I’ll be honest and state that I never considered how my health is affected by my blood type. It never occurred to me because I still don’t know what my actual blood type is, even though I’ve had cancer and had to go through constant bloodwork while undergoing treatment. It just never seemed important in the scheme of what was happening. However, this book has changed my mind! It takes a look at each blood type and then presents solutions for healthier eating while also showing why certain blood types are prone to certain diseases.
The blood types were not a hit-or-miss act of random genetic activity. Each new blood type was an evolutionary response to a series of cataclysmic chain reactions, spread over eons of environmental upheaval and change.
The author begins by explaining each blood type and how it evolved. This was my favorite part of the book, as it was fascinating. I just thought everyone was basically the same, but I was wrong. It’s as though each type has its own personality, based on how it came into being.
TYPE O THE HUNTER
This is the OG of blood types, the very first. You can say that “O” stands for “old”. Top of the list, king of the hill, A #1, and so forth. As mankind evolved and became so successful at hunting that they drove other species to extinction, it was Blood Type O driving this success. And meat, full protein, was how the first blood type thrived. It remains the dominant blood type today, having seeded itself across the planet as mankind migrated globally. I hope I’m not an O. They remind me of the ambitious corporate types who can’t stay off LinkedIn.
TYPE A THE CULTIVATOR
As the O marauders ate all the animals and warred among themselves, competition for food drove some humans to migrating further afield. Sometime between 25,000 to 15,000 B.C., Blood Type A appeared. Why would a new type appear? Well, humans were settling down and cultivating grains and developing permanent living structures. As villages grew to urbanized societies, survival became harder due to shared resources. Denser living conditions meant more diseases and Blood Type A evolved to handle such issues. Survivors of the Plague, Cholera, and Smallpox tended to have Blood Type A rather than Type O. Type A moved into western Europe, more concerned about good, salted butter and decent bistros than the fractious O’s. If I could choose a blood type, I would prefer to be an A.
TYPE B THE NOMAD
The blood types weren’t finished evolving, however, as humans continued to move eastward into Asia and Oceania. Thus, we get Blood Type B. B is for Balance! Around 10,000 B.C., this new Blood Type appeared in the Indian subcontinent, around the Himalayas. It spread rapidly with the emergence of the Mongol Invasion, engulfing the Asian Steppes. As the Mongols progressed, so did Blood Type B, moving into northern Europe and even Africa. Interestingly, modern Germans and Austrians have a higher incidence of Blood Type B, because they are generational descendants from the time of the dividing line between civilization and barbarians in ancient times.
TYPE AB THE ENIGMA
The newest of all types is Blood Type AB, which seems to have evolved from the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the chaos of the Dark Ages. It’s estimated to have arrived around 1,000 years ago. It’s new, complex and unsettled, just like modern times.
So, Type O is the most dominant Blood Type with an ornery immune system determined to destroy anything…be it friend or foe. Type A prefers to blend in with the local community, more focused on an agrarian lifestyle. Type B is the adaptor, finding the balance between the mind and the immune system. And finally, Type AB, the delicate Blood Type merged from tolerant Type A and the formerly barbaric Type B. Now that the reader understands the differences, it’s on to immune systems, diets, and medical solutions.
If Type O has high-tech security gates on its immune system, Type AB doesn’t even have a lock on its door.
Each Blood Type gets about 50 pages each for their own profile. Diet, exercise profile, meal planning, vitamin supplements, and personality. There’s also a section on cancer and medical strategies, including vaccines. It’s really interesting especially since I couldn’t just pick out one Blood Type to focus on, since I’m clueless to mine. The book is nicely laid out, with the beginning introduction to the history of each Blood Type being very helpful. Again, I never considered Blood Type at all, but this book has changed that.
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