A POSITIVE BLOOD TYPE DIET

Each individual is biochemically unique. This uniqueness is also due to the four basic blood types: O, A, B, and AB. Your individual blood type influences your sensitivity towards certain types of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, allergies, diabetes, etc. Every individual has different nutritional needs which have to be met to prevent blood type related illnesses.

Have you heard the traditional saying, “you are what you eat”? Diets are tailor-made to cater to one’s specific blood type. Eating the right food for your blood type is important as it influences weight issues, mental state, stress management and energy levels. A positive blood type individuals are usually susceptible to cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The A positive blood type diet emphasizes on strengthening the immune system, supplying cancer fighting antioxidants, forbidding infections to occur and toning up the heart. Learn more about eat right for your blood type.

Ever wondered why your friend can eat all kinds of breads and meats and not gain any weight? But, if you thrive on such foods, you tend to have an upset stomach. It’s sad but true that all foods are not agreeable to our stomach. With the fast emerging thoery on “eat right for your blood type”, people the world over are ready to accept the change in their lifestyle and a subsequent change in their diet. The enthusiasm and the urge to lead a normal healthly life has resulted in more and more people opting for these tailor-made healthy diets. It is important to know the diet that is best-suited for your blood type. The A positive blood type diet should include low protein intake. Vegetarian diet with no or fewer dairy products are recommended for this particular blood type.

Diet for A Positive Blood Type
The A positive blood type diet plan encourages people to eat right food for their blood type. Given below is the diet specifically designed for individuals with A positive blood type.

Vegetables
The best way to curb health-related issues is to consume a lot of vegetables in its raw and pure form. Vegetables such as sprouts, tofu, okra, artichoke, horseradish, chicory, greens, alfalfa, tempeh, turnip, parsley, romaine are vital to A positive blood types. These vegetables are a source of antioxidants, enzymes and minerals required for a healthy balance. Garlic, broccoli, spinach, collard greens, onions, pumpkin, kale are known to enhance the immune system of the A positive blood types.

Unfortunately, there are certain vegetables that have adverse effect on the digestive system. They are cabbage, mushroom, potato, pepper, eggplant, yam, lima bean and sweet potato.

Poultry and Meat
Cornish hens, chicken and turkey and other poultry products are easily digestible, and that is why it has been included in the A positive blood types diet. However, it is best to eliminate meat from the diet. A positive blood type has low level of stomach acid content, due to which meat is not easily digestible. This in turn leads to sluggishness in an individual.

Dairy Products
However tasty the dairy products are, they are best avoided as these cannot be easily digested by an A positive blood type individual. However some of the products that are harmless to health are yogurt, feta, kefir, string cheese, mozzarella and ricotta.

Beverages
Alcohol-based beverages, soda and black tea do not support the immune system and are also hard to digest. These are not at all recommended for A positive blood type individual. One cup of coffee a day can help increase the acid secretions in the stomach and thus improve digestion. The other beverages good for the stomach are slippery elm and ginger.

Fruits
Diet for A positive blood types should mostly include akaline fruits such as berries, plums, figs and prunes. Fruits with high mold counts like melons cannot be easily digested by an A positive blood type individual and hence has to be eliminated from the diet plan. Fruits like pineapple, cherry and apricot have digestive enzymes which is an excellent help for the digestive system. Grapefruit and lemon once digested exhibit alkaline tendencies, which again helps the stomach in a positive way.

Seafoods
Seafood is a gourmet’s delight. However, A positive blood type individual has to keep a check on the types of seafood that are not agreeable to the sensitive stomach. The most beneficial seafoods are mackerel, grouper, carp, red snapper, salmon, snail, whitefish, etc. The seafoods that are not allowed are lobster, oyster, crab, octopus, beluga, bluefish, eel, shrimp and turtle to name a few. Read more about heathly foods.

There is an old saying, “one man’s food is another man’s poison”. This theory holds true for blood types as well. The A positive blood type diet plan meets all the nutritional requirements to enhance the immunity of that particular blood type. However, there are plenty of suggestions and ideas on your diet as per your blood type, but none of them have been proven so far. For the believers of this theory, you need to be enthusiastic about your plan, stop counting and tracking the calories and enjoy the diet plan chalked out for you.

Cereals Low in Sugar.

