Review: Eat Right 4 Your Type!
The “Eat Right 4 Your Type!” diet (a program that argues your blood type is the determining factor for selecting what you eat) by naturopath Dr. D’Adamo, is to dieting as astrology is to astronomy. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. The non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest called it “as scientific as a horoscope.”
Despite the general consensus from qualified professionals, I am still seized by a very powerful urge to tear my hair out every time I pick up “Eat Right 4 Your Type!” This diet is a perfect example of how the ridiculous, when presented in print, somehow becomes acceptable and plausible.
This diet is also a good one to use when illustrating the confusion between cause and effect; for some people of certain blood types, the “Eat Right for Your 4 Type!” diet will work. But it’s not because of some unique tie-in between your blood type and your diet. It’s simply because the diet in question is a sensible one; moderate in calories and low in refined grains and starchy carbohydrates.
The crux of this diet quite simple: D’Adamo postulates that your blood type evolved a certain way, and it is the determining factor in what you should be eating. Each of the 4 diet plans specific to each blood type (O,A,B, and AB), are carefully formulated to avoid foods containing the “protein lectins” incompatible with it. According to D’Adamo…
“… when you eat a food containing protein lectins that are incompatible with your blood type antigen, the lectins target an organ or bodily system (kidneys, liver, brain, stomach, etc.,), and begin to agglutinate blood cells in that area”.
Michael Klaper, M.D., had this to say about that statement…
“For me what really pushes the “blood type” theory beyond the limits of believability is D’Adamo’s postulation that lectin proteins on some foods cause blood agglutination in people of certain blood types who are “not genetically/evolutionarily suited” to eat those foods. Agglutination is a very serious, and potentially life-threatening, phenomenon, whereby the red cells in the bloodstream stick together, forming irreversible clumps.”
Unfortunately, D’Adamo offers no proof or documentation of any sort to quantify his statements. There is no peer reviewed data to validate any of his theories, no credible references of any sort.
The best he can do is state his theory is valid because he himself has done tons of research to prove it so. In other words, we are not to question this theory, but to accept it at face value (the almost total lack of footnotes in the book, especially to validate the many general statements, is particularly alarming).
At one point in his book, Dr. D’Adamo claims to be in the eighth year of a ten year trial testing the blood type diet on reproductive cancers and showing impressive improvements in life expectancy. Well, “Eat Right” was published in 1996, and to date, there has been no published study showing anything of the sort. Also, the cost of such a properly conducted trial would be significant for even the major drug companies: if such a trial existed, where did D’Adamo get his funding, and why haven’t the results been shared with the world?
Several experts have gone on record in published journals refuting D’Adamo’s theory of blood type mutation; other clinical data simply contradicts his theory (see Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 14, 399-411, Rev. Bras. Hematol. Hemoter). Not surprisingly, this further damages the credibility of his argument.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that the symptoms attributed by D’Adamo to “lectin agglutination” mirror the symptoms of many other diet-related disorders—yeast overgrowth, nutritional deficiencies, bowel toxicity, allergies, heavy metal toxicity, hyperinsulinemia, prostaglandin imbalance and so on.
In other words, this is at best, only a theory… and one on very shaky ground, at that.
Believe it or not, D’Adamo even goes as far as to predict personality traits and establish exercise programs on the basis of blood type. For instance, he indicates blood type A’s exceed psychologically at planning and networking, and are decent, and law abiding people.
Unbelievable.
The problems don’t end here; there are some serious issues with D’Adamo’s theory linking blood type with diet. For instance…
D’Adamo postulates that blood type A evolved sometime between 25,000-15,000 B.C. in response to the domestication of livestock and farming. Blood type A, for example, apparently allowed people to “better tolerate grains and other agricultural products”.
What’s the problem with this? There are two…
First, most experts agree that mankind made the jump from hunter-gatherer to farmer about 6-10,000 years ago. On the outside, this switch-over began no earlier than 15,000 years ago, at which time the last ice age was drawing to a close.
The significance of this?
Well, geneticists theorize that it takes many thousands of generations to bring about any sort of significant genetic evolutionary response. In other words, our switch from hunter gatherer to farmer happened much too recently in our history for it to have resulted in the evolution of a new blood type. Since blood type A obviously evolved as a result of some other stimuli, D’Adamo’s theory is a bust.
As a reader, one can feel D’Adamo grasping at straws as he develops his theory for blood type B, which evolved in the Himalayans “perhaps” as a result of climactic change.
Here’s another BIG problem… if blood type mutation and evolution is not consistent with dietary changes (here, D’Adamo suggests B is a result of climatic change, not diet), why would it make sense to use blood type to best determine what we eat?
When it comes to actual diet advice itself, D’Adamo doesn’t fare much better.
In fact, he consistently provides recommendations that are totally incorrect;. For instance…
Type B’s are encouraged to eat rice cakes (pure carbohydrate with a glycemic rating of pure glucose), which are perhaps the dieter’s worst enemy. Peanuts, on the other hand, are said to cause hypoglycemia for type Bs. But we know peanuts have a very low G.I. (glycemic index) rating, and don’t generate fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Statements like this totally contradict what we know to be true, and must be validated with some sort of proof or reference. Again, D’Adamo provides none.
Believe it or not, the entire book is jam-packed with similar misinformation, generalities, and information that is just plain wrong.
Despite this, around 50% of those trying “Eat Right 4 Your Type!” will experience positive results, but certainly not because D’Adamo’s theory is correct. Here’s why…
In North America, the predominant blood type is type O. Just under 50% of the Black/People Of African descent population is type O, while the Caucasian population comprises just slightly less (about 45%).
D’Adamo’s blood type O diet focuses on restricting breads and grains, while increasing lean meat, poultry, and fish. This will effectively place the dieter on the “cusp” of ketosis, similar to a modified Atkins diet. It will also eliminate vacillating blood sugar levels, encourage lean muscle growth, and stimulate weight loss. In short…
The plan for type O will work, simply because it sticks to proven diet fundamentals, NOT because there’s a link between blood type and food consumption. Don’t make the mistake of confusing cause and effect here.
If your blood type is anything other than type O, you’ll be lucky to achieve anything on this diet.
Despite the lack of clinical evidence validating Eat Right 4 Your Type, my review has generated more than its fair share of angry visitor feedback over the years.
“Who are you”, some ask, “to question D’Adamo’s theory? Are YOU a doctor?”
My answer is always the same…
No, I am NOT a medical doctor, and neither, as a matter of fact, is D’Adamo. Secondly, using the prefix “Dr.” in front of your name does not allow you to make broad, sweeping generalizations, present statements that contradict established theories and practices and promote your own theories without providing one iota of supporting evidence. The onus is on D’Adamo to prove his theory is valid. I have simply pointed out the obvious: none of his theories have any supporting evidence, and there are plenty of credible qualified professionals who contest his conclusions.”
You don’t need to be a doctor to do that.
To investigate a REAL diet, check out Tom Venuto’s Burn The Fat, reviewed here!
January 11, 2009
If there is one thing I know is that this the man is not promoting a “diet’ but a change in one’s eating habits. All I know is once I was weighing 172lbs and in two weeks of changing my eating habits as recommended I lost 8lbs. And I did not exercise because I hate doing it.
And even when the temptation for the fried chicken came back a week later and I gave in to it I still kept losing weight to the point where I started to panic. And I have tried lots of things to lose it. So don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. My blood type like most of us in the Caribbean is O.
Editor’s comments: Donna, I see you’ve spent a lot of time reading the review. If you want to check the last couple of paragraphs, you’ll see that I explain exactly why the diet WILL work for type O’s, and it has exactly zero to do with your blood type. Don’t confuse cause and effect here!
February 1, 2009
I read this entire article, and I understand the lack of scientific material to back up this “diet”. however, I followed the regimen for Type B religiously, and have lost 15 lbs. I was not terribly overweight to begin with (155, 5’7), and as a Public Health student understand eating healthy and the importance of exercise. I merely tweaked my diet and exercising, and it worked. I don’t know why, but, it did.
February 27, 2009
I feel disappointed that, recently retired, I spent 37 dollars on this book! Im sure you are right. I dont have to eat expensive organic meat anymore but may continue on an Atkins style diet to lose weight. I also like the bible bread which is expensive but will eat less bread. Thanks I needed someone to report what I already had concerns about.
March 10, 2009
I have just read your article. I am blood type B from Northern Europe, I have been on a low fat diet for years because of my cholesterol eating loads of chicken veg.a proper balanced diet but according to DR> Adamo the wrong foods. (I only weigh 65k and am 5’6″ not overweight) to no effect. My stomach was always bloated, I have been unable to eat certain foods like wheat etc.for a long time, reading the book explained a lot for me, tiredness, arthritis at. fib, and after giving up the AVOID food for only a week my system feels different, the bloating has gone down I will have another cholesterol test after 1 month to see if it has helped. If you are right I maybe causing damage by eating the wrong meat……
July 8, 2009
For years I have been frustrated with the usual “healthy diet” recommendations. I have always eaten a balanced diet of meat, fish, fruits and veggies of all kinds. I do not overeat. I do not snack. I drink a lot of water and tea, no coffee. I rarely drink alcohol. I made an effort to eat whole wheat or multi-grain breads. etc. I also would swim 2-3 kilometers and run or walk 5-10 kilos a day for extended periods. This, however, did not prevent me from gaining weight at times of high stress. Moreover, reducing my food intake or increasing my exercise did not allow me to lose weight.
So, I began the blood type diet with suspicion and mainly focused on not eating the “better avoid” foods, especially dairy (milk, yogurt and occasional cheese, I stopped eating these), grains except for rice, and potatoes except sweet potatoes, and I switched to drinking more green tea than black. I did not increase my exercise, even though I was exercising at more normal levels instead of the heavy amounts I had in the past. I just don’t have time. So, I was surprised and gratified to find that after a month I started to lose weight for the first time in years and I felt better.
So, I do not know about the science and I certainly am skeptical about the genetic ancestors explanation, but I am persuaded that the metabolic factors related to one’s genetic make-up including blood type may mean that what is very healthy for some people to eat – complex grains or dairy or whatever – are not necessarily the same for everyone. (In fact, I started this after gaining 8 pounds eating lentil soup!) I was also pleased to find that many of the “better avoid” veggies and fruits for my blood type O were foods I did not much care for but had forced myself to eat because they were “healthy” (cucmber, melon,cabbage, yogurt, for example), and I found reasons why I dislike certain foods and drinks that everyone else seems to like…such as coffee or beer.
