A team of Canadian researchers has quashed the theory behind a popular diet that prescribes eating foods according to your blood type.
The news may come as a blow to faithful followers of the internationally best-selling book “Eat Right for Your Type” first penned by naturopath Peter D’Adamo in 1996. Disappointed fans may include celebrities such as Miranda Kerr, Demi Moore and Elizabeth
Hurley, who are said to be followers.
For their study, published in PLoS One this week, researchers from the University of Toronto examined the dietary intake and blood type of 1,455 healthy young adults.
After comparing the information against the food items listed in the book, researchers came to the unequivocal conclusion that the blood type diet is baseless.
“It was an intriguing hypothesis so we felt we should put it to the test,” said study author Ahmed El-Sohemy in a statement.
“We can now be confident in saying that the blood type diet hypothesis is false,”
According to D’Adamo, different foods are said to react chemically with individual blood types. To lose weight and decrease the risk of chronic diseases, the naturopath advises eating -- and avoiding -- certain foods in relation to one’s blood type.
For example, those with a type O blood type are advised to follow a high-protein diet that’s light on grains, beans and dairy.
Those with type B blood are advised to avoid everything from corn, wheat and lentils to tomatoes and chicken in favor of greens, eggs, and low-fat dairy.
The book has sold more than 5 million copies in 50 languages around the world.
The Canadian study follows on the heels of another review that debunked the blood type diet, published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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