Blood Group Diet

Promoters of the blood group diet claim that unless you eat the right foods for your blood group, you'll have health problems. Rosemary Stanton cautions against these claims and ranks this as another fad diet to be avoided.

How they make a diagnosis

One of the reasons many people are following the blood group diet is because it has what seems to be a strong scientific and medical basis. Practitioners do what they call live blood tests - a few drops of your blood are examined under a microscope and an image is projected onto a screen. If the blood cells clump together or appear misshapen they conclude that your diet is causing a toxic reaction with your blood group.

Rosemary Stanton says that this type of diagnosis is downright shonky. For more information, visit the quackwatch website: www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/livecell.html

What they say about diet and blood groups

Blood group O supposedly matches the blood group of our ancestors. Blood group Os (about 40% of the population) are said to be caveman-like. They are aggressive, strong, self-reliant, daring and intuitive. They are told to eat plenty of meat, fruit and nuts, but no cereals, grains or dairy products. According to Rosemary, this is very poor dietary advice.

Blood group A supposedly dates back 10,000 years, to the time when humans started farming. People in this group (about 40% of humans) are said to be submissive, anxious, paranoid vegetarians. They are told to eat tofu, grains, fruit and vegetables.

Blood group B arose from cultural migration and mingling. People in this group (15% of the population) supposedly have stronger immune systems, which can handle dairy products.

Blood group AB (5% of the population) are lucky people. They are allowed to eat most foods as this blood group developed with modern life and interaction between different racial and cultural groups.

Show us the proof

There is no proof or scientific basis for these claims. Pathologists test millions of blood samples, but have not found links between particular foods, disease and blood group. If you go on one of these diets you may feel better initially. That's partly because you expect to feel better, and partly because the diets are very restrictive and you'll end up eating less.

Rosemary's recommendation

Whatever your blood group, if you need to eat less just eat fewer fatty, sugary and junk foods. Don't go on a crazy diet.

Copyright 2001 CTC Productions