This document discusses blood type diets and how eating certain foods based on one's blood type (O, A, B, AB) may impact health and weight loss. It provides a brief history of blood typing and outlines potential beneficial and avoid foods for each type based on the theory that lectins in foods can react differently with blood types. The document acknowledges criticisms of this approach but suggests trying the diet for 1-3 weeks to see if individual results are noticed. It emphasizes eating to thin the blood slightly, maintain nutrient balance, and defines health as having more nutrients in and toxins out over time.

1. Blood type eating –
how to gain health &
lose weight in 3 weeks
HealthViaFood.org (DIY)
© Ben Rockefeller 2023

2. Food for thought
“One man’s food can be another man’s poison.”
- Lucretius, 94-55 BC
“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to
the whole cosmos – the trees, the clouds, everything.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh, contemporary Buddhist monk

3. Context
• Epidemic of chronic illness and obesity
• Widespread disenchantment with the medical-
industrial complex, their model, methods and products
• A jungle (or a desert) of reliable information and
advice about health and how to maintain it yourself

4. Disclaimer
• This presentation is not intended to diagnose,
prevent, treat, or cure any disease.
• If you have a medical condition, see a doctor.
• I am not a doctor.

5. Blood type eating - bibliography
Eat Right 4 Your Type, Dr. Peter D’Adamo ND, 1996
Dr. Mozzi's diet. Blood types and food combinations, Dr.
Pierro Mozzi MD, 2017
Blood Types, Body Types And You, Dr. Joe Christiano, 2008
“History of lectins …”, Glycobiology, vol. 14, nr. 11, 2004

6. Blood type eating - outline
• History
• Briefly
• What is the blood type (ABO)?
• What are lectins and antigens?
• Details by blood type (O, A, B, AB) and uncertainty
• FAQ and conclusion

7. Blood typing - history
•Botched blood transfusions
•Dr. Karl Landsteiner, Vienna AT, 1901
•William C. Boyd, Boston University US and Karl O.
Renkonen FI, human blood type specificity of lectins
(hemagglutinins), 1940s.
•Lima bean (Phaseolus limensis) extracts thicken blood type
A red blood cells (not blood type B or O cells)
•Asparagus pea (Lotus tetragonolobus) extracts thicken blood
type O red blood cells specifically.

8. Blood type eating - history
• These ideas were first published in 1996 by Dr. Peter D’Adamo, a
naturopathic physician, in his book Eat Right 4 Your Type.
• Dr. D’Adamo had continued the research of his father, Dr. James
D’Adamo, also a naturopathic physician, who had worked in
mountain health spas in Germany and Switzerland in the 1960s.
• After surgery and for their health, people were sent to these spas,
where they enjoyed clean mountain air and fresh vegetarian food.
• The father observed that some recovered their health, while some
clearly did not. When he went to his files, he found the pattern
that most of those who did not recover had blood type O.

9. Briefly – why does this work?
1. Certain proteins, called lectins, are found in many
foods.
2. The reaction between the specific food and the blood
type causes the blood to thicken slightly, to thin
slightly, or to stay constant in viscosity, depending on
the specific food and the specific blood type.
3. Certain foods for certain blood types are therefore to
be avoided, to be beneficially consumed, or are
neutral. Individual results may vary slightly.

10. What are lectins?
• A lectin is a protein with a ‘sweet tooth’ for blood type sugar. Lectins are made by living
organisms, most of all by legumes (beans), grains, vegetables, and seafood. About 1 to 5
% of ingested dietary lectins are absorbed into the blood stream. Lectins tend to attach to
carbohydrates, mainly sugars, specifically blood type sugars. Essentially, lectins are
present in most of the foods that we eat. Because lectins are similar in shape to certain
antibodies, they can behave in a similar way, causing potentially dangerous reactions with
our blood type antigens — depending on one's blood type.
• Also known as hemagglutinins, lectins have been known since the 19th century when ricin
was isolated. They reduce nutrient absorption and can cause indigestion, bloating, or gas
for many people.
• Many lectins are inflammatory, immunotoxic, neurotoxic and cytotoxic. Certain lectins
may also increase blood viscosity, interfere with gene expression and disrupt endocrine
function. (ref. Dr. Mercola)
• Improperly prepared raw grains, dairy, and legumes, such as peanuts and soybeans, are
high in lectins. Cooking, soaking, or fermenting may or may not reduce lectin content.

11. What are antigens?
• An antigen is a sugar molecule found inside red blood cells. It can
stimulate the production of an antibody (an immune response).
Antigens are also found in toxins, bacteria, fungi, foreign blood
cells, and the cells of transplanted organs.
• The molecule which determines your blood type is an antigen.
Outside of you, it is treated as ‘other’ by a person of another blood
type who carries an antibody against it. The particular antigens
that make a person blood type A, B, AB or O are not limited to
humans nor limited to blood. These antigens are also found on the
tongue, lungs, stomach lining, intestines, pancreas, liver, ovary,
prostate, and in all secretions.

