Apparently this led to adaptations that allow for efficient digestion of carbohydrates, explaining why Type As are encouraged to follow a macrobiotic and vegetarian diet with no dairy or meat. TYPE A: Called the вЂcultivatorsвЂ™ by DвЂ™Adamo, apparently those with type A blood struggled for survival, having exhausted the supplies of animals for food, so turned to a вЂnomadicвЂ™ lifestyle, cultivating grains and livestock. Now for the really fun part, what does your blood type say about you, and what can you eat? (Note that I say fun, as reading this comes across as something like a horoscope вЂ“ and it has about the same basis in reality as astrology.) They are also by and large destroyed in cooking, rendering them harmless. Lectins, as Saxelby explains, are mainly only found in legumes, and not in a wide range of food types as DвЂ™Adamo believes. I think nowвЂ™s a good time to talk some sense, so IвЂ™ll refer to the spot-on review dietitian Catherine Saxelby wrote on the book, in which she exposes his illogical вЂobsessionвЂ™ with lectins. (IвЂ™m not sure if itвЂ™s my scepticism, but this sounds rather more reminiscent of the reaction of someone with lactose intolerance.) For example, supposedly milk contains lectins that resemble B antigens, so when someone with Type A blood consumes milk, the lectins agglutinate with the antibodies in the blood and cause all kinds of problems. Lectins are proteins found in foods and, according to DвЂ™Adamo, lectins that are вЂincompatibleвЂ™ with certain blood types will agglutinate (clump together and become sticky), to the red blood cells in a target organ when consumed in food. To dictate what foods are unacceptable, lectins are introduced.

Further to this, the antibodies (A and B as previously described) in our blood leave us susceptible to different diseases, and our diets should be tailored to avoid these. So if you have it, youвЂ™re positive, and if you donвЂ™t, youвЂ™re negative.ДЄccording to DвЂ™Adamo, blood types are the вЂmissing linkвЂ™ when it comes to diets, explaining why some of us have trouble losing weight even when we may be eating the вЂrightвЂ™ foods.ДЄ main premise of his theory is based around the idea that our blood type has resulted from evolution, and thus our diet should mimic that of our blood group ancestors. ThereвЂ™s actually a third antigen, which can either be present or absent from the plasma. You might be wondering where the positive/negative comes into it.

To make things more confusing, Blood group AB have both A and B antigens, and no antibodies (which is why they are known as the universal recipients, and can accept blood from donors of any blood type), and blood group O contain no antigens (Making O the universal donors, being able to donate to any blood group), and both A and B antibodies in the plasma. Those with blood group A have A antigens and B antibodies blood group B have B antigens and A antibodies. Two antigens and antibodies exist вЂ“ A and B. Antibodies are found in plasma, molecules of our immune system that play a role in recognition and destruction of foreign substances. This book promotes a customised diet, varying depending on an individualвЂ™s blood type, as the key to вЂstaying healthy, living longer and achieving your ideal weight.вЂ™ The celebrity factor is clearly a selling point of the diet, with endorsements from the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Dr Oz on the doctorвЂ™s personal website.Д«efore I go into the diet, what even are blood types? YouвЂ™ve probably heard of the letters before вЂ“ A, B, AB, OвЂ¦ but what do they mean? LetвЂ™s start with a crash course in genetics:ДЄll of us possess red blood cells in our blood, which contain markers called antigens on the surface. Made popular in recent years by celebrities like Miranda Kerr, the blood type diet rose to fame in 1996 when American naturopathic physician Peter J DвЂ™Adamo released the bestselling Eat Right 4 Your Type. However, it was only after discovering my own blood type in a Physiology class at uni that I became curious as to the вЂscienceвЂ™ behind the diet, and whether or not it made any senseвЂ¦ Have you heard of the blood type diet вЂ“ eating in line with what your blood type dictates? IвЂ™d known of this trend for years, and to say I was sceptical is an understatement.

A negative blood type diet protein