Blood type diet 'is a myth'

For many years, some people have followed specific diets in the belief that it is better suited to their blood type, but this has now been debunked by researchers in Canada.

Experts from the University of Toronto have found that the theory can no longer be regarded as based in truth, after a major study that sought to establish once and for all whether the diet had any merit.

The 'blood-type' diet was first popularised in the book Eat Right for Your Type by Peter D'Adamo, with the theory being that people with different blood types process food differently; as such, people could follow certain diets in order to improve health and decrease the risk of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease.

However, despite the bestselling book being translated into 52 languages and selling over seven million copies, the new Toronto study claims to have found no evidence whatsoever to support the blood-type diet theory.

Based on the data of 1,455 study participants, nothing suggested that blood type impacted on response to certain foods, explained Dr Ahmed El-Sohemy, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Nutrigenomics at the University.

"The way an individual responds to any one of these diets has absolutely nothing to do with their blood type and has everything to do with their ability to stick to a sensible vegetarian or low-carbohydrate diet," he elaborated.

It comes after a comprehensive review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last year found that there is no evidence to support the blood-type diet and called for properly designed scientific studies to address it.

The result was the Toronto study, which experts say should now put to bed the theories that people with type A, B, AB or O blood need to eat certain foods.

Dr El-Sohemy concluded: "It was an intriguing hypothesis so we felt we should put it to the test. We can now be confident in saying that the blood type diet hypothesis is false."