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| Amazing food art - watermelon |
One reason why I chose a degree in Food science and Nutrition is because the manner in which food can be manipulated to affect certain changes in the body fascinates me. I remember living in India and constantly being hooked up to tubes and breathing devices after yet another asthma attack due to the thick Dheli pollution. That summer my mum decided to take my brother and I to a homeopathic dowser in London on reccomendation - and we spent the next few hours sitting in her apartment as we listed hundreds of foods and wrote down the 'response' of her crystal (when it swung backwards/forwards it was 'yes' side to side it was 'no' and circular motions were 'maybe') - now i know dowsing is highly controversial - critisized for being a pseudo-science, but this account helped convince me... our friends had gone to her recentley with a hand-drawn map of their entire house as they had a leak somewhere that would require thousands of pounds if they were to uplift all of the floorboards,
unless they were able to determine its exact location. The dowser and her crystal were consulted and the crystal landed in one spot, on the second floor of their house in the far right corner. What do you know, a few floorboards in the spot were uplifted and the leak was found. Coincidence you may say, but it's comforting to believe in a bit of so-called-magic aswell (I've done science projects on the different properties and energies of crystals - the tools used in dowsing; there's lots of interesting info available supporting the practise aswell, worth a read). Anyway, we left the apartment with a list of foods to avoid - including wheat, dairy, citric acid, specific fruits/ veg/ grains and fats. Sticking to this diet for only 2 weeks resulted in such a drastic change. No more snotty noses, coughs, wheezing or trips to the hospital. The diet had totally transformed our immune systems...
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| Cultured apple |
Today I was wondering around an organic 'greenfoods' shop as dad was buying all the essentials. I ended up conversing with one of the shop owers about the right foods for your blood type. So here's a bit of human history related to food that i found fascinating (this information is a condensed version of info from various sources). Lets begin the breakdown, now before I start, blood types are said to be linked to specific personality traits and exercise patterns as the result of the presence of more or less hormones (including the stress hormone cortisol or the fight and flight hormone Adrenaline) but i'll be focusing on the food aspect.
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| Egg pram |
As you all know man started off in Africa, known as the 'Cro-magnum man' with blood type O being the most common (meat eaters). We then migrated down to Asia and Europe where meat was less available resulting in a more herbivorous diet of fruits, vegetables and carbs (Blood type A). Humans continued into the Himalayas, India, Nepal, Mongolia and Pakistan, into cooler climates (which is believed to be a reason for the 'mutation' of our blood type from A to B), we continued into Europe and began the domestication of Animals in cooperating more dairy and meat into our diet.
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| The sea's salmon, spot the potatoes, mint and bread |
I'm a blood type B, and apparently this means we're more adaptable to our environments and flexible due to our ancient geographical movements. But food wise, I just found out a few more things. I won't list it all because it's quite extensive, but the main foods we're supposed to avoid include: wheat, peanuts, tomatoes, chicken, shellfish, cinnamon, avocado's, corn, beans, sesame/ sunflower oil ... The list of what we should eat excited me a lot more: Lamb, venison, turkey, deep sea fish, eggs, dairy, oats, figs, green veg. etc.. I saw 'oats, dried apricots and figs' and breathed a sigh of relief, muesli, you're here to stay (http://www.bewellbuzz.com/nutrition/eating-for-blood-type-b/ for more info).
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| Cracking nuts |
My father and brother are blood type A's, and their weekly ritual after football is going down to 'Suzy's corner' and eating steak and chips. Ah the look on their faces when I told them the main thing they were meant to
avoid was meat, as geographically type A's are meant to most efficiently digest carbohydrates. Type A's are said to have most sensitive immune systems and in terms of food, the list was the most extensive, sending my brother and dad's eyes rolling as they listened to me read on, and on, and on. Food to
avoid: r
ed meats, dairy products, eggs, wheat products, potato, peppers, banana, papaya, coconut, peanut oil, brazil nuts, beer, liquor... But the good news is broccoli, carrots, lettuce, artichokes, beets, olive oil, most fish and lots more all get the thumbs up! (http://www.bewellbuzz.com/nutrition/eating-blood-type-a-a/ for more)
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| It's a toaster! |
My brother responded with 'screw that i'm eating whatever I want'. And to some extent I totally agree, there are other theories (similar to the concept of the hygiene theory) that kids should eat anything and everything in order for their immune systems to build up their own defence instead of being so carefully cared for, causing negative reactions and allergies on exposure to unusual foods.
O's are the meat eaters of the world and the most common blood type out there, the 'givers' - they're
advised to eat MEAT, walnuts, seaweed, berries, rice, quinoa, almonds, cheese etc. (lots of protein rich foods for vege's listed too) but
advised against wheat, dairy, pork products, avo's, oranges, coffee, pickled veg ... (
http://www.bewellbuzz.com/general/eating-blood-type-o/)
Lastly the rare ones, AB: Containing characteristics of both A and B they're said to have a
hard time digesting meats, lots of shellfish and seafood, dairy products, oil, corn flower, soba, banana, avo, vinegar, black tea lalala... but you
can eat loads: tuna, cod, lamb, turkey, rice, oat, spelt, berries, plums, olives, lentils, garlic, red wine, coffee etc. (
http://www.bewellbuzz.com/nutrition/eating-blood-type-ab-ab/)
Yes, there are exceptions and our environments also have a huge impact on our individual constitutions as does lifestyle choices, exercise, drinking, smoking, diet, or whatever we may alter. But if following this diet can improve your life, why not give it a go?
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| Hot banana-loon? |
We've got all our fresh fruit and veg from the farmers market and I'm making dinner tonight - mum's gone so we have an odd number but it's nice to have the boys around - sundowner time :).
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