Diet by blood type: truth or myth
'02.05.2021'
Source: Rambler
This food system is almost thirty years old, and the debate around it all does not subside. We are attracted to the discussion of doctors - let's understand, offers Rambler.
The author of the idea is Peter D'Adamo, American doctor of naturopathy. He believes that human health is directly related to genetics, heredity and blood type. If you eat in accordance with your blood type, there will be no excess weight or health problems.
The essence of diet
D'Adamo outlined the basics of nutrition and developed a table of products by blood type. Food in the basis of the diet is divided into three categories - wholesome, harmful and neutral for each group. Optionally allowed to enter dietary supplements: they will help to compensate for the possible shortage of nutrients that may occur when some products are abandoned.
- Useful. Fully fit the body according to blood type.
- Harmful. They provoke weight gain, worsen tone, accelerate the development of diseases.
- Neutral. Products may be occasionally included in the diet.
1-I group
These are descendants of ancient hunters. They have good immunity and excellent digestion, high levels of activity and metabolism. Of the minuses - the difficulty with the change of nutrition, a tendency to allergies and inflammation. This group includes about a third of the population.
Their diet is a predator's diet: red meat (fish and seafood can) with the addition of green leafy vegetables. All cereals, except buckwheat, and legumes are harmful to them.
2-I group
D'Adamo considers them descendants of farmers. This is almost 40% of the world's population. They have a fairly weak digestive system, often subject to various diseases of the gallbladder, pancreas and kidneys. They are harmful meat, poultry and milk, as well as tangerines and bananas. Useful fish, almost any vegetables and fruits, legumes (except beans).
3-I group
Nomads People with a strong nervous system and good immunity. This group was the result of mixing races. Of the minuses are disruptions in metabolism and increased likelihood of cardiac and cancer.
They are contraindicated poultry, nuts, pork and seafood. Lamb, lamb, rabbit meat, venison, fatty fish, black caviar, dairy products with a high fat content, and foods rich in carbohydrates (cereals, bread and root vegetables) are useful.
4-I group
New people. There are no more than 8% on earth. They are citizens - they can do anything, but in small doses and with an emphasis on seafood.
How it works
Protracted disputes around the D'Adamo system are associated with different results: some really lose weight very quickly and then all their life easily keep their weight, others switch to a blood group diet causes exacerbation of chronic diseases, and even the appearance of new ones, the third is given hard as any diet - with breaks and overeating.
“Will a person lose weight on such a diet? In principle, if, when changing the diet, he manages to reduce the calorie content of his diet, he will become more balanced in the content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, then yes. But if the calorie content remains the same, then the weight will not go anywhere ”.
Mikhail Gavrilov, psychotherapist, PhD, author of the patented method of eating and weight reduction, member of the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM, USA)
Mikhail Gavrilov claims that the system “by blood type” is just marketing ploymasking typical dietary restrictions:
1-I group
If you analyze the recommendations of d'Adamo, says Dr. Gavrilov, then the diet of people from the first group is a classic protein variant, for example, the same Atkins. What can I get at the exit? First, a person can lose weight, and quickly enough. But it is important to understand that during the processing of protein, uric acid is formed. In this case, it will be formed in excess. This will lead to the wildest acidification of the internal environment and may eventually result in gout.
2-I group
The nutrition of people with the second blood group is close to vegetarian. At the heart of plant food, cereals. By reducing the diet of saturated fats that we get with meat, you can lose weight. But at the same time, it is obvious that on such a diet there is a high risk of iron deficiency and, as a result, anemia. An excess of coarse fiber, which is contained in vegetables, can cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract, in particular, colitis will worsen.
3-I group
If you are lucky and you have a third blood group, then your diet will be more or less balanced. Having learned to choose healthy foods, giving up junk food, you will certainly lose weight.
4-I group
Food for people with 4 blood group resembles the Japanese food system. She, in principle, in itself is not bad. However, in our latitudes to follow such a diet is difficult and expensive, the recommended products are not always available.
Marketing or genetics
Some dietary postulates of the representatives of evidence-based medicine immediately and sharply refute. But they mostly agree that the system “by blood type” is more “insufficient” than initially false.
“The division of the nutritional system solely by blood groups is not sufficiently personalized. For example, one person may well tolerate milk and gluten, and another person may not, but they will have the same blood type. ”
Ksenia Selezneva, PhD. Dietitian, Nutritionist, Gastroenterologist, Atlas Medical Center
In order for the nutritional system to be as effective as possible, you need to take into account a lot of features, including genetic, metabolic features, microbiota, food intolerance, etc. To understand what foods you can eat, what to exclude from the diet, you need to pass a genetic test, to understand what kind of life a person leads, if he has any concomitant diseases, and only then one can draw conclusions about the qualitative composition of his diet. In the 90 of the last century, when D'Adamo formulated his concept, the human genome had not even begun to decipher. But, at least, then the science was already aware of the Rh factor, but the doctor did not even take into account this “trifle”. We can say that D'Adamo created a “mass” system, posing as “individual”.
For example, he proceeded from the data available at that time that people with a certain blood group are more prone to a certain type of disease. Therefore, they need a diet that provides prevention of these diseases.
“Perhaps there is some evidence that people with certain diseases most often have a certain blood type,” says Mikhail Gavrilov. - But there is no direct evidence of this yet. The diet according to the blood group is based on the fact that a certain reaction takes place between the components of food (in particular, proteins) and serum cells. Or rather, red blood cells are glued together. Usually this happens when mixing the blood of different groups. This statement is absurd if only because proteins do not penetrate into the blood. They are broken down in the digestive tract, and amino acids penetrate into the blood that will not give such a reaction. "
"Modern medicine has much more opportunities to study the body of a particular person and create a personalized nutrition plan based on the results, so the appointment of a blood type diet may simply be ineffective," concludes Ksenia Selezneva.
