Eat Right 4 Your Type: The Individualized Diet Solution to Staying Healthy, Living Longer & Acheiving Your Ideal Weight

by Peter J. D'Adamo, Catherine Whitney (Collaborator)

book data

197 ratings, 3.30 average rating, 59 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		16%
4		26%
3		35%
2		13%
1		7%

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published

January 1st 1996 by Putnam Adult

binding

Hardcover, 392 pages

isbn

039914255X (isbn13: 9780399142550)

description

If you've ever wondered why the latest fad diet doesn't work for you... well, there are lots of reasons, mostly the fact that it's a fad diet. But it ...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 255)

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06/19/08

Nick Fagerlund rated it:

Read in May, 2008

This book came up in a conversation with Kathleen before she went east — a relative of hers had gotten significant benefit from following some or another nugget of counterintuitive advice from it, which sort of thing is perfect grist for our style of shit-shooting. Anyway, I thought the premise sounded too weird to ignore, so I checked it out from the library.

Basically, D’Adamo says that your blood type determines (or is at least the primary influence on) your metabolism and your...more This book came up in a conversation with Kathleen before she went east — a relative of hers had gotten significant benefit from following some or another nugget of counterintuitive advice from it, which sort of thing is perfect grist for our style of shit-shooting. Anyway, I thought the premise sounded too weird to ignore, so I checked it out from the library.

Basically, D’Adamo says that your blood type determines (or is at least the primary influence on) your metabolism and your ability to digest specific foods, and follows with a rather detailed rundown on how you should be eating. He backs this edifice up with his personal clinical experience (presented as a series of anecdotes dispersed throughout the text) and some extremely dodgy anthropology that reminds me of nothing so much as the Jakeskin from Templar, AZ. In terms of references to peer-reviewed studies demonstrating the mechanisms he postulates, well, not so much. (And he lets slip once or twice that he advocates homeopathy. Red flag!) So I was skeptical. But honestly? I found myself wanting to believe what he was saying. Mostly because of this feeling that ABO blood types have to be good for something besides transfusion complications and manga character taxonomy. Really, why shouldn’t the, you know, very makeup of your humours affect your digestion? And this, friends, is probably why the book managed to become such a big hit.

Anyway, like I said, I checked it out. Apparently, as a Type O (The mighty hunter(/gatherer)! Roaming the African Plains in search of MEAT! Never mind that most of the protein in the appropriator diet seems to have come from bugs), I should be eating approximately the diet that my Type A (The vegetarian farmer! GRAAAAIIIIINNNZZZZ!) sister eats, while she in turn ought to be craving the pseudo-vegetarian diet that comes naturally to me. Reductionism and uninstinctiveness aside, I still couldn’t, at the end, see any reason to be eating the diet he advocates — it’s all just his word, with nothing concrete to back it up, and the outlook gets even worse when you google “blood type diet” to find out what holes the critics have been poking in D’Adamo’s research/lack-thereof. The plural of “anecdote” is still not “data.”

Unsettlingly, there was a whole bunch of what seemed like genuine insight interspersed with the arrant nonsense—Type Os are supposed to have a particular affinity with broccoli and kales, and boy howdy do I ever—but I ultimately have to write it off as a cognitive artifact. The brain wants patterns, and it will damn well have them, whether or not they’re there at the start.

No, I didn’t actually try the diet. For all I know, it may really be the key to a happy and healthy life. I’m still calling this book a loss.

On the other other other hand, it did provide some inspiration to try giving up wheat for a few weeks, which seems to have caused me to get noticeably thinner with no further effort. So there is that.

(Wait, do you still have an other hand free? In the tiny blood type fortune-telling section at the end of each division of the book, he refers to some historical personage as “the penultimate gambler.” Mister, I am pretty sure that does not mean what you think it does. Just saying.)(less)

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04/05/09

Ebookwormy rated it:

bookshelves: healthmedical, non-fiction

Read in April, 2009

The idea of this work, that your blood type determines what you should eat and how you should exercise, is compelling, so I borrowed it from a friend.

Of course, I started by skimming my own blood type, and I found it to be much like reading a horoscope in a Sunday paper. Sure, there were some things that seemed to fit, but there were also some things that were the exact opposite of my experience. I laughed out loud when I read that certain Types are subject to heart disease and canc...more

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02/20/08

Christa rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: people who are interested in a different take on dieting

I picked this book up out of curiosity. I have seen many different varieties of diet, and most of them just have not ever grabbed me like this did. As I was reading over the eating plan for my blood type, I found that things that are recommended to avoid are many of the things I just do not like - and I never knew why. Things that I crave are on the beneficial list. It resonated with me. I am making changes and hope that it helps.

