The first thing it said was that O types have high stomach acid and are often plagued with problems related to it – you know I keep talking about foods that cause bloating and my dodgy gut here – well I have a form of acid reflux which is making my life miserable right now! Getting the sample is relatively simple and just requires pricking your finger with a sterile lancet (yes there was antiseptic used) – you then drop four drops of blood onto a sheet of cardboard which contains a coating that reacts with your red blood cells revealing your blood type.Īt this point things got interesting, Mark gave me a sheet explaining the health characteristics of blood type O. NB: If you’re like me and have no idea what your blood type is you can buy tests online (for less than £10, or even $10 for US readers) that’ll give you the result in a minute or two. After all, if you’re going to exercise for your blood type, you have to know it- and I have no clue as it’s not something that’s tested normally in the UK and so I’m intrigued to find out. Which brings me back nicely to our Sydney park and me trying to stab myself in the finger.

While the blood of each type is mostly identical in that they all contain white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets and plasma, what makes the four types different from each other is a tiny molecule - known as an antigen - that attaches to the outside of your red blood cells.Īntigens can change the way your blood behaves making it thinner, thicker, stickier, more resistant to bacteria, or more prone to catching bugs. You get a blood type from each of them – so, if both your mum and dad are type A you will be too, if your mum is a type O and your dad is an A, you could be an O or an A. Which you have is passed down from your parents. There are four main blood types – A, B, O and AB. It was all enough to intrigue me to find out more. There’s a great piece here about the blood types and personality.Īnd, on top of all this, it’s also believed that different blood types release different chemicals in response to stress – and, as exercise is a stress on the body (albeit it a good one) this is why blood types and exercise might be linked – and why different workouts might work more effectively for different blood types.

You can buy bath salts most suited for your blood type, buy drinks for your blood type and even get matched on dates for your blood type. In Japan, it’s also believed that blood type determines personality and it’s treated a bit like your star sign. This is the premise behind the wildly popular Eat Right for Your Type book ( click here to check that out) and there are heaps of people who swear by it. It’s also believed (although there’s a bit less firm science on this bit) that the blood type you have causes you to respond differently when you eat different foods meaning some foods might be fine for one blood type, but trigger inflammation, which leads to poor health and weight gain, in others. On top of that, there have been similar links made about the risk of type 2 diabetes with type AB having the highest risk of developing this. Recent studies have found, for example, that type Os have lower risk of stroke and heart attack. Now sceptics might be saying ‘phooey’ here, and I’m not sure what side of the fence I specifically fall on but what I can tell you is that at least one of the statements above has some proven scientific truth to it – different blood types do seem to be slightly more susceptible to different health problems. It determines what foods work best for us, how we react to stress, what illnesses we are susceptible to and, what exercise we need – and there is a perfect exercise for your blood type. Our blood type is one of the things that determines who we are and what our body needs. Why Might Blood Type Workouts, erm, Work? Why Might Blood Type Workouts, erm, Work?.

Eating for your blood type o negative