So, perhaps you are skeptical of the science and perhaps D’Adamo pushes his theories too far. But, this is the first thing that has ever worked for me. By the way, following the avoid and prefer recommendations does not mean eating an unbalanced diet. I still eat as much veggies and fruits as meats and fish, but I changed and limit my starch (as well as some of the fruits and veggies) and get the carbs from the fruits and veggies I eat.
October 9, 2014
It is working for me too… Maybe a gimmick … May sound crazy but I’m down 8 lbs in 13 days and I’m not a large person. I have more energy and no strong cravings… So science or bs I think it can’t hurt to try!! I’m B+
July 19, 2009
I was really considering doing the diet until reading your very thoughtful review. I didn’t buy into the premise but I wanted to try it for a week to see if it took care of an annoying problem I’ve been having.
One of the biggest complaints I have with the book is sample diet section. He only offers three days worth of sample diets for each blood type and the recipes don’t include foods from the AVOID list.
Keep in mind that he tells us to think of the foods on the AVOID category as “a food that acts like a poison.” I find it more than a little disconcerting that he can’t provide three days worth of menus for my blood type that don’t include food from a list that will be treated as a poison in my system.
In the recipe section, he acknowledges that occasionally there are ingredients in the recipes that appear on the avoid list but “you may be able to tolerate it, depending on your condition and whether you are strictly adhering to the diet.” I had planned to strictly adhere to the diet until I read that.
If it’s optional, then what am I doing? Why am I denying myself Lox when I’m allowed salmon? I think the book is a sham and I’m going to keep looking for something where at least the author takes himself seriously.
Thanks for your thoughtful review.
August 20, 2009
I do not see where you get off reviewing something that Dr. D’Adamo has studied for over 20 years. Are you a doctor and if so, what do YOU specialize in. If you haven’t tried it, then I suggest you don’t review it based on other thoughts, including your own. Shame on you for discounting a good diet that I have been on for 8 years now. As a type AB, I was 220lbs. My father suggested it, I tried and changed over a years time.
I lost 80 lbs in 2 years. I had to keep it gradual and slow, but it worked. I have been at my ideal weight of 155lbs for 6 years now. I feel better than I did before going on the diet and the energy, the way of thinking, etc has changed my life for the better. My grandmother who is type A, went on this diet and well, she had diabetes before and has been on it for 4 years now. She has pretty much cured her diabetes and is no longer taking any of her high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol meds. Shame on you!
Editor’s comments: Aaron, I can see you spent a LOT of time reading the review. If you did, you’ll see that it’s not just us who disagrees with D’Adamo theories, but plenty of “doctors” as well. Fact is, your positive experience is not a validation of D’Adamo theories – there are numerous reasons why his diet may have worked for you – all having nothing to do with your blood type. Like it or not, D’Adamo cannot present any credible evidence to support his “eat right for your blood type” theories.
Regarding your “doctor” comment. Wow. I already addressed this in the article, but you were obviously too busy preparing to share your opinion, rather than actually reviewing our article to see what the basis for our conclusions were. Here’s what I said about being a doctor…
“No, I am NOT a medical doctor, and neither, as a matter of fact, is D’Adamo. Secondly, using the prefix “Dr.” in front of your name does not allow you to make broad, sweeping generalizations, present statements that contradict established theories and practices and promote your own theories without providing one iota of supporting evidence. The onus is on D’Adamo to prove his theory is valid. I have simply pointed out the obvious: none of his theories have any supporting evidence, and there are plenty of credible qualified professionals who contest his conclusions.”
October 16, 2009
I often wonder what type of person it takes to slander someone such as you do here. Wouldn’t it be better, albeit more believable to just present the facts? And who’s to say your facts are any more reputable than Dr. D’Adamo’s? Anyway, I see you present an alternative to D’Adamos diet and I’m sure it’s the real deal and we need not look any further or, did we just uncover the real motive behind this article, sigh.
You can say what you want but for me, following D’Adamo’s eating guidelines produce the expected results; my body feels great, not sluggish, full, weighted down and I lose weight. Not sure what he’s tapped into but .. it works. According to his sales, I suspect it does for others as well. One thing is for sure, the majority of the populace will quickly abandon something that does not and I just don’t see that to be the case with this.
Anyway.. didn’t someone once say .. a man with an experience beats the one with an argument.
I suggest you give this a try, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Editor’s comments: Sigh. We give up. Really, who can argue with statements like “who’s to say your facts are any more reputable than Dr.D’Adamo’s?”
The point, Lee – had you actually READ the review you would have undoubtedly noticed this – is that D’Adamo doesn’t have any evidence upon which to base his theory. No published studies of any sort. Nothing even remotely resembling “facts.” Nien. Nyet. Nada. That’s precisely the argument. And we’re not the only ones who think so – READ the review, and see.
Additionally – again had you READ the review you would have noticed this – there are numerous reasons why the diet will work, but absolutely none of them have anything to do with your blood type. It’s largely because you’ve become selective about your food choices and are eating a largely whole foods diet.
The fact that the diet worked for you is not evidence that the “bood type theory of dieting” works (see above). And, remember… personal commentary is always anecdotal, and there’s always that pesky “placebo effect.”
Instead of accusing us of slander, why not do something useful; like post some links to the published clinical data or some credible scientific evidence that validate D’Adamo’s theories. Maybe, in the course of your research, you’ll discover the real purpose of this web site.
October 31, 2009
I have followed this Eat Right for your blood type for some time now and find it’s working for me. Foods that I hated as a child are the one not suitable for my blood type – I’m O Positive and feel like a new person.I was always sick with flu like systems, headaches, upset stomack, bloating, headaches, bad skin generally a walking sick case – now feel like a new person, none of the above symptoms and no more sick days.Took some time, however, slowly but surely all the symptoms disappeared, however I did get worse before I started to get better – cleansing process took place – I think what ever works for you, just go for it and do it – if I eat food/drink now and it makes me feel nauseous/sick or generally unwell, then I don’t eat/drink it – I don’t get sick any more
January 13, 2010
You know, I think your article is EXTREMELY well thought out. I am sorry that people are too thick skulled to ACTUALLY read what you say. You are discrediting him based on what SCIENTIFIC research, lack of proof, and ACTUAL doctors have said about his work. And you are absolutely right, that it may work for some and not others. JUST LIKE EVERY DIET.
What cracks me up is that most of the people that say that it worked ARE type O, DESPITE your paragraph about type O people. WOW. I think these people didn’t even read your article. Seriously… I am surprised they had the brain capacity to type comments that involved more than leetspeak, improper punctuation, bad spelling, etc…
Hah hah. Anyways, I AM going to try the diet myself, as a type B. Not because I think it makes sense in relation to blood type, but because it makes sense TO ME. Personally, peanuts always give me gas (dont ask me why) hummus and tomatoes give me hearburn (hummus has tahini and chickpeas, two things in the avoid list…)… I don’t know, I mean, I LOOOOOOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Hummus. And tomatoes. But they really do mess with me. And as far as bread and wheat goes, my mother actually has an allergy to gluten, and told me one of the signs of that is aching joint, almost like arthritis. I’m only 22 and I have been trying to get doctors to figure out what causes my arthritic style pain and… well, I guess my mom said it’s a sign of a gluten allergy.
Over all, just for my particular chemistry and body type, the diet recommended for type b blood types makes sense. But I do think that this …whatever his name is… is a total quack, after reading what he actually wrote. Some of it is on the whole… ridiculous…
Anyways, just wanted to let you know, We’re not ALL stupid and some of us read everything before making half cocked comments. 🙂
Keep doing what you do!
February 23, 2010
I am also a type O and did read your whole article. I just don’t understand why you care enough to spend so much time bad mouthing this book. If it didn’t work, just like many other diets, people would stop using it. Even if Dr.D’Adamo’s reasoning is off a bit, if it gets results and gives people satisfaction who are you to put it down so adamantly? Why don’t you get your own life and let everyone else try whatever they would like with out your negative judgments. If it works it works, for whatever reason. If it doesn’t work for you, try something else. Get a life!
Editor’s comments: I can see why you don’t understand why we devote some time “bad mouthing this book.” After all, you haven’t taken the time to find out who we are, or what we do. Let me explain… our job is to take the claims made by the author of any diet we review, and determine whether or not there is any sound science backing them up. In this case, there isn’t any. It’s not a case of “bad mouthing” the diet, it’s a case of reporting on the facts. We have no reason to favor/dislike this diet over any other… it’s just about the facts.
Secondly, despite your assertion, you apparently haven’t even bothered to read the review. If you had, you would have seen that we pointed that there are plenty of solid reasons why this diet may work for you. Any diet that replaces the typical high-fat, high carbohydrate North American with nutritious whole foods is going to make a difference. But it has exactly ZERO to do with eating according to your blood type.
Third, you seem to admit that “D’Adamo’s reasoning is off a bit.” Doesn’t it concern you just the slightest bit that there are people out there making claims for which there is no supporting evidence? If it doesn’t, you probably shouldn’t waste any more time on this web site.
February 26, 2010
Actually, there IS scientific back-up!
http://www.biotype.net/diets/Lectin.pdf
What frustrates me is the contradicting opinions I read about SOME foods that are important to me.
Editor’s comments: M, thanks for sending this along. But this is not “proof” nor does it validate D’Adamo’s theory. In fact, even the author of this paper agrees. For instance, see page 14, “Can food sensitivities be predicted by blood type? Yes and No.”
And on page 15, “research is needed to identify evolutionary patterns in diets.”
So while there may be some basis of truth here, it has not been conclusively demonstrated. And that’s basically our argument in a nutshell anyway.
March 8, 2010
Your article points out the fact that there is no scientific proof/data backing up D’Adamo’s blood type diet theory. I think it is good to have people like you to point out the holes in these types of theories.
However I believe that there is indeed “something” to his theory that must be somewhat accurate as out of the 542 people that have reviewed the book on Amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/y96jlte, 426 people rated it between 4 (73 reviews) and 5 (353 reviews) stars with their testimonials to their success by following their blood type diet as recommended. That means that roughly 79% of the people who bought the book would recommend it. Those are pretty good odds in my book.
