Why Blood Type Diets Don’t Work: Understanding The Science Behind Polymorphism
Blood type diets have been in vogue for several years now and have generated significant incomes for many a “nutritionist”, however, as much as some may want to believe that eating for your blood type could be a cure-all that miraculously delivers them from the ravages of allergies, weight gain and metabolic disease, the reality is that regardless of how many celebrities endorse the blood type diet, or how many big names in the “nutrition field” declare the importance of eating for your blood type, there is no science behind any of the claims. No peer reviewed or evidence-based research supports the effectiveness of blood type diets for weight management or improving human health, and the theory behind blood type diets would make anyone with an understanding of polymorphism and evolutionary biology shake their heads in despair. Polymorphism is in essence, the development of genetic variations due to environmental factors, and in terms of blood types, there is conclusive and unshakable evidence that human dietary patterns had no bearing on the development of our blood types. Yet, even all these years since the blood type diet was popularized, people still cling to it as a possible ray of hope that can help them with their weight and health problems. Sadly, it is nothing more than quackery and profiting off the hopes and desperation of so many trusting men and women trying to better themselves, just one more low point in the history of commercially driven weight management nutrition. Advocates of the blood type diet are no different from the travelling hucksters of days gone by, preying on the innocent by promoting and profiting from false and unproven health schemes under the guise of “alternative medicine”. True science is absent or cherry picked in all the literature promoting blood type diets, and one of the greatest downfalls of our profit driven world is that it has become very difficult for the average person to differentiate between scientific fact and product promotion. However, by understanding the science of how our different blood types came to be, you can’t help but be amazed at how misleading the idea of eating for your blood type really is.
Why Blood Type Diets Don’t Work: The Flawed Premise Behind Eating For Your Blood Type
The founder of the blood type diet, Dr. Peter D’Adamo, proposed that blood type is directly related to how our bodies react to certain foods, and as such you should eat a diet specific to your blood type for optimum health and weight maintenance. The premise behind blood type diets is that blood types somehow evolved as we did as a species. Dr. D’Adamo’s hypothesis is that the universal blood Type O first evolved due to our hunter gatherer lifestyle. As such, individuals with Type O blood type should gravitate towards eating a high protein, “Paleolithic” diet. As humans switched from their hunter gatherer practices to more agrarian lifestyle around 15,000 BC, the switch to a more agriculture based diet “created” Type A blood type, and as such people with Type A blood types should eat a primarily vegetarian diet. Blood Type B supposedly came into existence at 10,000 BC, when some groups of humans added grains to their diet and Dr. D’Adamo’s recommendation is that they should eat a diet high in grains. Finally, within the past thousand years, blood Type AB surfaced as a result of people eating a wide variety of food and those with this blood type can eat a more varied diet, whereas those with other blood types need to eat for their type, else risk weight gain and other health problems. According to blood type diet advocates, there is “research” showing that a specific set of proteins called lectins interact with the different ABO blood types. The idea is that these lectins can be incompatible and even harmful to people with certain blood types, thus people with different blood types should eat different foods.
It sounds rather scientific, but only if you don’t understand basic biology. It is an accepted fact that polymorphism, (the creation of different ABO Blood Types), discovered and categorized by Karl Landsteiner in 1900, occurred millions of years ago, not thousands of years ago. This isn’t an esoteric piece of information, but an established fact of human evolutionary history and is one of the foundations of true scientific research into our ancestral origins. To fully explain why blood type diets don’t work I have to take something that has been presented rather simplistically, (so it will sell), and briefly explain the complexities that reveal it to be an impossibility. Scientific terminology can often seem a bit intimidating, but I can assure you that it isn’t as complicated as it seems and taking the time to stay abreast scientific findings make it really hard to believe in the pseudoscience so often found in weight loss advertising. Here is a breakdown of how blood types evolved and why a blood type diet can’t work:
Why Blood Type Diets Don’t Work: Blood Types Evolved Long Before Homo Sapiens
The type of blood you have in your body is determined by alleles at a single locus (fixed position) at chromosome 9.[1] These alleles encode for different amino acids called glycotransferases.
In blood type A, cytosine at nucleotide site 793 translates to leucine 265 and guanine at nucleotide site 800 translates to glycine 267.
In blood type B, the cytosine at 793 translates to methionone 265 and the guanine at 800 to alanine 267.[1]
Blood type AB occurs when both changes occur.
