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Chapter One

The Blood
Type Diet

A Celebration of Individuality

    In the two years since the publication of Eat Right 4 Your Type, I have communicated with hundreds of thousands of people during media appearances, on the Web, over the phone, by mail, at lectures, and in my office. Many of them have been curious, a few skeptical, and some true believers in the Blood Type Diet. On my Web site, people share, with touching detail, their long efforts to find a key to a chronic illness or a battle with obesity. Their stories have many common elements, but at the core they are utterly unique and individual--just like the people themselves. They have helped me appreciate more than ever before the countless variations among humans.

    Does the Blood Type Diet work? What I have learned from collecting thousands of certified medical results from readers and patients is that it works for nine out of ten people and that the more severe the problem, the faster it works. But the real question each person needs to ask is, "Does it work for me?" It is not as important to have a theory that works for everybody in a generic way as it is to have a theory that takes into account individual variations.

    The Blood Type Diet is really about the expression of individuality. Properly understood, individuality becomes a powerful friend, allowing a deeper grasp of the whys and wherefores of a given medical or health condition. If individual variations are ignored or downplayed, they become roadblocks that devalue the very best science has to offer. So when you hear or read about a new scientific finding, always ask the question, "Are they talking about me?"

    How can you find out whether or not the Blood Type Diet is right for you? First, you must be willing to change your mind-set about food. We have all been conditioned to view food as one thing and medicine another. We are rarely asked to consider the multifaceted ways in which the food we eat affects every cell in our bodies. Because of this, it can be uncomfortable to grapple with new ideas, such as those presented in the Blood Type Diet. But when you consider that most of our current knowledge about human nutrition has been acquired in this century, you can see that we are only just beginning to understand the effect of foods on our bodily systems.

    Cook Right 4 Your Type has been developed in response to the clamor for practical ways to use the Blood Type Diet in everyday life. View it as a guide to help you put the blood type recommendations into practice, so that you can fully experience the health benefits of eating the foods that are right for you.

    You will find no absolutes in this book. The Blood Type Diet has never been about rigid rules and regulations. Nor is it about superimposing an artificial set of values on the way you already live. Eating right for your blood type simply means following the ancient codes that are still imprinted in every cell of your body. Think of it as one of the ways you can celebrate the miracle of human individuality.

Chapter Two

The Genetic
Fingerprint

Why Your Blood Type Matters

    The science of blood type has been evolving ever since the beginning of known human history. It is the science of individuality--an acknowledgment that each of us has a genetic fingerprint located in the cells of our bodies.

    Before you begin using Cook Right 4 Your Type, you need to understand the reason why your blood type can make such a crucial difference in how you live and what you eat. Blood type is not a neutral factor. Rather, it behaves as the control valve of your immune and digestive systems, a biologic watchdog that enhances your body's ability to survive and thrive.

    My first book, Eat Right 4 Your Type, fully explains the mechanism by which your blood type responds to the food you eat--either for good or for ill. It details the scientific and anthropological reasons for the four distinct blood types. I urge you to read it as both an aid and an introduction to Cook Right 4 Your Type. The following is a brief summary of that information.

The Key to Survival
--------

Almost everyone, including physicians, considers the importance of blood type only in relation to transfusions. The gross limitations imposed by such a narrow view become readily apparent when you consider the central role blood type has played in the survival of the human race. Consider this: Were it not for the unique adaptations that have taken place within the blood, the human race would not have been able to survive.

    Each of the four blood types evolved in response to both the physiologic development of the species and changing climatic conditions over the eons since humankind first trod the Earth. This is the vital clue to the importance of blood type. The adaptations that occurred in the course of evolution not only strengthened our immune systems against new bacterial, viral, and environmental assailants, but at the same time permitted our vulnerable digestive systems to adapt to a wide range of unfamiliar foods.

Type O

The first known blood type was Type O, which dates as far back as the ascendence of the Cro-Magnons and remains today as the most common blood type worldwide. Type O, which we call "the hunter," has a strong and ornery immune system and a hearty digestive system. The strength of the Type O immune and digestive systems ensured early survival because meat was the primary food source. The Type O has an extraordinarily high stomach-acid content, capable of drawing the most nutrients from meat and efficiently assimilating such a protein-heavy balance of foods.