Does this mean his theory is “correct”, not necessarily. However, if people are having success by following the theory and it is helping them feel better and lose weight, why does it matter whether he can “prove” that it works or not. If it works for 79% of the people then I would say that the proof is in the results that people are having and that is really all that matters in my opinion.
People have to do what works for them so although as you stated there may be other reasons for their successes, the fact that it is working for so many people is a good thing. Whatever way people find that works for them is great. The solution will be different for everyone…and this may be one of those solutions that works not only by changing what people eat but it may work for their way of living i.e. easy to follow guidelines etc.
Editor’s comments: A couple of comments, Lanette…
To summarize your argument you are saying that even if D’Adamo’s theories are a bust, it’s of little consequence since the end result – people begin making intelligent eating choices and lifestyle changes and are losing weight – is a good one. Personally, we can see why anyone would think that, but there are issues with this line of thinking. The problem is that many people will confuse “cause and effect”, attributing their success on the diet to some magical matching of their blood types to diet, and not because of the fact that they’ve lowered their caloric intake, and have replaced high-calorie nutritionally deficient foods with low calorie wholesome ones.
This sort of thing encourages a belief in magic and pseudoscientific hokum while suspending critical thought. In the case of D’Adamo’s diet, it’s all pretty benign stuff. No one is going to get hurt “eating right for your blood type.” But what if you were being asked to curtail conventional cancer treatment in favor of some “traditional” herbal concoction that has never been tested? Here’s where a willingness to accept non-convention theories without question becomes dangerous. The point is, D’Adamo is making claims to support the effectiveness of his work and the onus is on him to prove his methods are sound. I’m sure you don’t expect a different standard from the people who make the car you drive, and claim it to be “safe” and that it stops quickly.
Secondly, you make the statement “79% of the people who bought the book would recommend it.” That is incorrect. 79% of the people who bought the book AND who left feedback on Amazon would recommend it. That’s a LOT different than saying that this diet has a 72% approval rate. If D’Adamo sold 100,000 copies of this book, 500 reviews would represent a mere 0.5% fraction of all users.
Additionally, as already discussed in the review, there are plenty of reasons why the diet will work and none of them have anything to do with blood type and diet. If all postings were genuine, it would not surprise us one bit. Second, retailers are well aware of the power of testimonials, and many go out of the way to encourage ardent supporters to post glowing reviews, which leads to a positively skewed rating. This is done all the time. Even though this may not be actively encouraged by D’Adamo, this is the sort of diet that encourages its followers to actively share their glowing yet (totally anecdotal experiences) with others, often because they believe D’Adamo is a genius, and reviews like this are the result of some vast pharmaceutical conspiracy designed to suppress “the truth”.
March 11, 2010
I love this review, and I love what you do. Americans don’t “think” things, Americans “believe” things.
March 13, 2010
On March 8, 2010, a gynocologist (M.D.) advised me to begin following this diet. Skeptical, even though a bonafied physician recommended it, I searched for reviews from others in the medical field and from those who tried eating for their blood type. I was shocked…flabbergasted… at the raw, insulting responses you provided to those who took the time to express their beliefs. I would postulate that all of those taking the time to write were well-intentioned; and had your responses been educational more than rude, they might have thought twice before continuing with the diet. I wonder what deep woundedness you come from to be so bitterly defensive.
I do not know whether I will try this approach, partly because I, like most people in the standard deviation of 1, take responses such as yours as unadultrated narcissism and it discredits you; even though you may be correct in your beliefs. I truly wish you the best, and hope you will consider working on your social skills.
Editor’s comments: “Deep woundedness?” “Bitterly defensive?” Riiiiiight.
Elizabeth, it looks like you really spent a lot of time learning about who we are and what we do (you also don’t seem to be too good at following directions – this discussion is really supposed to be for people who have used this diet. Folks who want to rant about us should use the “contact us” form).
Frankly, we’re happy to carry on any discussion in a civil manner, but should visitors accuse of of slander, question our motives and generally leave comments that are not made in the spirit of a genuine exchange of ideas, you can expect us to respond accordingly. Somehow though, you see all visitor’s comments as well intentioned (and certainly the majority of them are), but those few who left insulting and rude comments don’t get the same warning as we do – to improve their social skills.
Regarding the recommendation from your doctor; have you asked him/her to provide some clinical evidence that the “Eat Right For Your Blood Type” works as advertised? Please send us the links to the peer-reviewed published data, we’d absolutely LOVE to see it. We’ll be happy to publish the data and revise our review accordingly.
In the meantime, it’s a great big web out there. You’ll probably be MUCH happier somewhere else.
March 14, 2010
Review: Eat Right 4 Your Type! – .
March 14, 2010
Review: Eat Right 4 Your Type! – .
May 11, 2010
I am going to make this short and to the point.The blood type diet works!!I have never felt or looked this good.I am not bloated all the time I have more energy,my skin is soft for the first time ever.I am an A blood type and had always done high protein diets in the past with milk because supossedly milk helps you lose more weight(NOT).I am so happy i have found something that works for me!!
May 22, 2010
I’ve read your reviews and your editor comments. I think you put up a fair argument and so do others who have reviewed the diet. So what if D’Adamo can’t provide hard evidence of his research. I have made small changes and have trialed the diet. My blood pressure has decreased and I feel great. I have added extra exercise to my lifestyle. I try not to think of this as a diet but a way of life.
Editor’s comments: Tiffany, if you read our review you’re also aware that there are plenty of reasons why this diet will work, and none of them have anything to do with “eating right with your blood type.” Lastly, we take issue with your comment, “so what if D’Adamo can’t provide hard evidence of his research?” That can be very dangerous thinking.
May 31, 2010
Question:
What is the explanation for foods listed as Avoid in the Eat Right 4 Your Type and then as Neutral in the Food Supplement list? I did a comparison when noticing some of my favorite foods had contradictory listings. ex: Pinto Beans went from Highly Beneficial to the Avoid category. What am I to make of that? Suddenly it is bad for you? typo? retested?
Problem is, that there are quite a few that were listed as Highly, but only rated Neutral in the Supplement. Which is the correct one?
ps. Glad you wrote your review. People in this country should know better than to blindly accept things you read at face value. Question everything…. that is the only was we find true answers.
pps. I’m type O, and yes, it is very similar to Atkins, but a great deal more “liveable” and without such a focus on fatty meats and eggs. I’ll let you know how this turns out, but have already decided I like the Ezekiel English Muffins quite alot. (which is another item that was listed as Highly and went to Neutral on the Supplement listing.)
June 2, 2010
I love this diet. Since I went on it I have never felt so good and my sinius problem is no more.
June 6, 2010
I have tried several diets over the years, including Atkins and the cabbage soup diet. I recently lost 10 lbs doing the cabbage diet, then found the “blood” book that I had put back on the shelf. I thought I’ll try this for a month and see how it works. I have not lost any additional weight at this point (almost 2 weeks into the program), but I do have more energy than I’ve had in a long time (I’m 68). I’m also type B and a mix of Native American along with European background. I typed up the list as a ready reference, and I decided to give this a month to see how it works. I’m disappointed that I haven’t lost any weight at this point, but happy with the increased energy level and overall feel much better. I expect it may take a little while for my body to adjust to the new regimen. I hated giving up bread, tomatoes, chicken, pork, ice cream, cashews, etc. But to my thinking, if this works, and I lose weight naturally, when I do get down to a better weight for my height, I can have an occasional helping of those “forbidden” items, but just not make it part of the regular diet. I think any program has “good and bad” and no one program is going to work for everyone. At least this one I don’t have to count calories, I don’t have to stand on one foot and do jumping jacks, etc. I have an easy list to follow and I know which items are suppose to be helpful and which items that might not be helpful. I did like the Atkins but I really never lost any weight with it, although my brother-in-law (who is also type B) loses weight with Atkins. I’m fairly active in that I do a lot of physical activity (not exercising) including landscaping, cleaning out garages, building a work area in the garage, etc. I am slowly working myself into an exercise program with the Total Gym, which I hope will be an integral part of this blood program. I’ll follow up in a few weeks to report success or failure.
June 6, 2010
I think what is being forgotten here is that Dr. A is not promoting a diet; he is promoting a lifestyle change based on negating antigen production within the body in hopes of eliminating the potential for illnesses. What caught my attention is the basic idea of how foods break down, or rather how they don’t, based on levels of stomach acid associated with specific blood types. Furthermore, I learned that based on stomach acidity cancer may/may not be able to grow, as well as other illnesses.
I understand the statements listed above but I think completing this program purely for weight loss is silly…there are more important health benefits to be gained from this book. I am a type A, who never needed to lose weight but was interested in this because I suffered from severe food intolerances. After seeing countless doctors with no progress, I tried this and the change was abrupt…I haven’t felt this amazing in my life. I can tell you that when I eat something I shouldn’t, my body reminds me. Now, there may not be any scientific reasoning for that…but that is just fine with me.
Editor’s comments: Gina, you may be interested in this post, where Elissa (our scientific and technical advisor and former research scientist at the University of California at Davis) explains how DAdamo has a LOT of the science behind this wrong.
June 12, 2010
I am glad I found this review as I was ambivalent about the diet. I was on the fence about trying it and your review *almost* convinced me that it was a waste….until I started reading the reader response of your review.
Guess what, people tend to believe anecdotes from other users over reviews from people with an agenda. I frequently look for reviews of products I am thinking of buying and places I am thinking of going. What I read about others experience heavily influences my decision and it does many other people.
I agree with your point that he would be wise to have scientific data back up his claims. Yes, let’s see more research. I don’t agree that only the O type diet works, why else would you see so many glowing reviews regarding all 4 diet types?
But please, leave your snarky, condescending retorts to your readers comments out, it leaves a bad taste in your potential readership’s mouth. And I personally won’t back for more.
Editor’s comments: Snarky? Condescending? Obviously you missed our comments from an earlier posting Jackie, so we’ll make them again here…
We’re happy to carry on any discussion in a civil manner, but should visitors accuse of of slander, question our motives and generally leave comments that are not made in the spirit of a genuine exchange of ideas, you can expect us to respond accordingly. Somehow though, you see all visitor’s comments as well intentioned (and certainly the majority of them are), but those few that are insulting and rude are perfectly acceptable. Sorry, Jackie… this is the real world, and it works both ways. Any visitor who thinks s/he can leave insulting, completely unsubstantiated comments and not be challenged accordingly probably should go to another web site. Because that’s not how we do things here.
