Home > Media > Books > Peter D'Adamo and Catherine Whitney - Eat Right for Your Type: 4 Blood Types, 4 Diets the Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Eeight
Peter D'Adamo and Catherine Whitney - Eat Right for Your Type: 4 Blood Types, 4 Diets the Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Achieving Your Ideal Eeight
JulAnn1217's Full Review: Peter D'Adamo and Catherine Whitney - Eat Right fo...
Eating healthy sucks. While I appreciate the fact that the more “in tune” to my body I am and the more I pay attention to what passes my lips the more healthy I feel, I’m also a child of convenience and a recovering junk food junkie. I’m currently on Weight Watchers and am very familiar with carbs vs. proteins and what to mix with what to better benefit the body. Still, I’m always searching for a new spin on nutrition, something I haven’t heard of before. I have found just that with the Eat Right 4 Your Type book.
The basis of this book (and the whole dietary revolution I am just now hearing about) is that your blood type reflects your internal chemistry, thereby determining the way you absorb nutrients. What foods you do, and do not, absorb are controlled by your blood type. To operate at your optimum capacity you should cater to that blood type, stay away from certain foods and follow the proper health program for which you were genetically mapped.
Sounds simple enough, right? Yeah, I thought so too…until I found out I should be a vegetarian. Slammed that book shut real quick. Didn’t go back to it for five days I was so mad. But then curiosity got the better of me and I pulled it out of the recycle bin to have another looksie.
Your Type is Your Key
“Your blood type is the key that unlocks the mysteries of disease, longevity, fitness, and emotional strength. It determines your susceptibility to illness, the foods you should eat, and ways to avoid the most troubling health problems.”
As I read this blurb on the inside jacket cover I thought, “Wow, maybe he has something here.” Everybody has a different blood type for a reason, right? And why do the same health problems plague generation after generation in some families? It’s got to be more then just “genetics”.
Here are the four blood types and what D’Adamo believes they represent:
Type O
Type O is the original (or Old) blood type. Our Cro-Magnon ancestors had it and the other three blood types would not be found until 40,000 years later. Type O individuals thrive on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. They are the meat eaters. Wheat and most grains are bad for their system and they are at high risk for ulcers and inflammatory disease if they eat against their blood type.
Type A
Type A blood appeared in Asia somewhere between 25,000 and 15,000 BC. As people settled into farming communities and strayed away from hunting a new gene emerged. Type A individuals should be vegetarians. They should eat high carbohydrates and low fat diets. If they eat against their blood type they are at risk for cancer and heart disease.
Type B
Our author believes Type B individuals initially mutated in response to climactic changes as they first appeared in India. Type B gets to have all the fun. They have the most varied diet of all, including meat, veggies and grains. They are the only blood type that does well with dairy products. If these individuals choose to eat against their type they are placing themselves at risk for slow-growing viruses that attack the nervous system.
Type AB
The rarest of all blood types, Type AB emerged from the intermingling of Type A Caucasians with Type B Mongolians. Less then 5% of the population are Type AB. They have most of the benefits (and downfalls) of types A and B. However, this blood type has the friendliest of all immune systems.
What I Got From This Book
Ok, here is where I prove to you that this book has some truth to it and is not just the rantings of another Richard Simmons wanna be.
I am Type A. I should be a vegetarian (fat chance) however I consume meat and dairy products. When I do consume red meat in large amounts I get stomach cramping. When I drink orange juice or lemonade (another no no for my blood type) I get stomach cramping. Another thing D’Adamo points out about my blood type is that we have weak immune systems. We generate a high production of mucus (sorry to gross you out) which causes season allergies and asthma. We are also cursed with a stomach that cannot break down acidic (hence the citrus juice problem) or fatty foods. When I eat the foods on his list of “foods to avoid” I find I get more congested (there’s that mucus thing again, sorry). My mom, who is also Type A, has all of the same problems I have listed above.
What Else Will You Find Out When You Read This Book?
D’Adamo also goes over Weight Loss and foods that encourage it for each blood type. He’ll break down each food group and tell you which foods are “highly beneficial”, “neutral”, and foods to “avoid”. This is the part where I cried. Every food I truly love was under the “avoid” column. The author then talks about meal planning and gives you several sample menus and recipes.
You will then be treated to the Exercise Profile section. I love this part! D’Adamo tells you which exercise best suits your “type”, how long the duration should be and the frequency with which you should perform it.
Finally, the author will come down to the psychic level and address personality. That was a sarcastic remark but a lot of what he said about my personality was right on the money. Scary that someone can tell all this by my blood type.
Final Analysis
While he nailed a lot of things on the head, I am still not convinced that I need to be a vegetarian. I’d rather chop off my right arm then never indulge in prime rib or cheese pizza again. He does have many, many good points though. This book is worth reading. Everybody will find something of interest inside its 392 pages. It was also a great conversation piece amongst my friends. Now didn’t I look like the smarty-pants telling all my buddies what they should and shouldn’t eat. Even more fun was telling them what their personality types were. I had more fun then Ms. Cleo the psychic during a break on the Jerry Springer show.
If you’re looking for a new twist on nutrition check out Eat Right 4 Your Type. As for me, I’m going out for a pizza.
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