Is your diet failing you? You might not need to eat less food. According to this book that was published 25 years ago, you might just need to eat different food. And by different I mean you can’t eat turtle anymore.
If you’re thinking about grilling up a good turtle burger this week I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, you’re gonna have to rethink that. If you have either Type A, Type B, Type AB or Type O blood … you shouldn’t eat turtle. So that’s everyone it would seem.
I bring you this information straight out of the the book Eat Right for Your (blood) Type, the diet book for people who found the “You Can’t Eat Groundhog” diet a bit too mainstream. Eating right for your blood type is the theory that your blood type is basically your body’s food and what you eat should be based on what type of blood you have. You’re feeding your blood, which then feeds your body. So you should eat right for your blood type.
It’s similar to eating like a Vampire, but in reverse.
This was just the kind of crazy, insane “you can eat all the bacon you want” propaganda diets I live to disprove. I couldn’t wait to get the book and laugh my way through it.
I heard about the theory from a friend up at my community garden who pegged me as a Type O blood type, based on the fact that I think the perfect time to stop sweating and digging dirt at the garden is when I pass out.
I ordered the book online a few days after my friend told me about, got an online Blood typing kit so I could see what blood type I was and then I started reading. (You can read about buying and using an at home blood type kit here)
According to my home test, my blood type is B-, but I still wanted to confirm it so I booked an appointment to give blood so they could confirm my suspicions. I decided to read the book before I got my blood type confirmed. Just to see what sort of ridiculous things they claimed.
It actually kind of made sense. I was falling for this mumbo jumbo. A little bit.
I’ve always thought that people should just eat everything in moderation, like they used to in the olden days. This book shares a similar mentality on harkening back to the olden days, only the author brings the olden days back to the beginning of humans; as opposed to say, when Laura Ingalls thought the greatest treat in the world was finding an orange in her Christmas stocking. Silly Laura didn’t know Terry’s Chocolate Oranges were soon to be invented.
The basic premise is that blood types have evolved over time and our blood type dictates our general physical predispositions and how we should eat. Let’s take type A for example.
Blood type A people are delicate. They’re the loungers and relaxers of the world because they’re easily agitated by stress. And that’s how their body performs the best. Their body actually thrives on their laziness, anything too physical or stressful is too much for their delicate little constitutions. So you blood Type As aren’t just lazy, you’re scientifically lazy, which lends a certain authority to your binge watching of Netflix shows.
That at least is my summation of Blood type A.
The book describes when in history each blood type originated and how it influences who you are.
Characteristics of Each Blood Type
Type O was the original blood type from when we were Neanderthals, so people with that blood type are naturally workhorses (cause being a workhorse was crucial to survival) who are strong, lean and whose bodies and minds thrive on vigorous exercise. There were no grains or dairy so grains and dairy aren’t tolerated well by Type O. They do best with lots of meat and high protein. And big sticks to match their big foreheads.
Type A was the next blood type to evolve. Once the people of 40,000 BC killed all the animals around them they had to start migrating and changing their diet. By 25,000 BC people were learning to eat less meat because it was less available plus they were developing agricultural practices; growing grain. A tolerance for grain is born with a lowering tolerance for meat. Type A people are not vigorous exercisers because they’d learned to set up a home and stay put. Plus they weren’t running around like lunatics, jumping on the backs of wooly mammoths trying to stab them to death with a stick. They have a naturally high stress hormone so Type As benefit from non vigorous daily stress reducing exercises like Yoga or Tai Chi. Type A people do best with a vegetarian diet or lots of vegetables with some fish. No meat.
Type B represents the next evolution of humans as they spread even further around the world to colder areas like the Himalayas. Type Bs do best with vigorous exercise that also incorporates the mind. Sports that combine mental and physical agility like golf, tennis or rock climbing. They’re the luckiest of all the eaters because they do well eating just about anything but should be cautious of too much chicken, wheat or corn because they can cause weight gain in Type Bs because of the protein Lectin. Type B is the only type that can tolerate dairy. Bring on the cheese platter.
Type AB is the newest of all blood types, only developing a thousand years ago. It’s the rare result of a mingling of Type A and Type B, mainly I think, if I understand this correctly, to a group of barbarians pilfering and taking over collapsing civilizations. Yup. If you’re an AB you come from “mingled” stock. Type AB do well with a combination of stress relieving exercises like yoga and vigorous and mind challenging ones like tennis. Type AB people do best with a varied diet of almost everything. Lucky socks.
Eat Right for Your Type makes a very clear point of letting you know that turtle is on the avoid list for all blood types, so the next time you’re in Singapore or visit a restaurant in 1810, avoid the turtle soup.