Regarding your comments about this diet not working just for “type O’s:” any diet that replaces high calorie, nutrient-deficient foods with low calorie, high-fiber nutritious ones is going to work to some extent. Yes, for every blood type.
June 16, 2010
I would like to express that many theories and speculations occur on a day to day basis from conversations about god, dinosaurs, science, evolution, physics etc. This is how ideas turn into fact is first from observation, speculation to testing those theories to show validity… obviously we can put down new ideas and see the holes expressed in one’s theories that are not our own. All things in life have pros and cons. What i have noticed from reading these reviews is all who have tried the diets have had results and many did not from other diets they have tried. I’m in the medical field and vary aware of the way the body works on the inside and the outside. You are correct in saying that in general it is a healthy diet and people can lose weight on it but the way you expressed this was dramatic and almost with anger that is why u r getting such aggressive responses.
From what I see and understand about this diet; and the fact everyone i have talked to that has done this diet has had great results. I would not be so harsh to put it down… look at how Einstein was prosecuted now all his theories are coming to light with our newest evolution of physics.
I think it would be wiser of your review to express the concern about the accuracy of the facts; but to also express that with all things that we try that are new approaches to proceed with caution and be cautious of health concerns that doing a diet like this could have….
In general this diet is balanced for all with meat, carbs, and fats for all blood types….and of course people are losing weight since they are limiting there intake of over-processed, chemical and toxin and hormone filled foods. I highly recommend this diet and I recommend people to be more proactive in what they purchase.. Support the move for change in the quality of food we are consuming, support sustainable farming and GMO free food… SAY NO TO THE PEOPLE CAUSING THE ISSUES.. BOY-COT PRODUCTS THAT DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH OR THE EARTH AND THERE BOTTOM LINE IS THE DOLLAR
“All in all” don’t read a review by only one person and make that opinion your own, read all the reviews and research on your own, then make up your own mind.
Editor’s comments: Crystal, for someone who is apparently employed in the medical field, you don’t seem to know anything about the scientific method. Testimonials are anecdotal, and you should know that. The fact is that in almost 15 years since publishing this diet D’Adamo has delivered nothing even vaguely resembling proof that his theories are valid. Our position is that D’Adamo has not proven his theory, and many credible doctors and scientists disagree with him, and the science he claims to base his diet on. We point out the majority of the people on this diet will experience results because it encourages healthy (healthier?) eating habits – which you agree to, and then suggest we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss his theories. Hello – are you actually following your own train of thought here?
Additionally, anyone trained in the scientific method would not suggest that you “don’t read a review by only one person and make that opinion your own”. No, that person would suggest finding the real science behind the diet, and not base your opinion on unsubstantiated claptrap (which you will find a ton of on the Internet) and anecdotal testimonials.
BTW, Albert Einstein received a Nobel Prize in physics in 1921, which is hardly consistent with him being persecuted and his theories just now coming to light. And please tell us… what new theories, based in REAL science, is there concerning the dinosaurs?
July 10, 2010
I think the editor and JENNIFER need to really read what some of the comments really say before you jump down the author’s throat! Most of these people who had positive comments said that they PHYSICALLY felt better when following the avoid list. I get that the editor says that the o diet will work for anyone, but the point is how you FEEL physically.
Jennifer, if the book is a sham, then why are you going to follow it??? Oh yah, cause What was that you said, IT MAKES SENSE! However, jennifer, you don’t make sense! YOu should not have written your review after having not slept in days as it seems you did!
July 23, 2010
Mandy from Australia here. Type A, couldn’t believe I was going to try and not eat read meat, especially with a house full of hungry teenagers. I’ve never dieted in my life, I’m not over weight just been feeling bloated and tired. I’ve tried this way of eating for two weeks now and I can’t believe how fantastic I feel. I felt worse for a couple of days but gradually improved. This is the best I have EVER felt in my life. My skin looks great, my stomache has gone down, I’ve got more energy and I can go to toilet naturally (sorry too much info). Science, proven, not proven this has been the best thing I’ve done for myself.
July 31, 2010
I am an o+ and middle aged. Like many people in their 20’s and 30’s, I ate what I wanted and my body took care of the rest. After years of eating the medical community’s “healthful” eating recommendations of fruits, veges, whole grains, avoid red meat..etc., I gained weight, my skin was dry and itchy, my hair limp, my muscles weak and had a hard time just getting up in the morning. Now that I eat red meat 5 to 7 times a week and stopped eating all those healthy whole grains and veges on the avoids list, all the above symptoms have vanished.
So say what you want, his “science” is better than the medical doctors “healthy” eating guidelines. Besides the US Medical System is not based on prevention, it is based on keeping us sick and in the doctor’s office, spending our hard earned money on “psuedo” not “scientific” drugs that cause side affects that will kill you and that is “real” science. Overall, Dr. D’Adamo is right on track, even down to the very personality traits. I am married to a blood type A, and the book described him to the letter. The Japanese are so serious about blood type that they require it on job applications and use it for a dating tool. Hmmm….If only I had known!
Editor’s comments: Darlene, you’re confusing cause and effect. Because you’re eating the way D’Adamo recommends and you feel better, you feel that this justifies his argument. It doesn’t. From your description of the way you felt and what you were eating, it sounds like you were probably anemic. Introducing lean meat back into your diet would eliminate this problem, and it has got absolutely nothing to do with the argument that blood type is the best indicator of what we should eat. Any change in your diet that re-introduced a natural source of iron would have had the same effect.
September 2, 2010
Maybe there is no scientific fact this diet works,some things in life are done by instinct and they work. We will never know all the answers to life but i believe our own instincts are our best judge. I am on this diet and feel great for the first time in my life, so I believe that’s enough proof for me. Maybe that’s what we should all do then just maybe will stop being so confused. First we are told one thing works then few month or years its wrong, lets just work it out for ourselves, by the way at 66yrs of age I believe instinct works best.
Editor’s comments: Do you buy a used car on instinct too, Anne? Or do you take it to a trusted mechanic for an inspection first? Fact is, there’s no mystery why this diet can work, and instinct has nothing to do with it, sorry.
September 13, 2010
I noticed this article was written quick a while ago. I was just told about this diet from a friend of mine. Well before deciding whether or not to buy the book, I check it out on line. Well, I come to the dedision that I will not buy the book. I did the Six Week Body Makeover some years back and it was wonderful. It was based on your body type (chilie pepper, apple, or pear). From what I get from the whole blood type thing, it is the same as the body type except for the personality thing. To me, it is all about a lifestyle change. I agree with you on the man not having evidence of his theory. I also believe that those that did have changes, the changes had you eating better foods that actually worked for your body type. Because the friend who recommended this blood type thing to me, had to change his mind after I presented the idea behind the 6week body makeover. Which is two people can have the same blood type, but one is a pear and the other is an apple. If the two are on the same eating plan, only one, if not both will not get good results. Besides, the plan for o blood is very similar to my body type. So I guess it would work for me, but not for my sister. Great job on the article.
September 29, 2010
What I have found interesting is that every avoid food for my blood type is one that I am allergic to. All the avoid foods have a negative effect on my health, weight and otherwise. I’m not sure the accuracy of the science, but I just loose weight and feel better when I follow it. When I don’t…hello weight, bloating, sleepiness. I’m not an O but did atkins and ended up with gall bladder and liver problems, rashes and blood sugar issues. The proof is in the pudding,(non dairy) for me!
October 11, 2010
My husband and I have been on this ‘diet’ (way of eating) for 18 months. We tried it for our overall health (I am always seeking improved health). It has been AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!
My husband is an ‘A’ and I am and ‘O’ so cooking was difficult at first but we are used to making certain dishes different now.
My husband has always been healthy so he has not noticed much difference but I am MUCH healthier.
After suffering from hayfever, constipation and a weak immune system ALL MY LIFE. Now my hayfever has gone altogether, I go to the toilet every day!!! and I do not get ill anywhere near as often as I used to. I have lost weight even though I am not trying to and always eat really well.
Anyway I feel like even after trying many things over the years EAT RIGHT FOR YOUR BLOOD TYPE has made a huge difference to my life and I now enjoy a BIGGER range of food than I ever ate before.
Try it out!!! hope it works for you.
October 21, 2010
I have been looking for quality information on weight loss and am very glad to have stumbled on this site. I liked your review of this diet very much.
However, I was disappointed to see you suddenly throw pseudoscience into the mix – the bit about ‘diet related disorders’ including heavy metal toxicity. And what does ‘bowel toxicity’ actually mean?
Apart from that, I will keep visiting.
November 29, 2010
This is an incredibly informative review.
I am a type B. I am also a strict vegetarian with allergies to wheat/gluten, milk and eggs. I’m also fairly carb sensitive, and can easily pack on weight with rice & pasta – rice cakes would be SO counterproductive to weight loss for me!
Back when this book was first published, I was interested to see what it was all about. When I read the guideline for Bs, I immediately brushed it off as nonsense. If I were to eat they way D’Adamo recommends, I would be constantly ill.
I’m not overweight, but would like to drop those few extra (stubborn) vanity pounds. I recently thought to look back into this diet… just in case there might have been something there I was missing. My current diet is very clean as is, but I can’t budge those few lbs. Of course, upon re-examining, my initial thoughts of the “Eat Right….” diet remained unchanged.
I was even more interested to read the information presented here, debunking some of D’Adamo’s claims (ex. blood type evolution), and pointing out his inconsistencies.
I completely agree that the diet will work for many people. I would go a step further and say that it could benefit some non O-Types as well. If someone is shifting from a standard American diet of refined grains and sugars, fast food, processed/preservative laden foods, etc…, they are going to see some results.
(This form instructed to “rate the diet”, so 1 star for the diet; 5 stars for the review, thanks!)
December 2, 2010
Although I agree with your review on the book, I must point out you also contradict yourself:
“Well, geneticists theorize that it takes many thousands of generations to bring about any sort of significant genetic evolutionary response. In other words, our switch from hunter gatherer to farmer happened much too recently in our history for it to have resulted in the evolution of a new blood type. Since blood type A obviously evolved as a result of some other stimuli, D’Adamo’s theory is a bust.”