12. Why thin the blood (slightly)?
• The thicker the blood, the harder the heart pumps to move it
around the body and the more likely it is to form clots inside
arteries and veins.
• To prevent blood clots,
• To let the blood flow everywhere, bringing oxygen to as many
cells as possible,
• To distribute nutrients (minerals and vitamins) everywhere.

13. Blood type O (D’Adamo)
• Meat-eater (“hunter”)
• “Strong, self-reliant, leader”,
• 40-45 % of population in most countries,
• Beneficial - meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices,
• Avoid wheat, grains, beans, legumes, dairy, corn, cabbage,
• Benefits from salt, kelp, liver, red meat, kale, broccoli, spinach,
• Vitamins B (6
,9
,12
) and K, iodine, calcium, licorice,
• Intense, strenuous exercise, such as weight lifting, running, or
martial arts.

14. Blood type A (D’Adamo)
• Vegetarian (“cultivator”)
• “Settled, co-operative, orderly”,
• 35-40 % of population in most countries,
• Beneficial - vegetables, tofu, seafood, grains, beans, legumes, fruit,
• Avoid red meat, dairy, wheat, bananas, kidney beans, lima beans,
• Benefits from olive oil, flax oil, pineapple,
• Vitamins B, C, and E, hawthorn, milk thistle, garlic, onion,
• Calming, centering exercise, such as yoga or tai chi.

15. Blood type B (D’Adamo)
• Balanced omnivore (“nomad”)
• “Balanced, flexible, creative”,
• 10-20 % of population in most countries (CN = 20 %),
• Beneficial - meat (but not chicken), dairy, grains, beans, legumes,
vegetables, fruit,
• Avoid chicken, corn, lentils, peanuts, sesame seeds, buckwheat, wheat,
• Benefits from greens, eggs, venison, liver, licorice,
• Magnesium (greens), licorice, ginkgo, green tea,
• Moderate physical exercise, such as hiking, biking, tennis, or
swimming.

16. Blood type AB (D’Adamo)
• Mixed diet in moderation (“enigma”)
• “Rare, charismatic, mysterious”,
• 4-6 % of population in most countries,
• Beneficial - tofu, certain seafood, certain dairy, green vegetables, kelp,
pineapple,
• Avoid red meat, kidney beans, lima beans, seeds, corn, buckwheat,
wheat,
• Benefits from cod, sardine, feta, goat cheese, olive oil, walnuts,
soybeans, oatmeal, millet, spelt, beets, broccoli, sweet potato, …,
• Vitamin C, hawthorn, milk thistle, garlic, onion,
• Yoga, tai chi, hiking, cycling, tennis.

17. Other personal typing systems
• Doshas in Ayurveda (Vata, Kappa, Pitta),
• Constitutions in traditional Chinese medicine, hot or
cold, dry or wet
• Body morphology (ectomorph, mesomorph,
endomorph) in Western naturopathy,
• Temperaments/Hippocrates (sanguine, choleric,
melancholic, phlegmatic),
• Metabolic typing (Dr. Mercola and others)

18. What do the critics say ?
1. The blood type diet has been “debunked” by a study by Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy, a
professor and researcher at the University of Toronto. (Greger, vegans, study design)
2. There are no proven relationships between lectins and the molecules that determine
blood type. (Research Andrew Weil, Richard Boyd, Martin Nachbar)
3. If you’re seeing results, it is because you are eating better – not because of your
blood type. (Wikipedia denounces eating according to your blood type.)
4. Nobody has ever done a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
5. “Better digestion” cannot be objectively measured, so why bother with this?
6. If this is true, why have we not heard of this before?
7. “ I never learned this in medical school, so it can’t be true.”

19. Blood type eating –
how to try it – for 1-3 weeks
1. Know or find out your blood type (O, A, B, AB).
2. Depending on your blood type and the specific food,
skip all foods to be avoided. Cut dairy and wheat (O, A).
3. Depending on your blood type and the specific food,
choose to eat only foods that are either beneficial or
neutral.
4. Keep a log (or not).
5. If you feel better in 1-3 weeks, why stop?

20. Take home message
1. Certain proteins, called lectins, are found in many
foods.
2. The reaction between the specific food and the blood
type causes the blood to thicken slightly, to thin
slightly, or to stay constant in viscosity, depending on
the specific blood type and the specific food.
3. Certain foods for certain blood types are therefore to
be avoided, to be beneficially consumed, or are
neutral. Individual results may vary slightly.

21. What is “health” ?
Toxinsout > Toxinsin AND
Nutrientsin > Nutrientsout
OVER TIME -> health

22. What is Happiness ?
Health
AND (some) pleasure
AND (some) inner truth (inner peace/light)
= Happiness

24. After blood type eating …
The most common food intolerances and sensitivities:
• Wheat bran and wheat-based breakfast cereals, corn, bread, pasta, cakes, pastry, …
• Food additives (E621, E250, E110, E102, …),
• Cow’s dairy,
• Sugar and sugary foods,
• Eggs,
• “Nightshades” (aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes, paprika),
• Coffee, chocolate, black tea, caffeinated drinks, alcohol
• Soybeans, peanuts,
• Shellfish.

25. You have nothing to lose
but your …
•Ill health,
•Fatigue,
•Chronic illness.