It also gives a bunch of examples where eating right for your blood type has transformed the lives of many people’s health and weight. It lists all the foods you should eat, all the foods you shouldn’t and the foods you can eat in moderation. There are menus, exercise guidelines, and even a list of natural remedies for common ailments, although the natural remedies aren’t always that common. I rarely find myself stumbling onto a thatch of Bladderwrack when I have heartburn for instance. I mean, really … very rarely.
Even though I’m definitely a workhorse, I love my cheese so I very much want to be declared a type B when I took my test at home (and had confirmed with when I donated blood. Apparently type Bs get to eat all the cheese they want. AB would be fine as well, but that’s the rarest of all blood types so maybe that wouldn’t be very good if one day I accidentally stabbed myself all over while tenderizing meat and needed blood.
Both the home blood test kid I bought and the blood donation centre declared me a type B-. Only 2% of the population has B- blood. I’m blushing. That makes me feel very, very special. And very, very hungry for cheese.
If you want to buy the book (it truly is interesting and shockingly possibly plausible) click here.
I am an AB+ blood type. So I try not to do anything that would require me needing blood, as it is one of the rarest blood types. But the blood banks hound me to give all the time because it is difficult to find. I blame my parents. I was thinking of getting this book.
Had a group therapist years ago pushing this crap at us…that and Tapping…she was obviously a bit wacko so I just got the hell out of there!
“I think the perfect time to stop sweating and digging dirt at the garden is when I pass out.” Me too, but I’m type A. The rest of the type A seems accurate for me, but I recommend eating something, and then asking yourself how it made you feel. I love pizza, but it doesn’t make me feel good after I eat it, like a salad does.
So I should be a vegetarian who practices yoga? No wonder I’m fat! 😀
First let me say thank you Karen , I love that I don’t actually have to buy books anymore I just wait on you to give an awesome book report chock full of knowledge, OK second I am type O- and I am the complete opposite of the description, I am short , curvy, plump, whatever…..I hate to exercise, I am not worth a shot growing anything and I have a tiny little forehead so, there!!!!!! Now what are we reading next??
Hahahah. :) Book review post to come soon! ~ karen!
I’ve had a beautiful Painted Turtle named Etta (after Etta James) who lives in an aquarium, for about 15 years, and love her, so there is no danger of me eating a turtle. Over the years, I’ve been known to tell people that wherever my ancestors came from, they definitely had cows, because I eat dairy foods with impunity. I got my DNA checked, and I am descended almost totally from Western Europeans, so yeah. Some of my favorite things to eat are sandwiches, made with bread and cheese. I have only been “lean” a few brief times in my 64-year life, but I DID work hard, and still do, when I physically CAN. I am O-. So much for the theory.
OMG, I just ate my lucky socks…
What’s with the “ancient people didn’t eat grains” theory? It says right there in the Clan of the Cave Bear series (as good a source as current history books) that they harvested wild grains all the time, didn’t stay put to plant them either. And North Americans have harvested wild rice for ages from their canoes. Wild oats, barley etc not to mention a gazillion other edible plant, roots, tubers, berries etc have been available all along and were a much more reliable food source than hunting which often failed. Nope, I don’t believe for a minute than any large ancient population subsisted wholly or even predominately on meat. But I do love your blog.
So glad I’m B since I eat whatever I want anyway. And I’ve had turtle twice, both times chicken fried, and it was quite delicious but you have to tenderize it with much pounding first. Once was at the house of a fisherman who shall remain nameless (actually I can’t remember his name as it was over 40 years ago) and the other time was in a Bahamian cafe where it was legal to eat them. That was also decades ago so I don’t know what the laws are now. But no ill effects from eating the turtle, all I can say is that it was even better than alligator (which also requires enthusiastic pounding).
When I was about 8 years old, my brother gave me a tiny red earred slider turtle. Through the years I became “The Turtle Woman”, and still am she, indeed. I would have to be either starving or trying to feed others who were starving to ever harm ANY kind of turtle. When my eldest son was about 8 yrs, we found a small snapper, who became “Harmony”, and was with us about two years. He was a great pet. He had his own gold fish pal in with him–not a missing divot anywhere on “Goldie”. We finally freed Harmony (never snapped at anyone) and gave his pal to a friend with aquariums. Harmony was well fed and admired, and knew us. Thus-I am delighted that no one should ever eat turtle-works for me! I am going to get the book and some tests, as my son also is interesting in his blood type and best diet. Thanks Karen, for the info. Well done, as usual! (and my 4 box turtles thank you too!)
I thought that grains began with low gluten and were vital to most humans – in the distant past. Then grains began to change and include more gluten and be less accepted by humans which is why we have so many gluten intolerant people now. (Always did, but grains changed not people.) My daughter has that book and I guess now I need to actually read something that could enhance my life instead of reading all the garbage in the news that only reduces me to a quivering mess of nerves.