You say geneticists “theorize” then go on with your point as if it were proven fact saying type A “obviously” evolved from another stimuli and D’Adamo’s theory is a bust – all based on someone else’s “theory”. Isn’t that what you are accusing D’Adamo of doing?
Although I do love the point you made that if D’Adamo’s theory was correct that blood types evolved from food stimuli then there would be no point in changing what we eat, just wait until our blood type evolves again to match our food intake.
Editor’s comments: Actually, we were being facetious. 😉
December 23, 2010
I think the arguments happening here are a result of misunderstanding. You feel like people are attacking your review, while they feel you are attacking something that has changed their lives. The diet works; you admit that, users admit that, doctors admit that. It most likely works because it is just plain healthy and not because of blood types. We all get that. But what you need to wrap your head around is that the diet works. And the scientific evidence is in the people who it has worked for. Why do we need the “approval” of all of the fellows at a medical school to acknowledge that this diet helps people.
As for your attitude, it is quite off-putting how combative you are. In essence, we are your customers, and you treat us like we are morons and you are so high above us because we are surely lemmings for trying a diet that, by your own admission, is healthier and will help us lose weight. Okay, so it doesn’t work because we descended from the farming knuckle-draggers; that’s fine. The main point is that it works. What doesn’t work is terrible customer service. If you were one of my employees (I manage a bank), and I heard you talking to any customer the way you have talked to the people who replied to your review, I would fire you in a New York minute. You have a terrible attitude and treat people like they are beneath you.
But I digress; back to the point: Scientific method: hypothesize, test, evaluate results. The developer of this diet formulated a theory (hypothesized), published it and let people try it (tested), and is now evaluating the results. You say that if only 0.5% of readers respond, it must be inadequate data. However, most studies take a very small sampling of people relative to the number of people it will be marketed to. You then take that percentage and market it to people.
Editor’s comments: Jordan, we understand why the diet would work for some people. What exactly does that prove? Somehow you’re arguing that because the diet occasionally works for the simple reason it forces people to make better nutritional choices that D’Adamo is allowed to flog his outrageous theories?
Additionally, in real science you don’t put forth a theory and sell it to people untested. Imagine if the drug companies did this? We don’t know if it works, it might, it might not, but go ahead and try it and we’ll see how everything pans out later. No Jordan, the whole point of this review is that D’Adamo has sold his theory to the public – a theory which has no supporting evidence; in fact, there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary. It is up to him to demonstrate its effectiveness BEFORE asking for the public’s money. He has not done so, nor has he shown any interest in doing so since the book’s publication.
That’s the whole point.
Additionally, if he was interested in providing proof, he would need to set up double blind, placebo controlled studies and publish them in a reputable journal. Obtaining feedback from users does not constitute evidence of his theory, since we’ve already seen it can work for reasons totally unrelated to it.
Jordan, we invite you to review ALL the comments on this page. When visitors comment in the spirit of civil discourse, we reply in kind. When they get mean and nasty and question our motives or even our intelligence, we give it right back. With bells on. We’re not here to make everybody happy, and if you can’t take it, you better think twice about dishing it out. There are reasons why this site is different than most other supplement/diet review sites on the Net, and that’s one of them. We’re sorry if you don’t like it, but our job is to act as consumer advocates. Occasionally that means telling people what they don’t want to hear, or to force them to think about things in ways they hadn’t considered before. Yes, that does mean we ruffle a few feathers now and again. But then again, no visitor to our site who begins a discussion in the true spirit of discourse is treated with anything but respect.
Two more things before we have to say good-bye Jordan…
1) We’re not in the customer service business. We’re editors.
2) You can’t fire us. 😉
December 23, 2010
Adding that into the mix, I feel it’s safe to postulate (since you love that word so much) that more than 79% experienced positive results. So how about we compromise: the theory sucks, but the diet is effective. Then again, the world is flat, and anyone who suggests otherwise is clearly a crazy, uneducated person practicing voodoo and should be hanged immediately. Oh wait, those radicals were right; it just took a couple hundred years to prove it. Now we laugh at the “scholars” who hanged the crazy people. Here’s to hoping you get laughed at in a couple hundred years.
Editor’s comments: Great theory, Jordan except we KNOW why the Eat Right diet works for many people; it switches them from high-calorie, nutritionally deficient foods to much smarter choices. Some elements of the diet restrict simple carbohydrates; also an effective means of losing weight. If you had actually read review you would know this and recognize that it doesn’t justify D’Adamo’s theory in the slightest. You’re making the simple mistake of confusing cause and effect.
Also Jordan, no one is going to be laughing at us in several hundred years. In order for that to happen, D’Adamo would have to offer PROOF that his theory is sound. In the almost 15 years since the publication of this diet, he hasn’t shown the slightest interest in doing so. Why do suppose that is? It is after all, his theory, and the onus is on him to prove it to be valid.
February 28, 2011
I find everyone’s remarks entertaining. I’ve lost 30 lbs. by following the guidelines set forth by Weight Watchers. And I feel great. In my opinion, anyone would feel better by losing a few of those extra pounds. The reason the Blood Type diet works is because it reduces the amount of calories you consume left to your own devices. Any diet would, including South Beach Diet, Atkins Diet, Low-fat diets… need I go on.
I agree with the author of this review. There is no proven scientific reason that your blood type should determine what you eat.
The key for weight loss is simple, you’ve got to burn more calories than you take in. Simple yes, hard to accomplish yes. But that doesn’t make it any less true.
April 1, 2011
All I can say is this: If this program works for you, who cares what some reviewer has to say. Since I started this diet, and I am B Positive, I have more energy, less bloating and clearer thinking. Not sure what to think about giving up tomatoes. I’ll let you know how they affect me when they are in season this summer as I only eat them during the summer. If I eat them and feel lousy then a big thumbs up to this program.
I am also suspicious of the motives of a bad review that ends with “Now here’s a REAL diet! ‘ and tries to sell me another product. That is just lame and actually humorous. Keep eating right gang! If it works for you then work it! 🙂
Editor’s comments: Joanne, you get an “F” for reading comprehension. We’ve clearly stated in our review that the diet WILL work for many people, largely because it eliminates poor nutritional choices from the diet. Every sensible diet does that.
What we take issue with, and what you seem to have missed, is that D’Adamo has nothing scientific to base his assertion that your blood type is the best indicator of what you eat; in fact, his argument is full of “holes” and has been refuted by many credible authorities. It is, simply because he says it is. That’s simply not good enough for us, and it shouldn’t be for you, either.
April 11, 2011
BRAVO on a well-written review. I think most people who have commented are missing an important point:
YOUR JOB is to evaluate the ACCURACY of information being provided by these diet/lifestyle plan books.
Am I getting that right?
WHAT YOUR JOB IS NOT: To discuss whether or not following the diet/lifestyle plan will be useful, helpful, or effective.
You have admitted readily that the dietary/lifestyle changes suggested by D’Adamo may (and often do, as people have testified) bring about positive change. People seem to think you are disputing their testimonials of success, and are perceiving it as a personal assault on their intelligence…I wasn’t getting that message from you. I also felt you presented it in a very matter-of-fact way which I didn’t construe as rude. The only rudeness I noted was from those who were on the defensive in the false belief that you were persecuting their diet/lifestyle plan or questioning its effectiveness.
My understanding of your review is that there’s nothing inherently wrong with the diet/lifestyle plan itself, for the most part, but you take issue with D’Adamo’s CLAIMS as to WHY it works. You say that if he makes claims as to WHY it works, he must PROVE how he has reached those conclusions. (It is safer for us to never blindly trust products without at least questioning the science behind them and making an informed decision. If that decision involves going ahead despite proof, there is also nothing wrong with that choice. Some people are ok with trial and error).
PLAIN and SIMPLE- There would be NO DISPUTE whatsoever if Dr. D’Adamo had not claimed that BLOOD TYPE is the reason the diet/lifestyle plan is effective. He has no PROOF that blood type is the reason it works for many people.
If I were to write a best-seller about Eating for Your Eye Colour, (since it seems to be ok to make claims and I won’t need to back it with research studies…if he doesn’t why should I have to?) the diet will work if it promotes caloric deficit, encourages increased exercise, and nutritious foods in proper quanities. The degree of success also would depend on how dramatic a change this is from one’s original habits. Everyone needs a gimmick that will make their diet book stand out from all the other bazillion on the market, something new that hasn’t already been beaten to death….blood type, eye colour, body shape…whatever.
Everyone should relax. You are merely doing your job, (presenting facts) and well I might add.
Editor’s comments: Kim, you nailed it; thank you. 😉
May 20, 2011
A kid I work with is totally into this diet…complete BS.
June 16, 2011
to the editor…..do you have any studies or proof that eating right for your blood type is NOT a good program to be on….i been on it for 3 years now….and at 69 yrs of age has not health problems and has lost considerable wgt…now if i eat any type of food that’s not for my blood type, i get sick….literally upset stomach…..no blood pressure problem, no aching joints….just plain healthy….I’d like to read your proof to the opposite…..
Editor’s comments: Aaron, there are two problems here…
First, the onus is not on us to provide proof that it doesn’t work, after all, we’re not the ones selling the diet. The onus is D’Adamo to prove that his theories are sound. He hasn’t done so. We’ve pointed out the numerous problems with his arguments, but he hasn’t provided a countering argument.
Second, you’re confusing cause and effect – there are a million reasons why you may feel better eating the way D’Adamo recommends, but that does not validate his claim that “blood type is the best measure to determine what we eat.”
July 19, 2011
Have any of you tried any of the supplements? More than a diet (way of eating), it seems to me Dr. A. is pushing supplements. No?
June 12, 2013
Nah, he doesn’t even sell many of the supplements he recommends. It’s at the end of each chapter, too. The main focus is the diet.
September 6, 2011
I am a very logical person and fully understand cause and effect and agree that lack of scientific evidence should cause a pause, but when I read the first 20 pages that described my type A personality, body build, ailments, etc and my husband’s type O personality, body build, ailment etc PERFECTLY, I was sold. Sold that D’Adamo AND his father have information that I am willing to study and apply to reach some goals that are ever-present in my mind. The testimonials are inspiring and I’m all in. I’m not an unhealthy overweight individual. I’m just willing to try his method because he’s won credibility with me.
