I can't believe how many times people ask me about whether Ayurveda has any similarities with the Blood Type Diet (BTD) - a diet by Dr Peter D'Adamo (in his book The Eat Right Diet).  I always tell them that they're in luck, because in 2000 I did a research paper on exactly this topic!  I too, was fascinated by the many similarities I could see between Ayurveda and BTD. 

The main similarity is that people are grouped according to their body/mind type and given specific lifestyle and diet recommendations based on this type.  In BTD, as in Ayurveda, not all people are treated equally, in fact the blood types have vastly different diets and modes of treatment.

The Blood Type Diet

Based on a theory that Blood Types evolved with the evolution of man from Hunter-Gatherer, to Farmer, to Merchant/ Trader/Nomad, and lastly to Industrial age modern man.  Our blood types evolving with changing environment and diet.

The earliest blood type is 'O', which eats a lot of meat, berries etc and little grains (Hunter-Gatherer); a strong, assertive and instinctive type. 

The Farmer blood type is 'A', which contrasts by being specifically vegetarian, lots of beans and vegetables and no meat; they are slightly nervous, with active minds. 

The Nomad type is 'B', who eats a range of wild-type meats, dairy and eggs, but little farmed produce (beans etc); they are creative, emotional and flexible. 

The newest type is 'AB', a quite versatile type who can eat a wider range of foods (a mix of A and B diets essentially), and is more spiritually-minded and adaptable.

Ayurvedic Theory
Based on the theory of the five elements (space, air, fire, water, earth), everyone is a unique mix of these elements - so diet and lifestyle recommendations are usually based which elements are not in balance.  For example - a person with excess fire in their body/personality is put on a fire-reducing diet/lifestyle.  This imbalance can change quite rapidly, especially due to seasons and time of day fluctuations. 

There is also a base constitution which remains constant - and it is this which is often likened to BTD, as there are three main body types, and seven combinations of body type.  The three main types are Vata (air and ether), Pitta (fire and water), and Kapha (earth and water), and the combinations are mixes of these constitutions - VP, VK, PV, PK, KP, KV, or VPK.  A person is are unlikely to have a body element make-up exactly the same as another person of the same type - each person has a unique balance of elements, and we each have all the elements in our body, but only some in predominance.

Vata type has a poor or inconstant digestion, so requires easily digested warming foods, they are also a nervous type, so require grounding lifestyle regimes and earthy foods. 

Pitta type is prone to excess stomach acid, bile and hunger, so requires cooling foods without too much oils or fats, and lifestyle routines to prevent irritation and frustrations. 

Kapha type has a sluggish digestion and a body which tends to hold weight, so requires light easily digested warm foods - in small amounts, they can be lethargic so require stimulation and exercise.

Similarites
~ Based on individuality, not on 'one diet/treatment for all'.         
~ Recommend cutting out peanuts and tomatoes for all people (except AB - who can eat some tomatoes), and recommend cutting out nightshade family vegetables for rheumatoid conditions.         
~ Recognise that our main 'type' comes from our parents (although Ayurveda says this is only in part), and not from our race or culture, it will not change.  Our parents' environment during pregnancy/conception affects our type.         
~ There are basic types, but also sub-types (in Ayurveda this is subtle element differences in all the types, in BTD this is MN, Lewis, Rhesus factors etc)         
~ Recommend mainly cooked foods.         
~ A major factor in disease is a type of toxin in the body which damages and disturbs cellular function ('ama' in Ayurveda, ?lectin' in BTD).         
~ Recognise food choices as a cause in mental and psychological disturbance.

The 'Types'According to my rough approximation of diet, personality and disease-patterns:

A blood type = Vata (72%)         
O blood type = Pitta (74%)         
B and AB blood types = Kapha (56%) - so this correlation is only slight and not particularly reliable.

Main Differences

~ BTD believes new types will continue to emerge with evolution, Ayurveda believes the laws of nature and the elements are stable and unchanging.         

~ BTD doesn't take into account anything which can't show up on slides or scales, no energetic properties are relevant in its scientific view of the world, Ayurveda is based on subtle energy and things we can't see.         

~ BTD says the dangerous lectins are be more powerful than our digestive power, Ayurveda says that ama is destroyed by proper digestion and chewing.         

~ In BTD there is no way you can negate the effects of a bad food choice, whereas Ayurveda has food antidotes, as well as least harmful times and seasons to consume such foods.  But according to Ayurveda, your thoughts can also influence the quality of the food you eat turning 'Nectar to Poison or Poison to Nectar', BTD says a good food is good and a bad food is bad!         

~ BTD recommends meat and animal products for all people but 'A's, Ayurveda recommends meat and eggs for no one.         

~ Ayurveda has many millenia of historical usage and has remained effective and unchanged.  BTD is less than 100 years old - the main theories were put together in the 1980s, and they are already changing.

Conclusion

I think BTD it is definitely on the right track, but in it's infancy.  This is proved by the fact that, great as it sounds, BTD does not work for everybody.  D'Adamo did admit in the back of his first book that - in his estimation - as much as 10% of your body type is affected by other factors (Rhesus etc) not considered in the book. 

I have also heard that he has recently put out a new book about how your parents' blood types (if different to yours) also affect your dietary needs.  So the case is not closed on BTD, but it has a long way to go - in my opinion - before it could ever match the simplicity and effectiveness of Ayurveda.  Just look at these points:

~ Ayurveda has ten main types, and infinite variations of these types.  BTD has four types, and unresearched other factors and combinations.         

~ BTD is complicated, it does not work on any common theories which you can easily apply - you need to memorise or carry with you a huge food list, and if there is a food item missing, you may never know if it is good for you or not.  Ayurveda chooses foods according to elements, all you need to understand is how to discern the elemental quality of a food and you can decide for yourself on the spot whether a food is good for you or not.         

~ Many people do not conform to their blood type personality/body.  There are many 'O's with poor digestion, whose bodies cannot digest all of the meat they are supposed to eat.  This is why BTD does not work for everyone - it is too simple.  Ayurveda takes into account many other factors apart from your body types when deciding what you should eat and when - and digestive power is a main one.  BTD makes the fatal mistake of assuming that all 'O's have great digestion and all 'A's have terrible digestions - when this is often not the case.

These conclusions may sound biased, but I tried to be as objective as possible.  Obviously I do tend to believe Ayurvedic theory before anything else, but I really believed the BTD when I read the book.  It was only my dismay at having it fail dismally which made me decide to take up this study.  So now it's up to you to decide!  You don't need to ask me what I think?(First Printed in the Australasian Ayurveda Practitioners Association newsletter, Spring 2002)   

Yolande Manson (A.M.D., N.D.) is a qualified Ayurvedic Medicine Practitioner and Naturopath, with an Ayurvedic Medicine Diploma in New Zealand.  She may be reached by  e-mail: ayurveda@wave.co.nz  and see her webpage: www.hknet.org.nz/YM-Ayurved.html  

? COPYRIGHT 2002 Yolande Manson.  This article is subject to International Copyright laws, and  may not be copied or quoted in any way without referring to the author.  Permission is hereby given for persons to reprint the article in its entirety (including copyright information), or make quotations from this article; on the conditions that: (a) the author is contacted and advised in advance of publication, and (b) no alterations or omissions are made and the author is named as such. 

All further reproduction or any alteration of the text for other uses may be done only by permission of the copyright holder (the author). Please acknowledge the author in any quotation from this material.  If you have comments or other information relating to such topics as this paper covers, please contact Yolande . Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.