Blood type O is caused when an inactive or nonfunctional protein is coded.
Studies have shown that polymorphism exists in other primates as well as all anthropoid primates [2]. Given the similarities found between human blood and that of several primates, scientists are able to use what they know based on the average mutation rate that must have occurred for there to be a divergence of A and B blood types. Using those estimates, some scientists conclude that A and B types diverged at least 13 million years ago.[3, 3.2, 3.3] These concrete findings contradict the blood type diet conjecture about blood types being fairly recent occurrences, as polymorphism seems to have occurred at least eight million years before the first ape-like creature began walking on two legs. Other studies estimate that the blood groups would have diverged 4.5 to 6 million years ago, but in spite of the differences in estimation all accounts point to polymorphism being an occurrence that predates modern man. So the blood type diet’s theory rests that a transition from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to an agriculture based existence had something to do with our blood type development is incorrect and easily proven to be untrue.
Why Blood Type Diets Don’t Work: Type O Blood Didn’t Come First
There is strong evidence that blood type A and blood type B may have been the original blood types and not Type O as the blood type diet theory claims. Type O seems to be an abnormal mutation as a result of a defective gene, and so was never a universal blood type. Normal genes such as A and B cannot evolve from abnormal ones and so they must have predated blood Type O.[4,5,6,7,8, 9, 10, 11] Although blood Type O is commonly found in all populations around the world [12], there is no evidence that the O gene represents the ancestral gene at the ABO locus. Nor is it reasonable to suppose that a defective gene would arise spontaneously and then evolve into normal genes.
Blood Type Diets Don’t Work: Disease Determined Blood Types Not Diet
Another flaw in the blood type diet theory is the idea that specific foods are responsible for our blood type variations. The truth is that diversity of blood types among specific populations can be traced directly to an evolutionary defense against bacteria and viruses and not foods that were eaten. People have either blood group A, B, AB, or O, with each type occurring at different frequencies in populations around the world. Robert Seymour and his colleagues at University College in London used mathematical models to show that this diversity is caused by natural selection pressures imposed on human populations by viral and bacterial infections. [13] Their model reveals that if viral infections were common in a population, blood type O will be most common, whereas if bacterial infections are more common in a population, then A and B blood types will be more frequent. Dietary differences have nothing to do with the blood type you or your ancestors developed and so another aspect of the blood type diet is proven to be incorrect.
Blood Type Diets Don’t Work: Race Has Nothing To Do With Blood Type
The notion that race has anything to do with blood type or the type of foods we should eat is not an idea supported by human biology. Race in and of itself is not a biological reality. A race is a biological subspecies or variety of a species, consisting of a more or less distinct population with anatomical traits that distinguish it clearly from other races. This biological definition does not line up with human genetic variation as human beings are extremely homogeneous. In fact, each human on the planet is 99.9% genetically identical to every other human, with most of the differences stemming from gender and individual personality traits. Such homogeneity is not commonplace among other animals, even among some of our closest biological relatives; chimpanzees have 2-3 times more genetic variation than humans, while orangutans have 8-10 times more variation. (See my article: Does Race Affect Your Ability To Lose Weight)
In almost 30 years of helping people from all over the world lose weight, I have observed few differences in the dietary recommendations required to help someone lose weight or get into better health. Differences abound in terms of preferences, which are due to conditioned and cultural influences, such as veganism, vegetarianism, and conscious dislike of certain foods. Occasionally, people may require different dietary recommendations because of food allergies or intolerance, such as nut allergies and lactose intolerance, but none of the variations in what would constitute an ideal diet for some one to lose weight has anything to do with their blood type. At the end of the day, anyone following a diet comprised of only naturally occurring foods in amounts proportional to their activity level can lose weight and get into fantastic shape while eating a wide range of foods. Avoiding processed foods and alcohol in addition to getting regular intense exercise will always be the main factor in how successful your weight loss will be, as success will not come from choosing foods based on an invented blood type diet. As popular as this diet was, we would expect time to bear out its effectiveness. Yet, there has been revolutionary weight loss among the millions who have followed it, and so it is no different from the dozens of fad diets before and the dozens that are likely to come as long as people can become wealthy literally overnight because of them. Sadly at the expense of those seeking viable solutions to their weight loss problems. I have personally seen a fair share of men and women on the blood type diet and they all stopped following it organically after seeing a lack of results over time. Some lost weight initially because the recommendations may have encouraged them to eat better than they were, but not well enough for it to have been a long term weight loss solution. I wish losing weight and getting into better shape was as simple as just eating for your blood type, avoiding foods with gluten, eating zero carbohydrates, being vegan, or buying all your foods from the organic aisles in the supermarket, but simply isn’t that simple. Magic formulas, instant solutions and simple solutions don’t apply to complex issues like weight loss and changing our bodies requires us to first change our behaviors. And then follow through with patience, consistency and strong faith. Not faith in blood type diets, or whichever fad diet comes our way, but faith in our own ability to adopt and sustain healthy lifestyles. Thanks for reading.