Editor’s comments: If you’re a very logical personal you’ll also understand that if 10,000 people read a horoscope, a small percentage of them will find it speaks with “uncanny accuracy” to their situation. This isn’t because the rotation of the stars have some bearing on people’s lives, it’s because when the numbers are large enough, eventually the horoscope will be accurate for someone. The exactly the same thing applies here.
Additionally, for D’Adamo’s argument to be sound, you also have to assume every type A person who reads the book is exactly the same personality as you, has the same ailments, etc. Unfortunately, that’s not logical.
September 6, 2011
I fully understand cause and effect and your concern at Dr. Adamo’s lack of scientific proof, etc., but some of your statements in your review do not properly reflect the attitude of the book or the testimonials. You say that “any plan that replaces hi cal, nutritionally deficient food with low cal, hi fiber, nutritional food will work for the population.” BUT, for example, the advice for type A is to NOT restrict calories. Many testimonials are from people who had good diets/food plans, but tweeked what was eaten, like avoiding vinegary pickles and olives (there’s no calories saved there!!!)and trading out red meat for certain fish and beans, and the tweeking was beneficial calorie to calorie. I get your point, that he shouldn’t claim without “evidence” but you’re losing credibility with some of your statements.
Editor’s comments: Sheila, good diet plans doesn’t mean folks aren’t over consuming calories. Most people don’t have a clue how many calories they need, nor the caloric value of what they are eating, so focusing on calories for the first time is extremely likely to result in a caloric deficit – compared to what they were eating before, regardless of what D’Adamo says.
September 6, 2011
I fully understand cause and effect and your concern at Dr. Adamo’s lack of scientific proof, etc., but some of your statements in your review do not properly reflect the attitude of the book or the testimonials. You say that “any plan that replaces hi cal, nutritionally deficient food with low cal, hi fiber, nutritional food will work for the population.” BUT, for example, the advice for type A is to NOT restrict calories. Many testimonials are from people who had good diets/food plans, but tweeked what was eaten, like avoiding vinegary pickles and olives (there’s no calories saved there!!!)and trading out red meat for certain fish and beans, and the tweeking was beneficial calorie to calorie. I get your point, that he shouldn’t claim without “evidence” but you’re losing credibility with some of your statements.
Editor’s comments: Not really: adopting a sensible diet, with or without a focus on caloric restriction, will lead to weight loss if the caloric intake of the new diet is lower than the one it is replacing. Since we know how bad the typical North American diet is, it’s not a stretch to assume this is going to be the case in almost ALL cases. It’s much less of a leap to make this assumption than to accept the alternative; despite all evidence to the contrary, D’Adamo’s theory works as described.
October 6, 2011
Hello, I am a Nutrition & Dietetics student and you are right in that this diet will work for most people, you can prove this by following the diet for a different blood type and also experiencing results. This is simply because they recommend whole foods and not the junk that the average American eats. I like your analogy to horoscopes since it is exactly how it feels, some people will read this book and think “well, I’m not sure about that but let’s just try it”, and to that small percentage who by coincidence actually match the description will think “HOW DO THEY KNOW? THIS IS EXACTLY ME!” I am one of those few since I have been vegan for years and “my type” (A) is “supposed” to be vegetarian, lucky for me I don’t believe in horoscopes either. Anyways, it is actually pretty scary that this guy is preaching a lifestyle with no support or clinical trials, but at least he is not advertising anything too crazy or harmful (not saying it is okay-just saying it could be worse). As to what one of the people who commented said about the hangings for saying the world was round, it would be pretty funny if in 100 years it was somehow proven that blood type did influence diets. Hang on tight, maybe that is how long the author will take to actually release any evidence.
October 16, 2011
Hi every one, i am surprise by the comments… I can understand both side of the discussion. On the scientific side you have a point to address, yes i do understand that but as we know life in its self is very contradicting and so are theories. For me instead of fighting each others results why can we not corporate it so we can have a better balance to our human health, at the end of the day its all about being healthy and that comes about eating right. I know for a fact that some of the healthy foods does not work right for our body as they do for others. The point that Dr D’Adamo is making is eating wright for yr blood type mean for me , as he probably have experienced people with different blood type reacted differently to the foods so he break it down to the blood types now i don’t think you need a scientist to teach you that, its our body teaching us the differences..and also education our researchers but who listens to us. Scientist study to combine thing to get into our body who know what they are , they also tell us what they want us to believe but do we or will we ever know the truth about any thing, unless we allow our self to find it by experimenting as Dr D’Adamo say to eat wright for your blood type smile. At the end of this mail. life is wonderful and it comes with you feeling good about yr self and yr health and what works for you continue doing it.We have been taught to much of nothing at the same time, so live life and let life be in good health .smile don’t be to hard on me for this mail, i wrote with love smile.
Editor’s comments: The point, Lisa – love smile or not – is that there D’Adamo has not provided any evidence of his theories. He is obligated to, but hasn’t. That’s a scam, in our opinion.
February 2, 2012
I’m a type A and have been using this diet for a year. I’ve lost 35 lbs and have more energy than I have in 15 years. I don’t care if it doesn’t make sense or if you think it’s a “scam”. If someone told me to eat mud for a year promising I’ve have the same results, I’d probably have tried that too because I’m exhausted after trying so many things that just haven’t shown any positive results. After trying diet after diet, this is the only damn thing that’s worked for ME.
Now, I’ve read this entire page and I’ve come to this conclusion. You certainly think a lot of yourself, don’t you?
Editor’s comments: We discuss the diet and present the evidence or lack thereof. That’s all we do. There isn’t any. D’Adamo hasn’t provided any. The fact that you feel better is great, but guess what? It does not validate his argument. Sorry. You don’t have to like it, but that’s the way it is.
February 3, 2012
Where are all the negative comments from people who tried the diet and had no results or even worse, adverse effects? I don’t see any. Where are all the people that agree and support the editor? Very few here.That pretty much speaks for itself. I’ve been on the blood type diet for about six yrs and it’s changed my life, health wise. I’ve never been overweight but I am now completely off all prescription meds. Mainly, lipitor and allergy meds.I am also a blood donor again and I was unable to donate blood for many yrs.I visited this site wondering if I could find some comments from people who tried the diet with no positive results. I guess Dr.D’Adamo magically deleted them all.
Editor’s comments: It’s always nice to believe in conspiracy theories, and that the editors are here to present a view of things that coincides with our view of this diet. However, if you had taken some time to learn about us, you would know that we don’t delete or alter feedback. There are plenty of perfectly reasonable reasons why you aren’t seeing a ton of feedback from people who did not have great results (and again, this is a sensible diet, so there’s no reason why switching to it won’t bring benefits. It’s just that they are unrelated to blood type).
The most obvious one is very simple; while people who have great results are happy to get out there and spread the word, and become big supporters of the diet, people who have satisfactory, less than stellar and dismal results are less likely to do so. Why? Because it’s an admission of failure. Of being unable to execute. Of being unable to lose weight successfully. Happy dieters are loud and noisy. Unsuccessful ones tend to keep their failures to themselves.
February 3, 2012
You may be speculating that I’m type O. I’m actually A pos and switched from red meat to green leafy vegetables for my iron source. My blood count soared from border line anemia to perfectly normal. Just a coincidence? I doubt it. Dr. D’Adamo is definitely onto something.
Editor’s comments: You are confusing cause and effect.
April 25, 2012
It is a well written article but you have your own faults in who you are siting as well. You say doctors don’t agree with it, well thats interesting considering Doctors get a semster of nurtition classes in med school, and at that its elective based.
So unless they’re a nurtionist or people who specialize in food and diet there opinion on the matter has no merits on the topic simply because of their creditials.
I agree you need scientific evidence that can be tested and scrutinized by peers in the science community, that is in Dr. Alamos court to provide. It should also be noted that most Fad diets that pop up don’t get a huge amount of pretested subject before the diet hits the market, it’s usually X amount of sample tested. The hard data comes in after the fact as is with most things. Once a populace has the means to basically be genea pigs hard data can be collected.
With that in mind, skeptism is needed but if its working and healthy for the individuals doing it, is it really a bad thing? There are many ways to skin a cat, and their is a reason its called practicing medicine, b/c there is no perfect way for things to happen. Interesting article.
Editor’s comments: Sean, the doctors we cite raise valid concerns are no strangers to nutrition (just because the average M.D. receives minimal nutritional training doesn’t mean ALL M.D.’s are ignorant in this manner and cannot provide a valid critique). Citations aside, it doesn’t change the facts; there is no clinical evidence to support D’Adamo’s argument, and there are plenty of reasons why the diet will work that have ZERO to do with blood type.
May 22, 2012
I am very fit and healthy and read the ER4YBT book out of curiosity and to help my husband’s health issues. My only real health complaint were chronic sinus pressure headaches and mild allergies. After eliminating wheat and corn in my diet, I have not had ONE episode. Say what you want about scientific studies, from what I can see, many of this book’s critics are supporters of veganism, paleo diets, or some other diet, all that ALSO have no “scientific evidence”. I still haven’t found a neutral critic. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. None of the four diets in the book are dangerous. Try it for a month and if it doesn’t work, post here, but please, enough of all the statements out of context from the book. All the personality/blood type stuff is from Japan, he didn’t make it up. And Type B’s “climatic change” reference is misleading, if you review the book, the change caused the people to move and eat differently. He did not say Type B blood arose from a change in the climate! I welcome discourse and valid critique, but give me a break here.
Editor’s comments: Had you read the review, you would see that it addresses the reasons why this diet may work, and absolutely NONE of them have anything to do with blood type. The exact quote from the book regarding type B’s is…
“Type B emerged as humans migrated north into colder, harsher territories…”
The change did not cause people to move, as you indicate. Regardless of how you want to interpret this, none of these arguments are supported by anything resembling evidence.
“I welcome discourse and valid critique, but give me a break here.”
Really? You’re willing to accept D’Adamo’s arguments without the slightest iota of proof just because some of his detractors support theories that have no supporting evidence either? The fact that some of his detractors are not credible, does not make his arguments any more so. Accepting this suggests you are not the slightest bit interested in valid discourse, or critical thinking, and shows an inability to tell the difference between cause and effect.
Give US a break.
And just for the record, there are PLENTY of credible detractors, some of which are referenced in the article.
What we have said, 8 million times already, is that the onus is D’Adamo is provide proof of his theories, and to date he has not done so. He has – as far as we have concerned – made this all up. There is no clinical evidence
of any sort – from Japan or anywhere else – that supports tying personality traits to blood type. You may as well use a horoscope – your results would be just as accurate.