    You might say that Type Os were the first humans to eat on the run. They hunted where they were led by their prey, killed it, consumed it, and moved on. But over time, the vast herds of available game began at last to thin. As the human race continued to evolve, the desire for survival forced many to learn the skills of growing and preserving a food supply that would protect against famine. This new system demanded that humans remain in one favorable geographic area and create settled cooperative societies that would devote themselves to sustaining the agrarian cycle. Living in communities not only demanded new social skills, it also gave rise to new diseases.

Type A

Type A, which began to gain prominence between 25,000 and 15,000 B.C., differentiated its immune system from that of Type O to fight off infections and bacteria that were decimating the collectives, while the Type A digestive system adapted to a diet that was able to meet the body's need for proteins derived primarily from plants and grains. At the same time, lakes, rivers, and seas provided a bounty of fish that incorporated yet another abundant protein source into the human diet. We refer to these new Type As as "the cultivators."

Type B

Type B began appearing between 15,000 and 10,000 B.C., as the growing tide of humanity spread beyond the range of the first Type O hunters and moved out from the settled agrarian Type A communities--one reason we call Type B "the nomads." Century after century, enormous tribes traveled across the endless landscapes of a still primitive and ever-changing world, surviving on the meat and dairy of the cattle, goats, and sheep they herded as well as on whatever they scavenged along the way. Because Type B incorporated so many of the immune- and digestive-system characteristics of Type O and Type A, they developed a system more balanced and tolerant than that of either of the previous types.

Type AB

For most of our history there have been three blood types, and then, approximately ten to fifteen centuries ago, Type AB, still very rare, emerged. We often call Type AB "the enigma," because it isn't entirely clear what stimulated this latest blood type adaptation. Perhaps the full evolution of Type AB is yet to come. What we do know is that it combines most of the strengths and weaknesses of both Type A and Type B. The Type AB immune and digestive system is more complex and quirky than any of the others, which is both good and bad. The good resides in its wide range of immune and digestive responses; the bad in its incorporation of the frailties and vulnerabilities of both Type A and Type B.

The Science of Blood
--------

So what does blood type actually do in the body that makes its impact so significant? Each blood type is named for its biochemical differences--specifically, its antigens.

    Antigens are chemical markers that are found on the cells of our bodies. Antigens spark the production of antibodies. Each blood type possesses a different antigen with its own special chemical structure.

    Imagine the chemical structure of our blood types as antennae of sorts, projecting outward from the surface of our cells into deep space. These antennae are made up of long chains of a repeating sugar called fucose. Fucose forms the simplest of the blood types, Blood Type O. One sugar equals Type O.

    Blood Type A cells looks just like Type O cells, except a Type A cell has two antennae coming out of it. So Type A is formed when the O antigen, made of fucose, plus another sugar, called N-acetyl-galactosamine, are combined. These two sugars equal Type A.

    Blood Type B cells look just like Type A cells. Type B also has two antennae. The difference is that the second antenna of Type B is made of a different kind of sugar than that of Type A. Type B is comprised of the O antigen sugar fucose, plus another sugar, called D-galactose. So two other sugars equal Type B.

    Blood Type AB cells have three antennae radiating out of them. Type AB contains the Type O antigen, fucose, as well as the Type A sugar, N-acetyl-galactosamine, and the Type B sugar, D-galactose. In this case, the three sugars that singularly or in combination compose the other three blood types equal Type AB.

The Blood Type-Diet Connection
--------

How does the composition of the sugars that make up the blood types relate to what you eat? A chemical reaction occurs between your blood and the foods you consume. We know this because of a factor called lectins. Lectins are abundant and diverse proteins found in foods. They have agglutinating--gluing or sticking--properties that affect your blood. When you eat a food containing protein lectins that are incompatible with your blood type antigen, the lectins target an organ and begin to agglutinate blood cells in that area. In effect, lectins gum up the works, interfering with digestion, insulin production, food metabolism, and hormonal balance.