My VERY Different Approach To Staying Lean All Year Round.
Losing weight is doable.
As is getting leaner.
The struggle is maintaining it.
And in this video I go over my rather different approach.
One that allows me to maintain a sub-10% bodyfat percentage all year round in a SUSTAINABLE way!
You don't need drugs, you don't need supplements, magic pills or powders.
It's a matter of mindset and once you understand the approach, you will see that you can do it!
It's not easy, as nothing worth doing ever is, but it is sustainable!
Moreover, if you follow this path it leads not just to a tighter waist and a passible six pack, but also a true sense of self realization and self discovery.
To see the video you can access the link in my bio or look me up "naturally intense" on YouTube.
Thanks as always for tuning in, know that I believe in you and as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
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Dumbo, Brooklyn 2004
This one was taken towards the end of an hours long photoshoot for my DVD and I remember being utterly exhausted!
Photoshoots can be tougher than competing as with a competition you are only onstage for maybe maximum of a half hour, whereas with a shoot it's hours on end of having to be on point.
Thanks for tuning in and as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
My thanks to @miranda_maher and @stephaniecorne for the shot!!!
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Don't Train To Maintain, Always Train To Excel!
I am 49 years old.
My last bodybuilding competition was 19 years ago and yet I train with the same intensity and focus towards results as I did in my teens, my 20's and my 30's.
I don't believe in "train to maintain" and I think it's a massive mistake!
In my experience, most people take their foot off the gas way to early in life and as a result never realize their full potential.
In many sports getting older is associated with decline, but take a look at natural bodybuilding and you'll see men and women peaking in their late 40's to 50's.
Natural bodybuilding legends like Carmi Smith, Dwayne Broadway @
https://pulse.ly/crdg43u5ec and Yvette Arthur, @https://pulse.ly/m2iwofkkqz all won World Championship titles in their silver years and my friend and mentor, the late Kenny Hall competed with a ridiculously impressive physique into his late 60's!!!
Ever since I was a kid that's what I have been striving for and it's a central tenet of my personal training practice.
The passage of time is not an adversary you surrender to, it's an ally that can help you get far further in life than you might imagine, but only if you keep pushing!
So don't train to maintain, train to grow, train to improve, train to excel and as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
5th Avenue Gym circa 2009- 5 years out from my last show.
As you can see, trophies and competitions were NEVER the driving force behind why I train the way I train and why I eat the way I eat.
It's always been my passion to see how far I could go as a natural athlete and perhaps even more so, to show what can be accomplished without using drugs.
And 5th Avenue Gym was the perfect place to do it.
I really miss that gym.
It was a place where legends came to train and while it wasn't pretty, it had everything we needed to do the work we needed to do.
And boy did we work!!!
5th Avenue for life as they say!!!
Hope you are still training hard and as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
And thanks @pit_bulls_67 for snapping the shot!!!!
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Why Are Pull Ups So Hard For Some But Not For Others?
Pull ups are an exercise people love to hate!
They love to hate it because in my experience, most untrained men or women can't do one pull up and those who train can often struggle to do 6 or 10.
Why?
Because pull ups are hard!
And yet people like myself can easily do as many as 20-25!
So what's the reason for this discrepancy?
Is there some secret that allows me and others to do pullups so easily?
There isn't, and in this video I go over exactly why I can do as many as I can and why it can be so much harder for others.
I also go over my #1 pull up variant that ANYONE can do, even if you can't do one pull up.
And yet it can build strength and muscle size in some cases even more so than regular pull ups!
So click the link in my bio to see the full video on YouTube or go to my channel by looking up naturallyintense!
