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The idea that blood type plays a role in health, wellness, and personality wasn't exactly new when Dr. Peter D'Adamo came out with
Eat Right 4 Your Type in 1997. The idea had been around for most of the 19th century, and had gained quite a bit of currency in Japan. But it was a startling idea to most Americans, who made the book a bestseller that was translated into more than 40 languages and spawned a similarly successful sequel,
Cook Right 4 Your Type.
Now, Dr. D'Adamo--armed with new studies on genetic links between blood types, disease, and behavior--looks at the psychological and medical peculiarities that seem to predominate in one blood type or another. Type O's, for example, have lower than average amounts of a brain chemical called dopamine, leading to poor concentration, hyperactivity, and temper tantrums. A's tend to manufacture too much cortisol, a stress hormone that can lead to hypertension and has even been implicated in Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Type B's and AB's clear nitric oxide out of their systems faster, allowing them to calm down more rapidly than other blood types when stressed.
Dr. D'Adamo offers detailed lifestyle modifications for each type, including exercise programs, long lists of food to either seek out or avoid, and suggested treatment of specific illnesses. Some of this gets pretty arcane, including his recommendation of bladder wrack (a seaweed) for ulcer treatment of Type O's.
A big part of the appeal of this book series is that anyone reading it can become a participant by joining Dr. D'Adamo's blood-type registry at www.dadamo.com. Live Right for Your Type is peppered with testimonials from these registrants, giving the reader a sense that a true transformation in health, appearance, weight, and well-being is just a few diet and lifestyle changes away. --Lou Schuler
From Publishers Weekly
Author of the bestselling Eat Right 4 Your Type, D'Adamo delves more deeply into the influence of blood type in this follow-up volume, claiming not only that it determines the way individuals should eat, but also the way they should live. For each blood type he offers an extensive "prescription" for lifestyle changes, covering such issues as exercise, stress relief and sleep patterns, as well as supplements and foods. Type O, for instance, is advised to eat red meat and engage in aerobic exercise, while Type A is advised to focus on vegetables and try yoga. D'Adamo identifies the medical risk factors for each blood type, pointing out that, for example, As and ABs are at greater risk for developing cancer, while Os may be more vulnerable to mood disorders or destructive behaviors. In addition to his "prescriptions for living," D'Adamo offers a soup-to-nut diet plan for each blood type, complete with explanations of why various foods work for or against the body. While D'Adamo's plan is meticulously researched, readers may balk at the complexity not only of his text but also of the diet itself, which may create kitchen clashes when individuals of several blood types share meals. This comprehensive, fascinating theory will suit the nutrition-committed, but readers seeking a quick fix to weight and health problems may be left in a daze. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