I hate to take this out of my "currently r...more

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2 comments

02/27/09

Ryan rated it:

Read in February, 2009

recommends it for: Nutritionists; health seekers

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I borrowed this book from my Mom years ago. I set it aside thinking it would be too bio-scientific for my taste. I was wrong about that. It was definitely written so the average person could easily comprehend.

This book was a very interesting read. It walked through the evolution of blood types and how they formed the premise of human diets today. I concentrated on the O types since that's what I am.

My success with this nutrition plan was achieved in the opposite way of mo...more

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03/08/09

Melissa rated it:

I am not sure that I agree with everything he presents in his book (especially how blood type effects personality), but very much of D'Adamo's research and finds make sense to me. I was very surprised to find that he was spot on with my blood type as far as what foods I can and can't eat (I am lactose intolerant, he advises O's shouldn't eat dairy, I can't drink caffeine because how my body reacts to it and that is another big no no). I started implementing the diet he suggests for my blood ty...more

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01/09/09

Starlight rated it:

Read in January, 2009

recommended to Starlight by: Amy L'Heureux
recommends it for: anyone interested in health, easy fitness and personal improvement

This is one of the first books that I feel is not really a "diet" book based on "a shift in human consumption" but is based on scientific, blood-related equations that happen when you eat food appropriate or inappropriate for your type. Additionally, after reading it, I didn't put it down and cry over all the things I couldn't eat. I actually related very much to the foods on the lists - for example, when a food is listed to avoid for my type, I usually responded with "y...more

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01/11/09

Susan rated it:

After reading this book I can't tell you how dangerous I think it is. If there was a negative rating I would have chosen it.
The idea behind this book is that certain blood types should only eat certain foods and completely omit other foods from their diets. I can see a whole hatfull of problems with that theory and that's what this is really. Theory. Tell me when and where in the history of life that there is any proof or evidence to support this?
I've heard of some close friends that...more

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05/10/09

Beth rated it:

Read in May, 2009

The concept here -- that your blood type determines the best diet for you, your stress level, your temper (or lack thereof), etc. -- is kind of suspect, I admit. Still, it got me to buy a bunch of tofu, switch to soy milk, pretty much eliminate meat from mealtime, and even say no to an ice cream tonight at Ben + Jerry's ... So, there's got to be something here. (Of course, anyone who knows me even a little knows that a book advising me to drink more red wine and coffee must be top-notch literatu...more

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01/31/08

Jon rated it:

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: people who want to learn about blood

Interesting viewpoint on relationships between bloodtype and diet (what is good for one person may be bad for another). Introduced me to the idea that blodtypes evolved from O to A to B to AB. Certainly there is some truth here but I'd rather test for food allergies than simply go by the guidleines of this book. Think I will take straight up milk out of my diet though. Also skimmed through his new book "The Genotype Diet" which has a little more subtlety/wiggle room for individuals but...more

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01/21/09

Julie rated it:

bookshelves: non-fiction, self-improvement

Read in January, 2009

I was fascinated by the studies in this book. I have yet to apply it "hard core" to see if it will really help me function more healthfully, but am optimistic about the author's findings. I just need to gear myself up to make a major shift away from gluten and dairy (Oh, my yummy homemade wheat bread and ice cream!) I'll give it 5 stars if when I do try it-it does what it says it will and keep you posted.

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12/06/08

Teresa rated it:

bookshelves: currently-reading

What a difference in my energy and satisfaction levels after eating a meal created with the "most beneficial" foods outlined in this book! I use this book almost daily as a reference.

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05/31/09

Susan rated it:

I think there is scientific basis to this but it looks too hard to follow. Besides, so many of my favorites are on the Avoidance list!

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02/23/09

Lisa rated it:

Given his subsequent books and new info on his website, the info in this book is a little obsolete. Great concept, though.

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02/01/09

Bwmson rated it:

Read in January, 2002

This is a very easy read. I have had stomach problems most of my life. The diet prescribed within the book helped me greatly.

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04/17/08

Tanya rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in January, 1997

recommends it for: Anyone interested in health and nutrition.

I read this book when it first came out over a decade ago and it really resonated with me. I also bought the cookbook for my specific blood type and used it as a guide for a couple of years. I still eat "for my type" so to speak. It really helped me understand that certain foods aren't good for me -- that's why I feel better when I avoid them. You don't necessarily have to be allergic to a food to have negative reactions from it. Instead, people can be "sensitive" to a f...more

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