    Many people who first read of lectins in Eat Right 4 Your Type questioned me about why they'd never heard of them before. Some were skeptical. Surely, they said, if lectins had ever been a real concern, physicians and nutritionists would have long ago brought their effects to light. Those skeptics were surprised when I informed them that hundreds of scientific papers have been written about the effects of lectins. The fact that they haven't had wider public exposure relegates lectins to the province of a well-kept secret. Apparently, Eat Right 4 Your Type was the first time that the results of the extensive scientific research had ever appeared in a mainstream publication.

    Knowing about the potential danger of lectins does not mean that you should suddenly become fearful of every food you eat. After all, lectins are widely abundant and hard to avoid. The key is to avoid the lectins that agglutinate your blood type. For example, gluten, the most common lectin found in wheat, has a shape different from the lectin found in soy, and it attaches to a different combination of sugars. Gluten binds to the lining of the small intestine and can cause substantial inflammation and painful irritation in some blood types, particularly Type O. Chicken, on the other hand, which is fine for Type Os and Type As, contains a lectin in its muscle tissue that agglutinates Type B and Type AB blood cells.

Do You Know Your Blood Type?

    There are several ways to find out your blood type.

1. Donate blood. Also note that blood banks will often perform a blood type test for a fee, even if you don't wish to give blood.

2. Ask your doctor--but don't be surprised if he or she doesn't know. When blood is drawn for routine cholesterol screening or other factors, blood typing is not normally done unless it has been requested.

3. Refer to the appendices of this book to order an easy, accurate at-home blood type testing kit.

What This Means for You
--------

Here's the bottom line: We are predisposed to certain strengths and weaknesses according to our blood types. We can maximize our strengths and minimize our weaknesses by knowing what our bodies need and by feeding ourselves and our families accordingly.

    The crux of Eat Right 4 Your Type resides in the fact that certain foods complement certain blood types. Other foods antagonize and debilitate particular blood types. By stressing the complementary foods and eliminating clearly antagonistic foods, you can promote the best possible balance for your immune and digestive systems. Most of your compatible foods correspond to your blood type's evolutionary development. In other words, the foods that fit your blood type are often the very foods that were predominant at the time in history when your blood type first appeared. For example:

    If you are Type O, you respond best to a high-protein diet, including meat, poultry, fish, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Many grains, legumes, and dairy products are incompatible with your blood type.

    If you are Type A, you thrive on a primarily vegetarian diet, including soy products, beans and legumes, grains, vegetables, and fruits, with small portions of fish.

    If you are Type B, your optimal diet includes game meat like rabbit and venison as well as herd meats, such as lamb and mutton. However, Type B should avoid chicken. Unlike Type O and Type A, Type B benefits from a variety of dairy products. Some grains, beans, and legumes cause problems for Type B, but there is a wide selection of vegetables and fruits available. In almost every respect, the Type B Diet is the most varied.

    If you are Type AB, your diet is more complex--a combination of Type A and Type B. Type AB can eat most of the foods that are good for these blood types, but must avoid or limit most of the foods that agglutinate them. The best diet for Type AB consists primarily of vegetarian fare, with modest supplements of meat and dairy.

    In the following pages you will find detailed charts and information that will help you Eat Right 4 Your Type. That means emphasizing the foods you find on the Highly Beneficial lists, restricting the foods you should Avoid, and incorporating the wide range of Neutral foods in a balanced and healthy way. As hundreds of thousands of people have discovered, eating right for your blood type can produce extraordinary and almost immediate results in combating allergies or other chronic conditions. Following your Blood Type Diet can also result in immediate changes--weight loss, restoration of normal insulin production, cessation of troublesome digestive problems, and an increase in energy and stamina. The long-term benefits are even more meaningful. The Blood Type Diet can help you combat serious illnesses, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, avoid common viruses and infections, eliminate the toxins and fats that contribute to obesity, and slow the process of cell deterioration that accompanies aging. And the best news of all is that you can achieve all of these benefits while enjoying a healthy, satisfying, and varied diet. Cook Right 4 Your Type will provide you with wonderful recipes, food preparation hints, nutritional tips, and menus that will show you how to start eating right for your type. Good living and good health are yours to enjoy.

The Key to Eating Right

    HIGHLY BENEFICIAL foods act like medicine in your body.

    NEUTRAL foods act like food in your body.

    AVOID foods act like poison in your body.