Hmmm…no. I’m not sold. I think you should eat a variety of what you want (in moderation and with some common sense). If I had to monitor everything I ate, I would probably starve.
I have type A+ blood. And I have proven that if I don’t eat meat, I quickly get anemic severely. Seems I don’t absorb iron from plant sources well.This is not a theory, but proven fact by testing my physician did. I have gone vegetarian 3 different times in my life and each time I quickly started feeling like crap and sleeping all day. So maybe they just misinterpreted why A’s were a bit slower moving, more laid back, more into yoga. Cause they didn’t have the energy to function and that was all they could do!! Eat meat, A’s. I promise you will feel awesome. Just make sure it is good meat. Not turtle. Although my relatives eat it all the time and swear it is amazing
I had to enlarge your avatar to see just what the heck you had on your lap. What did you eventually do with that big old squash? And how did it get away from you-or did you let it go just to see how big it would get?
That squash was small compared to some of them. This was an excellent variety, very smooth flesh, much like butternut. I got the seeds from Baker Creek. I am not sure I remember the variety name right now. I didn’t grow them again because frankly they were just too big to process easily. And with just 2 of us in the house, we don’t need that much squash!
Also not sure how that avatar still exists. Maybe it was what I was using when I first posted here on this blog?
I am the same, Ann. I spent most of my life severely anemic not really knowing about it.
I started to take iron supplements only after I moved to Canada and my doctor sent me for a blood test. It turned out I had so little iron that the lab was unable to provide any numerical value. In my first job, I worked with a lady who was almost sixty and she was this bundle of endless energy. I always wondered how she did it because I got easily tired just by watching her.
Iron just seems to be passing through my body so even with supplements, I was still below the healthy range. It was not until I got close to menopause that I started to be able to retain iron.
I never tried being a vegetarian although I admire those who are.
Just a thought-do animals have blood types? If so, can a type B person eat a type A cow?
I don’t know about all animals but I know dogs and cats do. I only know because I have had greyhounds for most of my life and most of them though not all are universal blood donors.
I read the book years ago. I still find myself quoting the book”I’m a blood type A, I should not be eating this”.
Forget the book and the diet. Just donate blood. It doesn’t hurt (much) and you are helping a great cause! Currently, there is no such thing as artificial blood.
Have to tell you, I am a B+ and I have milk intolerance. So much for that! I do love cheese, however. It just doesn’t love me!
Um, no. This pseudoscience has been debunked, along with homeopathy, drink-drain-cleaner, I mean, Alkaline diet, and more similar things. It may sound plausible, but as a food biochemist and a legal scholar in the field of food regulation (EU), I can tell you there’s nothing (but profit to the quacks who wrote it) to it.
Which is to say – eat turtle if you like, or not if you think they are cute, are endangered, or may be undercooked (’cause you know, they may carry rather icky diseases).
You’re right Veronika, there’s no evidence for any of the “facts” proposed by the book. If you want to try it for fun, go ahead but don’t take it seriously.
Um, sorry, never ever not in this lifetime for me!! I am A+.
I eat meat.
I eat a lot of meat.
I hated vegetables as a child and only really started enjoying them as an adult.
So a diet without meat……………………………….
Hell no!!!
I once ate turtle. It was an accident. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.
You’re doing this to tweak my biologist’s nerves, right? I could point out that ancient farmers were not meatless and go on from there. Instead, I will refer you and your other loyal readers to the articles at:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-mystery-of-human-blood-types-86993838/
and
http://www.pnas.org/content/109/45/18493
The theory that A, B, and AB blood types are sequentially more recent is a fallacy.
Not about to eat any turtles, though…
You beat me to it.
/Food biochemist and EU legal scholar in food regulation
Ha! ~ karen
I’m AB+, one of the rare ones. And I do eat whatever I want, whenever I want, with no weight problems. Lucky me!
My mother-in-law is an adherent of the Eat Right For Your Type program. She strongly advised me to read it and heed its message. I am A+ (helps to have had children, they tell you then what type you are as it is important.) According to the book type A people should not drink black tea. I would shrivel up and die without my orange pekoe – I have not taken my mother-in-law’s advice on this one.
Hmmm. Based on these descriptions, I am hoping I have no blood, since I’m not crazy about any of the advice.
Also, the descriptions fail to say how much percentage of chocolate in a diet is optimum for each blood type. There’s an oversight right there.
You’re so right. I’m totally suspicious of a diet without chocolate!
Terrible oversight. You’re right! ~ karen
Chocolate is from a plant, so it counts as a plant based food :-) Mostly the seeds of the pod (fruit) are used to make chocolate, although the pulp may be as well.
always thought chocolate was a vegetable. good to see i was right.