blood type and success
 

I was reading on line about people with type o blood. It said that people with type o blood would benefit most from a low carb high protein diet, because type o was the original blood type, so the hunter-gatherers would have been type o
It then said that people with type a or b or ab would not benefit as well from this way of eating. I am type o, but in the interest of science I was wondering how many blood type a, b or ab have had signifigant weight loss(30 lbs+)with this way of eating. Thanks for answering. I have a very curious mind!

I think there is some correlation between blood type and dietary needs, but remember, correlation does not prove causation. Blood type, like skin hair or eye color, are all traits determined by phenotype (the part of us that makes us individuals rather than human clones :D). Thing is, phenotype traits can be mixed. When a black parent and white parent has a child, they don't get an absolutely black child or absolutely white child, they get some blend of both. So, even if your blood type happens to be "o", which you inherited from one ancestor, and o blood types are what the hunter-gatherers had, you personally might have inherited a more modern ("evolved") metabolism from a different ancestor. So you see, there is very little evidence to support the theory that blood type is absolutely linked to metabolic plasticity (i.e. ability to digest dairy, refined grains, etc) since blood type and the systems which make up metabolic systems are not determined by the same genes, and the traits can be mixed.

Plus, there are many rare blood types out there, especially among enclaves of people who decend from hunter-gatherers... these rare blood types circulated because of the close inbreeding. One example is the dieago blood type, found only in some NA's. If anything, having a blood type like AB shows evidence that your system is highly adaptable.

Hiya Bluebird,

You are referring I presume, to Dr D'Adamo's Eat Right For Your Type diet. IMNSHO, this is just a load of unscientific hogwash. There have been threads about this here in the past, with some Type A, B and AB members demonstrating impressive losses on low carb plans. :)

Have a look at the information here: http://www.earthsave.org/news/bloodtyp.htm
As you will see, Dr D'Adamo's theories are completely unsubstantiated.

Cheers.

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

yes I know, I was doing this expecting to prove the blood type theory wrong.

Not sure how accurate this is going to be. The most common blood type by far is type O, so it stands to reason that a greater proportion of low carbers will also be type O.
I also don't put much merit with the blood type theory since this has been discussed before and some people with blood types other than O have done quite well with low carb. As ItsTheWooo already pointed out, very few (if any) people are "pure" blood types with genetic influences from a wide variety of blood types and ancestors. Each time two people have a child, that child not only has a unique mix of the two parents' genes, but the genes of each parents ancestors as well.

I know that it's not very accurate because of the number of variables. I'm just curious, thats all

Hiya
I'm B+. Not on a high protein diet though. I'm on a high-fat low carb diet... Lost 35lbs so far, very easily...

Rosebud is right, the blood type theory is hogwash. My Dad and I were/are the only A's in the family and the only negative blood type. Don't think the diet looks at +/- in terms of diet but I didn't spend much time on it since it seemed so off base for me.

A's are supposed to be vegetarians. I'm not big on meats but Dad lived for them. Dad was as far from being a vegetarian (recommended diet for type A) as possible. Pure meat and potatoes type. He died after a hospital screw up but was doing fine until then. (He was a Type II diabetic but he lived on shoe fly pies and sticky buns. No surpise there.) D'Adamo also labels Type A's with personalities "...poorly suited for the intense, high-pressured leadership positions at which Type O's excel stating that, in pressure situations, people with Type A blood "tend to unravel" and "become anxious and paranoid, taking everything personally. Gee, I guess Dad shouldn't have graduated HS at 16, joined the army, worked his way through college, gotten married, graduate with already with a family to support and eventually end up as President of his own company. He was really a wuss and didn't know it! Only a type O could do what he did. He never unraveled once in his life. He was a take charge guy. I am the most like him in the family. Cetainly not the shy, retiring type. I've been a consultant for years and thrive on putting out fires. I'm ADD (didn't get that from Dad) and it works to my advantage in my field. I'm happiest at work when the s.... hits the fan. I'm anxious when there is nothing happening. Hmm, I do like fried tofu. Maybe D'Adamo is right

Did it say anywhere in the book that type A's can ramble on and on? I'd like to be able to blame that trait on something other than myself. Dad never rambled though, so there goes that excuse.

I'm AB, don't know what I'm supposed to be eating according to that theory, but I'm doing very well on low carb.

I'm type O. But a good friend that is LCing with me in an A...we haven't noted many significant differences. But hey, if my blood type gave me an edge, I wouldn't mind a bit!!! :lol:

In the spirit of a not-necessarily scientific poll:
I 'm A+, and I've lost 41 pounds. My O- spouse
is gaining on me, however- she's lost 35 pounds to date.

As far a the results being skewed because O is the most
common: A is a close second- I'd expect a dead heat.

http://anthro.palomar.edu/blood/tab...ncies_in_US.htm

I am A+ but then I am from the UK and am white.

47% are A in the UK.

Whereas for the USA there is a significant ethnic difference Blacks only 27%, whites 40%. But, if you were a Blackfoot Indian 82% are A. In Hawai 62% are blood type A.

The results of the poll whilst fun, alas will be ultimately meaningless.

But for the sake of comparison, and ignoring the fact that each type can be + and -, and assuming that those responding represent the whole world, and the sample is statistically large enough, you would expect the results to come close to the total world blood type distribution which is:

O 45%
A 40%
B 11%
AB 4%

As to what I think of the blood type diet theory. The words Hogwash , Hooey, and balderdash come to mind

"A" type family
 

I am originally from a country where 50+% A. I was raised in a low carb family (mother, father type A). My parents did not have weight problem. I not only could keep my weight for decades, but after my three pregnancies in my 20s, and now, at 46 - when my slowing metabolism caused weight gain - I lost weight easily. (35 lbs.)

ABO and Rh are only two antigen classifications. There are dozens of others. I fail to see the connection between blood cell antigens and metabolism. The genes would literally have to be close together on the chromosome to be presumed "related." Otherwise, they're no more related to metabolism than other ethnicity traits, and that's VERY general.

I'm A+, and According to the blood type book I'm supposed to eat a low protein vegetarian diet (IIRC). Well, I gained a lot of weight doing just that for 7 or 8 years. Went LC and my nagging health problems vanished, and the weight started falling off. Now that I'm down about 35 lbs I have to work at it a bit more, but it's still coming off and I feel better than ever with more energy than I had during my entire "type A diet" period put together.