July 1, 2012
I wish I could say that I can agree with the fact that you stated that Dr. D’Adamo has not giving any scientific proof to some of his theories, but if he did will that change your mind? I like many on this site has giving their results after trying this way of eating and it far out number any contradictory comments. My husband and I began eating this way going on three months know and we have never felt better, we both have lost weight even without strenuous exercises, my bloating is gone, my skin is much softer, the joint pain for both of us is gone I no longer feel lethargic, we have lots more energy and this is just to name a few of the health benefits we are experiencing. We are over 57 years old and I cannot believe how good I feel since a began eating for my blood type which is by the way Type O and my husband is also Type O, hey that is a match made in heaven…Lol. I respect your opinion but I think the benefits that many are getting from this diet is far outweighing, any criticism from a few that have not even attempted to try the diet for themselves. I thank God for Dr. D’ADamo’s research and perseverance kudos to him and I hope he keeps up the good work because many are going to the better for it. Yours in health.
Editor’s comments: Mari, as noted in previous comments, there are numerous reasons why this diet may “help” you, and none of them have anything to do with eating right for your type. And we have to take issue with the statement “thank God for Dr. D’ADamo’s research”… he hasn’t done any research. At all. That’s the whole point of this review.
August 3, 2012
I read your review very thoroughly with an open mind for both the book and your review, and I am getting more and more skeptical about this whole eat for blood type thing. It’s safer to assume “everything in moderation” If what this ‘Dr’ claims is true then I as a blood type A should not even weightlift I guess? and that I cannot handle stress easily? I’ve always been told I’m calm and work well under pressure. I love weightlifting, I love the pump and I feel great and look great. It should be common sense not to over eat on a particular food and to eat WHOLE healthy natural foods to top it off, not fast food and burgers and fries with a diet coke every day c’mon people. Everyone’s body is different, if a food makes you feel bad every-time you eat it maybe you are eating to much of it or maybe your body cannot handle it, for example I am lactose intolerant. If you want to lose weight eat healthy whole foods and exercise. People are so lazy these days they look for alternatives.
You made a great review and I can’t believe how unintelligent people are to not even read or come up with a tangible argument. Everyone always wants to resort to insults and name calling, I haven’t seen 1 person link with scientific proof. Continue the good work
November 2, 2012
This horrible book has been in my life for the past 15 years, my dad first introduced it to our entire family back then because his friend had raved about it. Sadly, “the book” as my family now calls it, has caused problems in our family. Let me begin with my dad. He began eating strictly by the book and lost about 15 lbs. Over the years he gained it back and adjusted his meals to be very simple and lifeless, because making all the food choices was too much trouble. For the past 13 years his diet has consisted of only the following; Breakfast- pack of instant sugar laden oatmeal and more brown sugar on top, with soy milk, cup of supermarket grapefruit juice (the book claims sugar is neutral and can be eaten as much as you want). Lunch-one piece of sprouted wheat bread with about 1/3 cup of peanut butter and 1/3 cup of blueberry preserves. After eating that, about one cup of salt dry roasted peanuts (again, the book points out you can eat as much as you want when its beneficial, ie-sugar, sugar, salt, salt. Dinner- Salad with copious amounts of ranch dressing-about 1/2 cup, no joke. The book says salad dressing (does not specify any ingredients) is neutral, so any amount is ok?? He only drinks grapefruit juice and water, lots of sugar laden grapefruit juice cause its beneficial, right (again, sugar, because its good and no limits are ever set. That is all he eats, ever. He will not change because he thinks he is super human healthy and will live until 100. Sadly last year he had a major heart attack and nearly died. He says it was meant to happen because of his poor diet 15 years prior to eating by the book, not likely….it was his diet for the past 15 years that had been slowly causing belly fat, low energy, insulin spikes, very high cholesterol, etc. After the heart attack he had two stints and doctor reported 50% blockage in other side. Since that happened he did not change a thing, in fact he has become more obsessive about his food, claiming “the book” will help him live even longer. The big problem with this book is its very general and does not give limits or proportions. The book seems to say you can have as much as you want of the beneficial things. If someone wants to follow it closely and pick out only the things they like, (like my dad) it can be harmful because it is does not give all the information and is limited in facts, only “so called studies”. This book should not be taken seriously, its may be an okay guide to eating better than fast food, or processed foods, but it will not cure or make someone avoid illness or diseases. One more mistruth in the book; the book says whole wheat bread is very bad because of the gluten, it offers sprouted wheat as an alternative such as Ezekiel because all the gluten has been removed. This is very untrue, the ingredients in Ezekiel lists gluten protein. I followed this book for the last 10 years as well, however I always had very bad gas and stomach aches and weird periodic rashes. I learned recently that I am gluten intolerant. According to the book I can eat limited amounts of wheat and Ezekiel sprouted wheat was neutral, so I did. Needless to say I too, was making myself very uncomfortable and sick trying to “Eat right for my blood type”.
March 14, 2013
I appreciate this article because it gives another perspective. The style of eating from the blood type diet worked for me but not just weight loss but overall health. I think that there is some truth to it based on my personal results. I also might add that I had suspicions before reading the book that certain people shouldn’t eat certain things nothing deep that’s all. I have many friends from other countries and there parents eat like they are still in there native country and have a better overall health. However their children follow a more American type of diet and struggle sometimes with weight and health challenges. Accept there is not such things as an “American Diet” its all made up. We live in a society that gets bananas from Mexico, lamb from New Zealand, and mango from India( I’m sure you can get these things from other places). Our world has gotten much smaller due to technology. What you have to ask yourself is were people eating foods not indigenous to their immediate area even 100 to 200 years ago. Animals have certain types of diets you don’t see lions eating salads or plants when they can’t chase down a zebra. I just don’t see why its so hard to believe that certain people from certain areas have been eating things for 1000s of years and just maybe their bodies have adapted.
March 15, 2013
Robert, unfortunately your success is *not* proof of this diet’s validity. As noted in the review, there are all sorts of reasons why it may have worked for you, but none of them validate D’adamo’s argument. The fact that your friends are in better shape than their kids is not because they are “eating right for their type” it’s because they are not eating high calorie fatty foods coupled with simple carbohydrates. And while your argument that “people have eaten certain foods for 1,000 of years and maybe their bodies adapted” sounds like a good one, but D’Adamo hasn’t brought forth any evidence to prove this, and there are some inherent problems wit it. The most obvious one is the one I pointed out in the review; we’ve only been farming for 6-10,000 years. That’s not a long time, and certainly not enough to evoke any meaningful genetic change for those of us who eat it regularly, as postulated by D’Adamo.
March 26, 2013
This has been found to be completely false and an old way of thinking. Researchers have found species can and have developed very quickly to their surroundings genetically in some cases over years or decades…this notion of it taking thousands of years for things to change in some instances is false. Species can and do change quickly in some cases as necessary adaptations to their environment.
March 26, 2013
http://www.detectingdesign.com/dnamutationrates.html
Again here is an article talking about just this…
Mutations occurring much faster than previously believed.
March 26, 2013
Matt, the paper you have referenced does not “disprove” anything; it is an argument; a thesis. It absolutely does not justify the “this has been found to be completely false and an old way of thinking” statement you made. It has, as far as I can tell, not been published in any journal, nor have the arguments been thoroughly critiqued by professionals. And even if it was 100% correct and accepted as “gospel” truth by the scientific community (which it has not) it still does not justify D’Adamo’s arguments because aside from this one, he has a huge made a number of other critical errors. Have a look at this article, and then this excerpt from Elissa’s blog post here…
Your experience, as beneficial as it may be, is anecdotal, and is not proof of evidence.
March 26, 2013
I have not tried this diet, but I am on something called “The Plan” by Lyn Genet Recitals which helps identify unfriendly foods that are causing inflammation in your body. I was already in great shape but still lost 15 pounds in 25 days due to losing water retained from inflammation. Amazingly when I compare the two, I have found many foods listed as ones ti avoid are are ones that cause inflammation in ke…wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. His description of type B individuals was so accurate for me I was literally stunned. High cortisol levels(mine tested at .64 on a scale of .04-.59), autoimmune disease(psoriasis), etc.
Furthermore most of the highly reactive foods listed in the plan align almost perfectly with the blood type diet foods that should be avoided by those with type A and type O blood types which coincidentally make up 85% of the population…two completely different methods leading to the same conclusions are more than simply coincidence.
Also an article just came out a few days ago that researchers have found lectins in foods trigger bad responses in people and are not detectable by food sensitivity tests…basically they validate all of Damato’s research on lectins…
He may not be right on everything, but his recommendations jibe very well with the plan…almost identical to what I have independently found out myself
March 26, 2013
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/rice-potato-tomato-may-be-inflammatory-wheat
Here is a link to the lectin study that was just released that I referenced in the post above.
DAmato gets bashed, yet all these nutrionalists recommending corn and grains are not although they contain high levels of phytic acid, and as such are anti-nutrients that rob the body of minerals and vitamins and gluten which causes food sensitivity and reactivity in the vast majority of people…amazing how people can turn a blind eye to reality when they believe what people tell them because lots of other people say the same thing without investigating or questioning things. It leads to believing the world is flat and complete shunning of a person saying the world is round…we all know how that turned out.
Accept nothing as truth and challenge everything.
June 14, 2013
Just a quick note: your link is not to a “lectin study.” Your link is to an alt-med article by someone who is referencing studies that have exactly nada to do with human health. For example, the study abstract discussing potato lectin is simply a discussion of its structure, based on its amino acid sequence.
June 12, 2013
Hello! I appreciate the article. (I indeed read the whole thing.)
So type B, here… I picked up a copy of “Allergies: Fight Them with the Blood Type Diet.”
I really like it. My skin has cleared up, I feel more energized, and my environmental allergies (pollen is the major one) have been manageable this season with NO MEDS! 🙂
So allow me to explain a few things… I LOVE nutrition and health. I started eating a healthy, whole foods diet about three and a half years ago. I switched from white bread to whole wheat. I thought I was doing myself a favor. But I still felt very fatigued and developed very bad acne after the switch to whole wheat (though I didn’t connect the two at the time).