The importance of a healthy breakfast cannot be stressed enough. A healthy breakfast provides nutrition to your body, helps you kick-start your day, and has several overall health benefits. A healthy breakfast helps adults improve their concentration and productivity. By including the right food items, like cereals low in sugar and high in fiber, in one’s breakfast, one can help control weight and lower cholesterol, thus reducing (to an extent) the risk of heart diseases. A healthy diet and proper breakfast is equally crucial for children. According to the American Dietetic Association it helps them concentrate better, tackle and solve problems, improves hand-eye coordination, allows them to be more alert and creative. This translates into fewer days of missing school.

If these benefits have convinced you to start having a healthy breakfast, then you need to know what makes a breakfast healthy. If cereal is all you have the time for, the presence or lack of these three factors will dictate its health value:

• Fiber: One must consume 25 gm of fiber per day, out of which, 5 grams or at least 3 grams, must come from your breakfast cereal. To ensure this, read through the list of ingredients and pick cereals which are high in fiber, and contain 5 – 3 grams of fiber per serving.
• Sugar: As most cereals have added sugar, you need to steer clear of the highly sugary ones. The healthy ones are cereals low in sugar, which contain 13 grams or less of sugar, per serving.
• Calories: If you are on a low calorie diet, or are working towards losing weight, choose those cereals that have lower calories, ideally less than 120 calories per serving.

If you want to consume cereals low in sugar, there are a few other facts that you must be made aware of. A recent study from Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has confirmed that most breakfast cereals advertised, keeping kids as their target audience, are full of sugar and low in fiber. The fact that is both troubling and astounding are these: cereals marketed to kids have 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber and 60% more sodium than those, aimed at adults. They also found that:

• Cereal companies spend more than USD 56 million a year marketing to children. On an average, a preschooler sees 642 TV cereal ads a year. Unfortunately, most of these cereals have the worst nutrition ratings.
• The cereal lowest in nutrition are often the ones most aggressively marketed to children. These include Reese’s Puffs, Lucky Charms, Corn Pops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Cap’n Crunch.
• Another factor parents must be alert to, is that some of the products with the poorest nutrition ratings came with health claims!
• The good news is that the major cereal companies do have good nutritious products. However only a few of these are advertisements are targeted at children.

Best Breakfast Cereals Low in Sugar:

• A nutritious breakfast cereal is Mighty Bites Honey Crunch Cereal by Kashi. It contains only 5 grams of sugar and 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving. Additionally, it also has 15 vitamins and minerals. It is a good option for kids as it is tasty, but yet not too sweet.
• Another of the low sugar cereals is, Gorilla Munch Organic Cereal by Envirokids, which is not only healthy, but also gluten-free. Slightly sweeter than Mighty Bites, it contains eight grams of sugar and two grams of dietary fiber.
• A very healthy option, Soy and Flax Clusters by Trader Joe’s, is fairly sweet yet within the ‘healthy’ limit. It has 12 grams of sugar per serving, six grams of dietary fiber, and is loaded with Omega-3′s.

A very good option among the cereals low in sugar is the Frosted Vanilla Shredded Bite Size Wheats by Trader Joe’s. While you might think that the 12 grams of sugar per serving is a little sweet, it does have 5 grams of fiber per serving. It is also fortified with nine vitamins and minerals.

Cereals that are Good for You.

The benefits of a healthy breakfast are constantly being extolled. One fact that may be an incentive to those in the habit of skipping a healthy breakfast, or loading up on sugar and fats, is that a good breakfast will help you concentrate better and have increased productivity throughout the day. Breakfast is especially important for children, as they need the nutrition to get through their activity packed days. Studies have shown that breakfast improves their problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and creativity. It has also been observed that adults who ate breakfast and ensured that they had a balanced and healthy diet, were able to control their weight better than those who did not. If cereal is synonymous with breakfast for you, ensure that you choose cereals that are good for you. The first step to take to assess which cereals are good for health, is reading the nutrition labels and ingredient lists. The things you should be looking for are:

• Fiber: The recommended intake of fiber is 25 gm per day. Go through the ingredients list and pick cereals which are high in fiber, and contain at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. However, the best option would be one that contains 5 grams of fiber or higher, per serving.
• Sugar: A majority of cereals have added sugar, which doesn’t automatically make them unhealthy. Nonetheless, try to pick cereals, which are low in sugar, containing 13 grams or less of sugar, per serving.
• Calories: For those on specific diets, which involve calorie counting, choose cereals lower in calories, ideally less than 120 calories per serving.

