t be type O since you need the O from both parents. The same logic of type A applies to type B. For type AB if both of your parents are AB you will have 50% chance of being AB, 25% for A and 25% for B. If one of your parents is A and the other is B you will most certainly be AB. I hope this helps.

  • It is untrue that if one parent is an A and the other is a B that you are certainly an AB.

    If your A parent has both genes being A and the B parent has both B genes, then yes, you will have a 100% chance of being AB, but this is not very common. It is more common for one or both parents to be carrying the O recessive gene.

    It is more like that one may only have a 25% chance of becoming an AB in the scenario provided… this is just as much chance of becoming an A or a B, or even an O in this case (for example, if both parents carry the O recessive gene).

    There is no gene for AB, it is a created by co-dominance…each parent providing 1 of the required genes (1 A gene from one parent, and 1 B gene from the other). Even if both parents are AB, you are not guaranteed to be AB… you would have a 50% chance of AB, 25% chance of A and 25% of B.

    Anyways… The modern breakdown of bloodtype percentages is like this:
    45% O, 42% A, 9 – 10% B and 3-4% AB.

  • Sharon, if your health history allows you to donate blood thru the Red Cross, you’ll get a little donor wallet card a week or two later that has your blood type on it… AND, you’ll have done a good deed at the same time! Can’t beat that!

  • Yes ZL, I should’ve been more specific. When I meant you most certainly be an AB if one of your parents is an A and the other is a B I meant if one of your parents is strictly AA and the other strictly BB. I mentioned the same ratios you did as far as both parents being AB. As far as knowing blood type without a test I think that if both parents are O you need no testing. But if both parents are AB then you should test since there are three possible outcomes with different probabilities. At least there’s a home kit now. I found out my blood type about 5 years ago through standard lab testing. The home kit would have saved me some time back then.

  • Hilda said that in order to have the blood type of your parents, they both need to have the same blood type.If they are both O’s,you will be an O.That is’ not’ necessarily true.My parents are both A blood types and they had 6 children of which 5 are A types and 1 is an O. So in our whole family 7 are blood type A’s and only 1 is blood type O.In this case,blood type O is a recessive gene coming from a’ grandparent’s’ genes.As I have demonstrated,recessive genes come into play with blood type as well as other genetic predispositions.

  • Hi Carmelle. What is only true is that if both parents are Os then the children should be Os because to be O the genotype will be OO always since in order for a kid to be O he needs one O from the mother and one from the father. A types can be AA if both parents are A or AO if one parent donated an A and the other an O. In the case of an AO the blood type will be A since the A is dominant over the O, but the person will be an O carrier and can have O type children if the other parent is also an O carrier even if the other parent is not an O. Im guessing both of your parents were O carriers i.e. type A with genotype AO. Im am an O carrier since my father is O and my mother is AB. My blood type is A with genotype AO. I got the A from my mother and the O from my father. I hope this helps.

  • Hilda said it best. Thanks for the refresher. Made me remember my school days.
    I’m type B+. The reason I know I’m BO, is because my father is OO. Therefore, my mother is either BB, AB or BO.

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