Thanks in advance for watching and as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
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Maximize Biceps Growth With High Intensity Arm Blaster Hammer Curls!
50lb Dumbbells For 20 reps!
The Arm Blaster is a fantastic piece of equipment for a home gym or any gym!
It doesn't take up much space and allows you to add variety to your biceps training.
It locks your elbows in place, thus increasing training intensity, and by doing a hammer curl, you can use more weight (thus increasing intensity even more) and target your brachialis muscles which help add density to your biceps!
This was my last set and I couldn't go any heavier as I am still nursing a wrist injury, but the 50lbers were more than enough to do the job!
Try them out next time you train arms and let me know how it goes!!!
Still training, hope you are too and as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
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Injury-Proof Your Training: The Power of Workout Variation!
One of the main reasons why I can still train heavy and intensely at 49 after 35 years of nonstop training without any training related overuse injuries is the fact that I vary EVERY workout!
Overuse injuries come from doing the same movements over and over and by always changing your routine, you radically lessen the likelihood of chronic injury.
Squats, deadlifts, barbell curls and bench presses are great exercises, but if you do them all the time, you do increase the odds of getting injured.
And as a natural athlete, it bears mentioning that it takes years to realize your full potential, and so it's crucial to have a training program that is sustainable, and one that will allow you to train injury free for as long as I have or longer!
Thanks so much for tuning in and as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
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High Intensity Training Leg Extensions To Failure!
And as always, Excelsior!!! #naturallyintense
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Featured everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to CBS News, Kevin Richardson’s Naturally Intense High Intensity Training have helped hundreds lose weight and transform their bodies with his 10 Minute Workouts. One of the top natural bodybuilders of his time, Kevin is also the international fitness consultant for UNICEF and one of the top personal trainers in New York City.
References for Blood Type Diets Don’t Work:
1. Martinko JM, Vincek V, Klein D and Klein J. Primate ABO glycotransferases: evidence for trans-species evolution. Immunogenetics 19993
2. Diamond, J. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W.W. Norton & Company.
3. Ségurel L, Gao Z, Przeworski M. Ancestry runs deeper than blood: the evolutionary history of ABO points to cryptic variation of functional importance. Bioessays. 2013
3.2. Leffler EM, Bullaughey K, Matute DR, Meyer WK, et al. Revisiting an old riddle: what determines genetic diversity levels within species. PLoS Biol. 2012
3.3. Socha WW, Moor-Jankowski J. Blood groups of anthropoid apes and their relationship to human blood groups. J Hum Evol. 1979
4. Yamamoto F, Clausen H, White T, Marken J, Hakomori S. Molecular genetic basis of the histo-blood group ABO system. Nature 1990
5. Yamamoto F, McNeill PD, Yamamoto M, Hakomori S, Bromilow IM, Duguid JKM. Molecular genetic analysis of the ABO blood group system: 4. Another type of O allele. Vox Sang 1993
6. Grunnet N, Steffensen R, Bennett EP et al. Evaluation of histo-blood group ABO genotyping in a Danish population: frequency of a novel O allele defined as O2. Vox Sang 1994
7. Olsson ML, Chester A. Frequent occurrence of a variant O1 gene at the blood group ABO locus. Vox Sang 1996
8. Mattos LC, Sanchez FE, Cintra JR et al. Genotipagem do locus ABO (9q34.1) em doadores de sangue da região noroeste do Estado de São Paulo. Rev Bras Hematol Hemoter 2001
9. Olsson ML, Chester A. Frequent occurrence of a variant O1 gene at the blood group ABO locus. Vox Sang 1996
10. Yamamoto F, McNeill PD, Yamamoto M, Hakomori S, Bromilow IM, Duguid JKM. Molecular genetic analysis of the ABO blood group system: 4. Another type of O allele. Vox Sang 1993
11. Grunnet N, Steffensen R, Bennett EP et al. Evaluation of histo-blood group ABO genotyping in a Danish population: frequency of a novel O allele defined as O2. Vox Sang 1994
12. Mourant AE, Kopec AC, Domaniewska-Sobczak K. The distribution of the human blood groups and others polymorphisms. London: Oxford University Press, 1976.
13. Seymour RM, Allan MJ, Pomiankowski A, Gustafsson K. Evolution of the human ABO polymorphism by two complementary selective pressures. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 2004
