Strengthen the immune system with the blood-group diet

Narayana Verlag 02/02/2023

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Excerpt from Strengthening the Immune System with the Blood Group Diet by Valérie Lamour and Dr Olivier Madelrieux

Immune protection can hardly be more individual. With the blood group diet you build your personal immune shield and can rely on robust health. Whether blood group A, B, AB or O – Dr Olivier Madelrieux and Valérie Lamour show how to adapt your diet to the characteristics of your blood group and stand up to harmful influences. For example, did you know that people with blood group A should pay particular attention to their immune system? Read here why:

Blood group A

The gene for blood group A appeared when people with blood group O no longer satisfied themselves with the hunter‑gatherer lifestyle of their ancestors but settled in agricultural communities. Their diet therefore consisted mainly of cereals and legumes. Accordingly, their blood—and thus their digestive system—prefers this type of food, which perfectly suits their metabolism, as incredible as that may sound. And as you know, your blood group is the key to your immune defence if you stick to the diet typical for your blood group.

Your immune profile

The immune system of people with blood group A is not very resilient. It cannot fend off immune attacks well (they place more demands on it and tire it). Therefore it is essential for people with blood group A to follow an immune‑supporting diet strictly in order to strengthen their defences effectively.

Your digestion

Members of this blood group are more sensitive and have noticeable difficulty digesting and metabolising animal proteins and fats properly. Conversely, proteins from fish, vegetables, oilseeds and slow‑release carbohydrates are particularly easy for them to tolerate. People with this blood group must absolutely live according to their biorhythm, because they metabolise perfectly when they follow the internal biological clock of their organs and thus support their organs’ time‑dependent digestive capacity.

Your nervous system

People with blood group A react very sensitively to stress because their tolerance threshold is quite low. They therefore tend to anxiety and feeling overwhelmed, which weakens their immune system considerably. More than any other blood group, they must pay attention to restorative sleep (at least 8 hours a night) and incorporate rest periods (times when you do nothing but are not sleeping, e.g. mindfulness meditation or guided meditations) into daily life.

Principles of immune‑supporting nutrition for people with blood group A

For people with blood group A, a vegetarian diet is particularly well tolerated, as it is very close to the diet of their ancestors, the first farmers. To optimise their immune defence, they should therefore minimise their meat consumption. People with blood group A may continue to eat fish and may occasionally treat themselves to a portion of poultry. They should avoid industrially prepared ready meals, cold cuts, ham and sausages completely, because these contain nitrites which, in people with low stomach acid (a feature of blood group A), can promote cancer.

Blood group A is therefore the exact opposite of blood group O. While animal and plant proteins speed up the metabolism of people with blood group O, these proteins slow down the metabolic process in people with blood group A. The latter are also prone to water retention, which can be traced back to their biological inability to adequately break down and metabolise protein‑rich food. Blood group O burns the nutrients and calories contained in meat, whereas blood group A stores them as fat. A protein‑rich basic diet is therefore harmful to the health of people with blood group A and clearly against their nature. Unfortunately, people with blood group A metabolise slowly. They therefore tend to gain weight and sometimes even to obesity. Moreover, they have another challenge to face, as they also often suffer from excessive cortisol production, which, as we have seen, can cause insulin resistance and carries the risk that affected individuals develop metabolic syndrome or diabetes. To cope with their natural cortisol excess they must observe daily rest periods, avoid excessive stress and, above all, sleep sufficiently. This is truly extremely important, both for their immune defence and for their weight.

Summary for blood group A:

IMMUNE‑EFFECTIVE DIET FOR PEOPLE WITH BLOOD GROUP A

Meat and poultry	Meat: 1–2 times per week Fish: 2–4 times per week Eggs: 4–6 times per week
Grains and grain products	Once a day, preferably at lunch Cheese: 1–2 times per week
Vegetables	Daily: immune‑neutral and immune‑supporting vegetables
Fruit	Daily: immune‑supporting fruit
Legumes	2–5 times per week
Oilseeds	Daily in moderation

FOODS TO AVOID

Drinks	Beer, carbonated beverages, black tea, decaffeinated tea
Meat	Beef, veal, rabbit, bresaola, pork and pork products, bacon, all types of ham
Desserts	Avoid preparations combining flour and sugar, cream desserts, ice cream made from cow's milk
Spices	none
Cereals	Rye, wheat, spelt, kamut and their derivatives, bread, pasta, crackers, grissini, rusk, biscuits, bran, semolina, couscous, fougasse (Provençal bread), pizza, unleavened bread
Fruit	Oranges, tangerines, clementines, bananas, melons and any fruit combined with grains
Dried fruit and oilseeds	Pistachios, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts
Milk and dairy derivatives	Cow's milk, cow's milk yoghurt, cow's milk cheese. Avoid fatty and mature cheeses!
Legumes	Spanish white beans, chickpeas
Vegetables / Fish	Vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, aubergines, black olives, sweet potatoes Fish: anchovies, eel, herring, perch, oysters, hake, sole, catfish, frogs, smoked fish, shellfish, molluscs
Eggs	Avoid eating eggs fried in oil or butter!

Source: Excerpt from Strengthening the Immune System with the Blood Group Diet by Valérie Lamour and Dr Olivier Madelrieux, published by Narayana Verlag 2022, Preview

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