Plant-based foods study finds blood type diets are bunk

A recent study on plant-based diets found that eating these foods resulted in an increase in the post-meal caloric burn, as recently reported. That same study also happened to find that the so-called 'blood type diet' is bunk, as the participants experienced similar benefits regardless of their blood types, according to the researchers.

The blood type diet has been around for years; it claims that certain types of foods are better for certain blood types than other foods. The eating protocol has historically been controversial, yet remains popular with some dieting groups. It also happens to be nonsense, at least according to research from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

The study primarily focused on the metabolic effects of a plant-based diet on overweight patients, finding that eating this type of diet increases how many calories the person burns after the meal. The researchers took the extra step of evaluating whether blood type may play a role in that outcome using a secondary analysis of the randomized clinical trial data.

For those unaware, the blood type diet claims that people who have A blood type should stick to plant-based diets, while people who have O type blood should focus more on meat-based diets. However, after analyzing the trial data, the researchers found that the participants' blood types didn't have an effect on the outcome.

The participants experienced beneficial effects regardless of blood type, the new analysis notes, and the researchers didn't find evidence that meat-based diets are particularly healthy for anyone. Neal Barnard, MD, the study's author, notes:

Our research shows that all blood types benefit equally from a vegan diet based on the consumption of fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains, looking specifically at weight loss and cardiometabolic health in overweight adults.