Blood Type Diet Myth

[Joeschmoe]

I keep hearing things on this forum about how blood type effects what you can or should eat. I'm getting a little tired of it. Nobody seems to have any real scientific evidence for it. A pop-diet book by a naturopathic "doctor" doesn't count. So here is an interesting table with the ABO percentages for many ethnic groups:

PEOPLE GROUP O A B AB
Aborigines 61 39 0 0
Abyssinians 43 27 25 5
Ainu (Japan) 17 32 32 18
Albanians 38 43 13 6
Grand Andamanese 9 60 23 9
Arabs 34 31 29 6
Armenians 31 50 13 6
Asian (in USA) 40 28 27 5
Austrians 36 44 13 6
Bantus 46 30 19 5
Basques 51 44 4 1
Belgians 47 42 8 3
Blackfoot (N. Am. Indian)17 82 0 1
Bororo (Brazil) 100 0 0 0
Brazilians 47 41 9 3
Bulgarians 32 44 15 8
Burmese 36 24 33 7
Buryats (Siberia) 33 21 38 8
Bushmen 56 34 9 2
Chinese-Canton 46 23 25 6
Chinese-Peking 29 27 32 13
Chuvash 30 29 33 7
Czechs 30 44 18 9
Danes 41 44 11 4
Dutch 45 43 9 3
Egyptians 33 36 24 8
English 47 42 9 3
Eskimos (Alaska) 38 44 13 5
Eskimos (Greenland) 54 36 23 8
Estonians 34 36 23 8
Fijians 44 34 17 6
Finns 34 41 18 7
French 43 47 7 3
Georgians 46 37 12 4
Germans 41 43 11 5
Greeks 40 42 14 5
Gypsies (Hungary) 29 27 35 10
Hawaiians 37 61 2 1
Hindus (Bombay) 32 29 28 11
Hungarians 36 43 16 5
Icelanders 56 32 10 3
Indians (India - General)37 22 33 7
Indians (USA - General) 79 16 4 1
Irish 52 35 10 3
Italians (Milan) 46 41 11 3
Japanese 30 38 22 10
Jews (Germany) 42 41 12 5
Jews (Poland) 33 41 18 8
Kalmuks 26 23 41 11
Kikuyu (Kenya) 60 19 20 1
Koreans 28 32 31 10
Lapps 29 63 4 4
Latvians 32 37 24 7
Lithuanians 40 34 20 6
Malasians 62 18 20 0
Maoris 46 54 1 0
Mayas 98 1 1 1
Moros 64 16 20 0
Navajo (N. Am. Indian)73 27 0 0
Nicobarese (Nicobars) 74 9 15 1
Norwegians 39 50 8 4
Papuas (New Guinea) 41 27 23 9
Persians 38 33 22 7
Peru (Indians) 100 0 0 0
Philippinos 45 22 27 6
Poles 33 39 20 9
Portuguese 35 53 8 4
Rumanians 34 41 19 6
Russians 33 36 23 8
Sardinians 50 26 19 5
Scotts 51 34 12 3
Serbians 38 42 16 5
Shompen (Nicobars) 100 0 0 0
Slovaks 42 37 16 5
South Africans 45 40 11 4
Spanish 38 47 10 5
Sudanese 62 16 21 0
Swedes 38 47 10 5
Swiss 40 50 7 3
Tartars 28 30 29 13
Thais 37 22 33 8
Turks 43 34 18 6
Ukrainians 37 40 18 6
United Kingdom (GB) 47 42 8 3
USA (US blacks) 49 27 20 4
USA (US whites) 45 40 11 4
USA Blood Types 44 42 10 4
Vietnamese 42 22 30 5

This list seems to throw everything off if we are to believe that O types have to eat lots of meat, and A types have to eat lots of grains and very little meat.

By this we see that Greenland Eskimos should be eating meat and Alaska Eskimos should be eating grain, yet both eat a meat based diet. We also see that the Cantonese should be eating a meat based diet, but that the people of Peking should be eating grains, but both eat mostly plant based diets.

We also see that Scandinavians all are Type A even though they have a traditionally meat centered diet. Especially the Lapps who have little access to food other than reindeer meat yet they are 60% type A. How did this happen if type A's get sick when they eat a lot of meat? Are billions of people eating wrong for their blood type?

I doubt it.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Nice, Joe. Very nice.

I couldn't get behind the Blood Type Diet as when I heard about it I was a healthy vegetarian. I'm 0+. Now that I'm eating meat again I am noticably less healthy. Maybe it's one of those things that works if you believe it does?

[funchy]

thank you for posting this!

[Holistic Star]

I'm A+ and a 'natural vegetarian' according to the book.

I have to say I do better on little or no meat - so it works for me.

My husband is O+ and always on at me to eat meat and doesn't get why I don't want to.

[Rose of Cairo]

I'm type A and the absolute worst food for me is grains. Meat definitely messes with my digestion and I do better without it, but I have to admit that I do MUCH BETTER on fruit + veggies + meat/fish than on fruit + veggies + grains. Grains is a killer for me.

So, I really have doubts about that diet...

[Eric Roosevelt]

Interesting. I didn't realize there were such big variations between ethnic groups.

[ChitChatforHealth]

nice post. Personally I do think it is a myth. Let face it, what to eat is determined by living style of a person and not blood type.