These tips should give you an idea of what cereals are good for you. However, one can still get overwhelmed at a breakfast cereal aisle, packed with rows of colored boxes proclaiming their superiority. To help you make the right choice, here are a few more guidelines:

Heart Healthy Cereals: If you’ve wondered about the genuineness of cereals claiming to improve heart health and reduce the risk of heart disease, there may be truth in what they say. However, to verify their claims, check the ingredients to see if they contain ingredients like whole grains, psyllium and oats, which improve heart health. Ideally, they should contain 100% wheat or bran, oat bran and barley. The added advantage of these cereals is that they take longer to digest, which should keep you going till lunch, without the need for an in-between snack.

Cereals with Fruits: A large number of cereals contain real freeze-dried berries, apples, and bananas. While this is a good thing, if they are added into low-fiber refined-grain cereals, the negatives may outweigh the positives. However, if you are using them in a bid to lure kids away from sugar-loaded frosted cereals, it may be effective. From this kind of cereal, you can make an easier transition to the best option: chopped fresh fruits added to high-fiber cereals.

Weight Loss Cereals: Cereals that advertise the ability to make you lose a certain amount of weight within a given period of time, are to be approached with caution. While they may be low in fat (which most are, whether they say it or not), they may not have any other benefits. In reality, high fiber whole grain cereals are more likely to help you in your weight loss journey, than any of these.

Novelty Ingredients: Under this category are cereals that contain pecans, almonds, flaxseed, or are made from soy. While the benefits of these ingredients are undeniable, one must not lose focus from the actual nutritional content of the cereal. Thus, ensure you that you read the nutritional fact labels, while paying special attention to the fiber and sugar content.

Eat Right For Your Blood Type.

What does one mean by ‘eat right for your blood type’? Well, Dr. Peter D’Adamo, a naturopathic doctor, in his book“Eat Right 4 Your Type” has explained, that lectins (sugar containing proteins) cause clotting of blood cells in an individual, generally of the wrong blood type. This may lead to serious kidney and liver problems and also weight gain. He further explains that increased urine indican levels can also be an aspect of specific blood types which can affect the interaction of foods with the bacteria in the intestine. This may result in diseases ranging from inflammatory bowel diseases, pancreatic insufficiency, diverticulitis, celiac disease, etc. The theory adds that the different blood levels affect the secretion of digestive juices. Therefore, following your blood type diet is one of the easiest ways of keeping healthy. Read more on healthy diet.

The right diet for your blood type can only be determined when you are certain of your blood type. Easily available in the market are inexpensive home blood typing kits which can help you with the problem. Unless you have been hospitalized or have undergone some surgery, a blood test for blood identification is not generally practiced. So, you may ask your doctor to arrange a special test for you in case you are unaware of your blood type. You may also go to a nearby laboratory for getting your blood tested. A person can belong to one of the following blood types.

Live Longer Diet

Live Longer Diet
The diet which takes into account the nutrition demands of the body and contains minimum amount of toxicants can be referred to as a diet to live longer. In order to live a long life, it is necessary to include foods containing Vitamin E and C. Intake of a balanced diet, avoiding foods containing high fat content and consuming vegetables and fruits is the key to slowdown the process of aging.

Vitamin E: This ‘vital amine’ is known for its powerful antioxidant activity which protects the heart. Vitamin E blocks the free radicals and thus prevents oxidation of the LDL cholesterol which is important from the point of view of preventing heart diseases. Some of the free radicals are responsible for damaging the DNA and carrying out mutations in the genes that lead to the development of cancer. Some free radicals affect the brain and cause the Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamin E neutralizes these free radicals and protects us from cancer and the Alzheimer’s disease. As per the research conducted by Martha Clare Morris at Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago, people who intake foods containing vitamin E have 70% lesser risk of contracting diseases than others. Sunflower oil, safflower oil, wheat germ, corn oil and almonds are rick in vitamin E.

Vitamin C: The intake of foods containing vitamin C is important just like vitamin E foods for maintaining the health and to prevent aging. Vitamin C helps in making the arteries flexible and thus, prevents the possibility of a heart attack. Vitamin C is found in lemons, cabbage, cauliflower, mangoes, cantaloupe, oranges, okra, papayas, pineapple, watermelon, etc.

