Ever wonder why a particular diet works great for some people but not others? Well now we know! Finnish scientists recently discovered that molecules which cover the surface of blood cells and determine each person’s blood type are energized by different nutrients. In other words, certain foods are better suited to certain blood types. Thus, eating – and juicing – according to your blood type can be effective in lowering weight, boosting energy, and relieving GI problems.

Eating according to your blood type has been an intriguing theory for decades as presented in the book, Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type by Peter D’Adamo, N.D. This article briefly reviews the foods that are best for each blood type, with a particular emphasis on fruits and vegetables and juicing recipes.

There are 4 blood types: O, A, B, and AB. Type O is the “oldest” blood type according to D’Adamo’s theory, set in our genes when we first emerged as hunter-gatherers. Type O’s have the hardiest digestive systems which consume mostly meat. Type A people come from the later development of agrarian society which adapted for the optimum digestion of all kinds of plant food. Type B folks are descended from nomadic people who raised herds and adapted to eating both plants and meat. Type AB arose most recently in our evolutionary history with digestive systems with both A and B blood type characteristics.

Type O’s do best with a high protein and low carb diet. Their digestive systems need lean animal protein for optimal health along with certain fruits and vegetables, but only a minimum of carbohydrates. Since their digestive systems are high in acid, coffee and processed sugar is to be avoided. Rigorous exercise makes O’s feel at their best. Foods that don’t do well with O’s are: wheat, corn, beans, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, avocado, eggplant, mushrooms, olives, potatoes, mustard greens, sugar, bacon, ham, and pork, caviar, lox, herring, and octopus, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, dairy, cereals, pasta, oranges, melon, strawberries, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla, vinegar, ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, coffee, distilled liquor, all soda, and black tea.

The best ingredients for Type O juices are cherries, leafy greens (particularly kale, spinach, and broccoli), bananas, blueberries, figs, mangos, and plums. The sugars naturally found in these fruits and vegetables combined with their alkalinity will not increase the acidity in the type O constitution. Here are some great juice recipes for O’s:

20 cherries, pitted

1 stalk celery

1 leaf kale

2 mangos, with skins, without seed

1 banana, remember not to juice bananas as they will clog your juicer – blend them

1 spear broccoli

People with type A blood have a less hardy digestive system, and don’t process meat well. They do best with vegetables and fruits as well as whole grains, tofu, and legumes. Animal protein and dairy products tend to rot and ferment in their digestive tracts, and the toxic bacteria backs up into their tissues and muscles, causing digestive distress. Type A’s have less hydrochloric acid in their stomachs which is why they do not properly absorb Vitamin B12 which is found in red meat, although B12 is also found in vegetable protein foods such as Spirulina, soy, and seaweed.

The best exercise is not a vigorous workout, but rather calming, centering exercises like Tai Chi, Hatha Yoga and golfing. Type A’s should avoid meat, dairy, sugar, white and whole wheat flour, corn oil, cottonseed oil, peanut, safflower and sesame oil, brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, garbanzo, kidney, lima, navy, red beans, tamarind beans, cereals, pasta, cabbage, eggplant, lima beans, mushroom, olives, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, yams, bananas, coconuts, mangoes, melon, oranges, papayas, plantains, rhubarb, tangerines, gelatin, pepper, vinegar, wintergreen, ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles, pickle relish, Worcestershire sauce, beer, distilled liquor, seltzer water, all sodas, and black tea.

The best Type A foods are berries, figs, plums, avocado, pears, peaches, broccoli, carrots, collard greens, kale, spinach, garlic, soy products, pineapple, and only moderate amounts of fish and poultry. Type A folks do really well digesting grains and beans such as green beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, and soy. Snack on nuts and seeds.

3 cups pineapple

1 pear

2 leaves kale

5 carrots

2 spear broccoli

1 thumb ginger

People with blood type B have very tolerant digestive systems. They do well with meat, plant, and dairy foods with only a few exceptions. D’Adamo highly suggests that type B’s eat turkey rather than chicken because the later has a protein that directly interferes with type B metabolism. They should avoid corn, buckwheat, lentils, peanuts, and sesame seeds, as these foods will tend to make them gain weight. Just like the Type O\’s, Type B\’s tend to have a problem with wheat products and nuts.

Foods that are particularly good for B’s besides red meat and turkey are liver, eggs, seafood, especially deep ocean fish such as cod and salmon, flounder, halibut, sole, licorice tea, soy products, olive and flaxseed oil, oatmeal and puffed rice. Foods to avoid are corn, lentils, black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans, peanuts, sesame seeds, buckwheat, wheat, shellfish, tomatoes, tofu, artichokes, avocados, olives, pumpkin, radishes, tempeh, oil of canola, corn, cottonseed, peanut, safflower, sesame and sunflower, coconuts, persimmons, pomegranates, prickly pears, rhubarb, starfruit, allspice, almond extract, barley malt, cinnamon, cornstarch, corn syrup, plain gelatin, black and white pepper, tapioca, ketchup, hard distilled liquor, seltzer water, all sodas, amaranth, barley, cornflakes, cornmeal, cream of wheat, kamut, kasha, rye, seven-grain, shredded wheat, wheat bran, and wheat germ.

Great type B juices include leafy greens, beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, peppers, eggplant, bananas, cranberries, grapes, plums, watermelon, papaya, and pineapple.