by Raine Saunders

Created on: August 13, 2009

For many years I ate processed foods and my health suffered for it. At one point in my search for answers to my failing health, I came across a book called Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type written by naturopathic physician Dr. Peter J. D'Adamo. Over the years we've seen many "diets", "plans", and "fads" come and go in eating and health communities - The South Beach diet, Atkins, fat-free and low-fat diets, macrobiotic, vegetarian, vegan, grapefruit...and the list goes on. In my opinion, any diet which instructs the user to eat fake foods or processed foods or avoid perfectly good, real, whole foods like red meat (which many of these diet plans most certainly do) is a recipe for destruction of the human body. It just makes sense that if it's natural and organic, you should eat it - including butter, eggs, and meat.

The Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type diet is unique in that unlike fad diets, it is not a diet so much as a lifestyle change that suggests modifications in your current diet to specific foods that compliment your blood type. The Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type diet refers the individual to real, whole, traditional foods - it does not recommend avoiding fats and carbohydrates and advocate eating artificially-produced, processed food items. This book is so wise in its pedagogy, I felt it certainly needed inclusion in some reading recommendations for people interested in following the traditional, whole foods approach to health and diet.

The premise of this book is that there is but one genetic bio-marker that can depict how we digest and absorb food, what are our predisposition toward specific diseases, and the best way to keep your body healthy and strong, and maintain energy: our blood types. It takes into account that we do have certain tendencies based on our genetic background, but that what we eat and put into our bodies also has a profound effect on our physiology and health.

My blood type is O. There are certain characteristics of my blood type that undeniably follow those listed in the book. The Type O of ancient history was an aggressive predator when it came to survival and locating food. Type O of modern day will have the following characteristics that remain from that original biochemistry - leadership, extroversion, energy, and ability to focus. Although Type Os can be powerful and productive, stress and lack of food can cause a deterioration in these traits and the Type Os countenance can descend into hyperactivity, anger, and impulsiveness.

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