According to the Blood Type Diet for allergies, I am supposed to avoid wheat, chicken, peanuts, soy beans, lentils, black beans, potatoes, etc…
Well, for my entire life, I have had wheat, chicken, and black beans almost every single day. I started avoiding those and added more of the beneficial replacements, like spelt bread, lamb, and kidney beans. The changes I made were not necessarily lower in caloric value or leaner… but I felt better!
Funny “coincidence” too is that I got tested for food sensitivities recently, and guess what came up? Wheat, soy, potatoes, peanuts… the majority were foods on my avoid list! Have you ever researched Leaky Gut? Check out Mercola.com for more info on the connection between lectins and the resulting cell wall damage in the gut. See, what can happen is that food particles that would normally not be allowed through the intestinal wall are able to escape to the bloodstream (due to Leaky Gut). There, the immune system sees these particles as “foreign” and mounts an immune response to the substance, which can result in a sensitivity or allergy. The connections always make so much SENSE. That’s the problem with throwing away the whole theory. Perhaps the blood type diet hasn’t been proven yet (for lack of proper funding??) but there are SO many things that science is STILL figuring out. Just because it hasn’t been proven doesn’t mean it’s not true.
Just my two cents.
P.S. Why do you mention that he is not a MEDICAL doctor? He is a *naturopathic* doctor (ND) – it;s just a different type. They still have to take the same classes in their undergrad college to get into med school, and they still study for the same amount of time (same fundamental science classes, just different methods for treating disease). Why should you take that training away from him?
June 12, 2013
By the way, the above link is pretty new, from last month (May, 2013). Like I said, it takes time for all this research to come out.
One more thing regarding where Dr. D got his info from )
I know, I know. It’s unscientific to just “make logical connections” and hope they’re right. But it’s a good starting place! Because at least now with all this attention/funding, he can work on doing more significant, hard-science research. Right?
“In support of his dietary recommendations, Dr. D’Adamo points to research that provides evidence for the presence of lectins in food, the agglutinating effects of lectins, and the connection between blood type and the development of diseases.
“In 1980, Nachbar and Oppenheim studied the edible portions of 88 commonly eaten foods including fresh fruits, roasted nuts, and processed cereals, and found that 29 of the 88 foods tested possessed significant lectin-like activity. The researchers also determined that dry heat does not completely destroy the lectin activity in wheat germ, peanuts, and the dry cereals. In addition, wheat germ agglutinin, tomato lectin, and navy bean lectin have been found to resist breakdown by digestive juices. As a result, it can be concluded that at least some of the lectins found in food make it into the bloodstream.
“It is well-known that lectins cause red blood cells to clump together, and, consequently, certain lectins are used in the typing of human blood. In addition, researchers have shown that some lectins stimulate the conversion of resting lymphocytes into actively growing and dividing cells (Lis and Sharon, 1973 and 1972), while other researchers have demonstrated the ability of lectins to bind to isolated small intestine cells (Triadou and Audran, 1983). In Dr. D’Adamo’s view, this research provides proof that the lectins that survive the digestive system and make it into the bloodstream have the ability to bind to various cells and create a variety of health problems. Critics argue that much of the research on lectins has been performed in test tubes, and that therefore, what, if any, effects lectins have in the body has not been conclusively demonstrated.
“Dr. D’Adamo also cites research that links blood type with the development of certain diseases. For example, it has been observed that individuals with blood type A have a higher incidence of achlorhydria (inadequate production of stomach acid), stomach cancer, and pernicious anemia, while people with blood type O have a higher incidence of intestinal ulcers (Buckwalter, 1956). In addition, people with Type B blood are more susceptible to slow moving viruses and autoimmune conditions (for example, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis). Dr. D’Adamo also notes that the Framingham Heart Study examined the connection between blood type and heart disease. In this study, male patients with Type A , especially in the age group 50-59, experienced a higher incidence of fatal coronary heart disease that men with Type O. Dr. D’Adamo suggests that these results indicate a strong connection between blood type and heart disease, but the authors of the Framingham study are more tenative in their conclusion. They write, “From these data it is only possible to say that non-fatal coronary heart disease with an intermediate-term survival of 4 years seems to be associated with blood-group. For women, however, there seems if anything to be a reversal of the trend, with more heart-disease in blood group O. This trend was particularly evident in the prevalence of angina pectoris (chest pain). A rather complex hypothesis would, however, be necessary to explain the apparent inconsistencies between the sexes, and between the associations found in the prevalence and incidence data” (Havlik, 1969). Research relating other diseases, including diabetes and hyperthyroidism, to blood type has not yet been conclusive.”
June 13, 2013
Priscilla,
You’ve missed some of the vital points in our article…
1) Personal testimonials are not evidence. They do not constitute proof that something works. That’s not our opinion, that’s an established fact. And that’s why the peer-reviewed, double blind, placebo-controlled study published in a reputable journal is the gold standard for determining whether or not something works as described.
2) You’re right – there have been discussions on lectins and their possible health consequences for some time. But as you can see in this blog post by Elissa (she’s our scientific and technical advisor and a former research scientist at the University of California at Davis) D’Adamo gets much of the science wrong. And Elissa is not the only one pointing this out.
3) Your link does not prove D’Adamo’s theories: it’s a link to a press release that appears to discuss a presentation, as far as I can tell, and not a published, peer-reviewed study. Please post a link the published, peer-reviewed journal where the study appears, so we can review it.
(The press release states: “While the study confirms his research into these potentially harmful lectins, the study stops short of looking at lectins with regard to blood type – an important factor in discovering which lectins can be dangerous for different people.” In other words, it doesn’t validate any of D’Adamo’s arguments).
4) “Just because it hasn’t been proven doesn’t mean it’s not true.” Of course not. But when someone earns significant revenue promoting a diet plan based on what they claim is sound nutritional science, the burden of proof is on them. Not us. Otherwise, they are no different than a million different snake oil salesmen who have been fleecing the public for centuries.
5) “Why do you mention that he is not a MEDICAL doctor? He is a *naturopathic* doctor (ND) – it’s just a different type.” That’s just the point, Priscilla. It IS a different type. When most people see “Doctor” they think “medical doctor.” The word of a MD carries a lot of weight with the general public, so it be made clear that D’Adamo is not an MD, he is an ND.
Priscilla, I want to make one thing clear. Lots of folks get pretty defensive when they read this review, but quite frankly, I could give a rat’s behind whether Eat Right for Type “works” or not. My job – our job – on the web site is to point out the evidence, supporting or not, and base our conclusions on that. Like it or not, D’Adamo has not brought forth any real evidence to support his argument, despite the fact that his book was published 16 years ago. Will it hurt you to eat according to D’Adamo’s recommendations? Of course not. But fanciful thinking and belief in pseudoscientific nonsense is not in anyone’s best interest, long term.
June 14, 2013
Yo Paul:
With regard to your point #3…
I really couldn’t resist taking a look, and I immediately noticed something beyond the fact that the study isn’t yet published or peer-reviewed.
D’Adamo and/or his press flack does not reveal either the author(s) or title of the study. Suffice it to say, this is frequently a “tell” – it translates to “Don’t look this up… just take my word for it.”
So, naturally, I went looking for it (Pro tip: transparency is one of the hallmarks of good science). And since I’m moderately good at finding things, it didn’t take too long for me to find the abstract in question here: http://newsroom.heart.org/news/arteriosclerosis-thrombosis-and-vascular-biology-2013-scientific-sessions-meeting-reports (it’s #137 – scroll down).
I also had a pretty good chuckle after I read it, since this study – as described – simply doesn’t support the conclusion that D’Adamo, and the lead author himself, (Dr. Steven Gundry) are attempting to wring from it.
Basically, what Gundry did was to take 200 51 – 86 year olds – the majority of which suffered from some degree of endothelial dysfunction – and make pretty radical changes to their diets. Basically, he put them on low-carb diets, rich in leafy greens, lean protein, olive oil and fish oil; and also gave them grape seed extract. Not surprisingly, he saw improvements in blood vessel function. Since grape seed extract alone is known to improve endothelial dysfunction (see http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/546099 for an overview); not to mention various (lectin-containing!) dietary interventions like the Mediterranean Diet (example here: and even just plain ol’ weight loss (ex: it’s pretty absurd to claim that the observed improvement was due to “simple removal of ‘healthy’ lectin-containing foods…” Ummmm, no.
Which is why the American Heart Association appended this paragraph at the bottom of Gundry’s abstract:
October 11, 2017
The American Heart Association that promoted the heart killing low fat , high carbs diet, which FACT now reveals that scientists were bought by the Sugar industry to mislead the millions of injured and killed Americans. Dr. D’Adamo brought the only nutrition based on REAL SCIENCE information to the world. Dr. Steven Hawkings supports the D’ Adamo work, but as he says plumbers are poor critics for construction electrical wiring.
December 21, 2017
I’d love to see the proof that Steven Hawking supports D’Adamo’s work. Please provide it. Referencing conspiracy theories and arguing that D’Adamo’s work is based on REAL SCIENCE shows a startling lack of knowledge of what real science is – his diet has been debunked numerous times (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2540757/The-Blood-Type-Diet-debunked-Study-confirms-fad-regime-no-scientific-evidence-it.html) and there’s no science to it. Sure, it will work for many people simply because it restricts calories and swaps poor nutritional choices for good ones, but that does not support the “eat right for your type” argument.
July 7, 2013
so informative, this is the first time I’ve learned about the proper food for specific blood types. I’m an o so I fall under plan o which says that I should restrict bread and grains. Cool.
March 19, 2015
I have been reading the eat for your blood type book by Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo and have been feeling so much better. I have only been eating according to the diet for a week. I am a O+. I work 60+ hours a week from 8 AM-4:30 PM and 6:00 PM – 11 PM. I’ve always felt fatigued and just exhausted all the time. I don’t exercise. I have hypothyroidism, IBS, and high blood pressure. I’ve had stomach problems since I was 5 months old and have been on medication ever since. Never once did anyone mention my diet. I used to eat a lot of high fiber/wheat products, not as much meat. Now that I’ve started this diet, I’m feeling energized, I have not had any stomach pain in over a week and have been off of my medication due to not needing anything to control my daily stomach pain. The highly beneficial drinks like green tea and seltzer water have decreased the gassy, painful bloating. Whether or not his theory is linked to blood type, I have experienced amazing results. Just with my results in a week, two of my co-workers ordered the book, one an O+ and the other a O- and have been experiencing promising results already.