The Blood Type Diet

Unfortunately, a lovely long weekend is drawing to a close. Happy birthday to the queen, and all that (even though her birthday isn't today).

I try to be productive every weekend, especially on a long weekend, but today it was proving hard not to snuggle up on the couch with a good book. But I beat the lazies, and cleaned house and did small reno jobs. And now I even have an updated blog!

Some of you may have heard of the blood type diet, or 'Eating Right for Your Type', founded by Peter D'Adamo.

It's important to note that this isn't a weight loss diet. The theory (basically) is that different blood types have different predispositions to illness and digest the various food types differently. It is about eating to keep your body 'healthy, energetic and strong'.

So my blood type is A+, which I know from a) giving blood and b) blood typing tests we did during training.

According to the blood type diet, type A's prosper when eating a diet rich in vegetables (but not the nightshade family), beans, legumes, nuts, wholegrains and cereals, green tea, red wine (in moderation) and alkalysing fruit. Type A's should stay away from red meat, most dairy, acidic fruits, vinegar and vinegar based products and highly processed grains.

To look at what your blood type diet recommends, go to the official website or to this website, which gives quite a lot of information. If you don't know your blood type, go donate blood! It's a worthy cause and they'll give you a milkshake if you want one!

So, is the diet worth it? I'm not sure. I have had clients who have gone on the blood type diet and found they had increased energy levels and were feeling generally healthier, but that could also be because once you make the choice to abide by the diet you tend to eat healthier anyway. I think generally most (Western) practitioners disregard it because it lacks scientific evidence.

None the less, if people who go on this diet eat healthier anyway then it is going to be doing good, regardless of if it is because it is suiting their blood type or not. Hopefully.

Also, an update on the kefir. I forgot to mention that the kefir that I used is dried, where as the real stuff (called kefir grains) is alive and looks a bit like cauliflower. The dried is good, but the real kefir is a lot more potent. I was talking to a customer at work the other day who just so happened to have some rampant kefir grains and promised to bring some in for me one day!

Jacqui.