No one would argue that your diet and lifestyle are major influences on your health and wellbeing, but who would have thought that your specific blood type may also play a role? That is the theory put forward by naturopathic physician Dr James L. D'Adamo - originator of the world-famous Blood Type Diet - who first outlined his views in the 1970s, long before personal nutrition and health had the profile they enjoy today. For more background on his theory, ntpages recently caught up with Dr. D'Adamo.
What inspired you to study blood type?
"Simply put, frustration is what inspired me to study blood types. When I attended naturopathic school I was taught that everyone should be on a vegetarian diet regardless of their individual needs. Some of my patients became better on a total vegetarian diet and others did not. This is when frustration set in. I couldn't quite figure out why some of my patients did better than others, until I thought back to my blood pathology research and started to look at blood types.
I noticed that all my blood type A patients did very well on a pure vegetarian diet, while those who were blood type O did not do well at all. Using my patients as my lab, I was able to adjust diets according to blood type and noted significant success in my patients' health. This also included my work on blood types, illnesses, diet, exercises and personality traits."
How has your work progressed since?
"Since my blood type discovery, I have been able to individualize it even more as outlined in my second book, The D'Adamo Diet. This book individualizes the program even more by discussing how sub-blood groups play an important role. My recent book, Just an Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure utilizes my 54 plus years of doctoring experience, my advanced research of blood types, sub-blood types and RH factors. My work emphasizes that we are all different and even if we all have blood type A with a blood sub-type of B (small traces of another blood type passed down genetically), we would still not all fit the same mold."
What is the philosophy of your blood type diet?
"My first book, One Man's Food Is Someone Else's Poison (1981), was the first of its kind to outline my discovery of blood type and diet. The title of this book really represents my philosophy that we are not all created equal; therefore, health care should not be delivered equal either. What works well for one person might not work well for another. In nature, no two fingerprints are alike, no two snowflakes are alike, and so on."
What is the science behind the blood type?
"I can tell you that when I started to practice 54 years ago, there was limited information and certainly no internet. The efficacy behind my blood type diet is my 60,000 patients who underwent blood typing and sub-blood typing. The patients are my lab. There is evidence about blood types and correlation to certain illnesses. For instance, blood type O's tend to have more duedodinel ulcers, but my research really is rooted in healthy diets and blood types."
What conditions are commonly treated with the blood type diet?
"Diabetes, arthritis, hypoglycemia, high blood pressure, auto immune disorders, cancer, cardiac conditions, among others. . I've treated 60,000 patients and have seen many illnesses reverse themselves through diet changes and adding minerals."
What other aspects of our daily health does blood type influence?
"There are many aspects of our health that are influenced by our blood type. Three main ones are; delivery of nutrition to the cells, delivering waste away from the cells, and delivering oxygen to the cells among other things."
Explain preventative foods and how they can benefit individual health?
"Eating based on your blood type is giving your body what it needs and leaving out nutrients that could cause your body future harm. . The blood type tells you what is right for you when you're perfectly healthy. It tells you what exercise is right for you, how your mind processes information and what assets and liabilities you have when you're perfectly healthy. For those interested in experiencing optimum health, I would suggest reading my book as that goes into more detailed information."
As a naturopathic doctor what other diagnostic techniques do you use to determine a patients health?
"When someone comes to see me I use several diagnostic tools:
Pulse: I use a pulse technique that is not the Chinese way or orthodox way of pulse taking. It is a way I have developed over the past 54 years. Using my pulse technique, I can determine 6 areas of functioning: physical energy, acid levels in the body, bowels, kidney, small intestines and liver.
Iridology: Using a loupe that magnifies up to 8 times, I can determine weakness in the body that has occurred from gestation and throughout one's life. Many weaknesses occur from well-meaning parents who were thinking they were feeding their children healthy foods. If practiced correctly, diagnosis of the iris works. If I use Jenson, the foremost iridologist's work, I have found that I am only 28 percent correct.
Blood sugar, blood pressure, and, of course, blood type, sub-blood type, H1's and A1's are also part of the process. My job as your doctor is to tell you about you and your health needs before you tell me your health issues."
What is your view of nutritional supplements?
"I see patients as individuals. Each blood group's nutritional requirements are different. I've created specific formulas for each blood group and this has never been done before. I always prescribe single unit pills. That essentially means one pill to do one thing. I do this to give the body what it needs and ensure I'm not giving it what it doesn't need. For instance, a multi-vitamin has many great minerals in it that can be helpful but there are some minerals that might not be healthy for that individual. Single unit pills help me individualize a supplement program for each patient."
Who are your most vocal critics and what are they saying?
"I'm sure some people will disagree based on their need for scientific evidence. My answer to these people is that today's science is tomorrows' mistakes. You cannot deny 60,000 patients as they testify to the efficacy of my naturopathic health delivery. I'm sure more research should be given to my information. Nature has taken the time to make each snowflake, grain of sand and leaf differently, and we need to see the individuality of people and not treat them all the same.
I am fully aware – and history shows us -- that a new discovery is, rarely fully embraced by that generation and sometimes not even by the following generations. This can be noted in numerous scientific discoveries. But there will come a day, when the masses will fully embrace and practice naturopathic, holistic lifestyle as the means to sustaining long-term health and wellness. I am confident."
To learn more about the Blood Type Diet, read "Eating According to Your Blood Type".
Originally published on Nov 23, 2011