Monosaturated Fats: It is a general conception that reducing the consumption of fats is necessary in order to have good health. However, monosaturated fats prove to be useful in lowering the cholesterol levels and simultaneously the preservation of HDL cholesterol which is good for health. Fibrinogen is the component in the blood which aids in blood clotting. By reducing the levels of fibrinogen the monosaturated fats minimize the risk of heart attacks. One can make use of nuts and olive oil in his diet for increasing the level of monosaturated fats. The different nuts and olive oils contain polyphenolic compounds which have antioxidants that are good for the health of the heart. These compounds also minimize the risk of diabetes by controlling the levels of insulin and glucose. The live longer diet containing monosaturated fats include hazelnuts, almonds, peanut oil, avocados, olive oil, canola oil, etc.

Omega-3 Fats: The omega-3 essential fatty acids are helpful for the inhibition of inflammation. Inflammation poses the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and heart diseases. The omega-3 fats which are found in walnuts, flaxseeds, etc. minimize the risk of cardiac arrhythmia and also improve functioning of the brain and heart. The foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are canola oil, soybean oil, walnut oil, etc.

Fibrous Food: The intake of high fiber diet has many benefits like the prevention of colon cancer, diabetes and reduction in the cholesterol levels. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, etc. are the foods that contain fibers aplenty. The most important use of consuming fibrous foods is that they facilitate ‘slow digestion’ in the stomach and ‘quick peristalsis’ in the intestines. Slow digestion in the stomach means that the insulin is release moderately and the levels of sugar in the blood rise slowly. The rapid peristalsis or quick movement of food through the intestines helps in reducing the risk of colon cancer. The overall effect of the above processes is that the risk of diabetes is reduced to a large extent. The carcinogens too are quickly expelled from the body with the help of fibers. The fibrous food which is one of the important live longer diet includes brown rice, bananas, apples (with skin), green peas, broccoli, oatmeal, lentil, kidney beans, pears, oranges, raspberries, strawberries, etc.

Balanced Diet
The most important thing that one should keep in mind while planning the diet is to make it balanced. Many nutritionists and physicians recommend a low calorie diet to live longer. As per the studies of John Phelan, a biologist from the University of California, Los Angeles, starving the body of calories won’t bring about an exceptional change in terms of increasing the life span. The following quote explains his viewpoint in a better way. “Our message is that suffering years of misery to remain super-skinny is not going to have a big payoff in terms of a longer life.” Thus, intake of a balanced diet is important in order to provide the body with all the necessary nutrients.

In order to live longer, diet plays an important role. The above mentioned live longer tips would help in living a long and healthy life. Inclusion of nutrients such as vitamin C, E, monosaturated fats, fibers and omega-3 fats in the diet would definitely be useful for extending our lifespan.

Healthy Diet Plan.

A healthy diet plan is a key ingredient to a long and healthy life. Finding the right diet can be an intimidating task. Most of us try tons of fad diets only to realize that the results are either temporary or not what we expected.

A healthy diet plan does not have to include tasteless and bland food. The key is to eat everything in moderation. Our body requires proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins apart from fibers, antioxidants and fluids. These can be ensured only by a healthy diet plan. We do not need to starve ourselves to lose weight. All we need is a well-planned healthy weight loss diet plan.

A nutritious diet ensures to help maintain a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) and also reduces the risk of several debilitating diseases like cancer, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke.

Healthy Diet Meal Plan
For any healthy diet meal plan, it is important to set realistic and attainable goals. The main goal should not only be to lose weight but also, to provide our body with all the necessary nutrients. You can start by following the basic guidelines below.

• To increase your metabolism consume 4 to 6 meals instead of 3 meals. It is not advisable to go without eating for more than three hours.
• Have lots of water.
• Inclusion of fruits and vegetables is a must. Try to include at least 5 vegetables and fruit servings each day. For example you can try and incorporate fruits by including bananas in cereals, strawberries in yogurt and cherries for dessert.
• Include whole grains in your diet. e.g foods like oatmeal, brown rice and crackers. Stay away from refined grains such as pasta and white rice.
• Try and use olive oil while cooking.
Try and avoid red meat and include low-fat meat and poultry. Example: chicken breast or grilled salmon

Try and increase the intake of dark-colored vegetables. They are packed with antioxidants and vitamins.