Blood Type B Diet: Printable Comprehensive Food List

Blood Type B Diet Food List: What the Plan Says, and What the Research Actually Shows

The blood type diet, popularized by Peter D’Adamo in Eat Right 4 Your Type, assigns a specific eating pattern to each ABO blood type. This article gives you the type-B food list people are looking for, and it also does something the original books don’t: it tells you what happened when researchers actually tested the theory.

The short version: a 2013 systematic review published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that no evidence exists to validate the health claims of the blood type diet. That doesn’t mean people following it don’t feel better; it means the improvements aren’t specifically linked to their blood type. Read on for the food list, the science, and how to think about it honestly.

The Blood Type Diet in One Paragraph

The premise: ABO blood types evolved during different periods of human history, and each thrives on foods common to that era. Type O (“hunter”), type A (“agrarian”), type B (“nomad”), type AB (“modern”). Lectins in food are said to interact with blood-type antigens and cause weight gain, digestive issues, and illness when the food doesn’t match your type. People with type B are told they can eat dairy freely and should avoid chicken, corn, lentils, buckwheat, peanuts, and tomatoes.

What the Research Says

The most cited scientific test of the theory is Cusack and colleagues, writing in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2013 (PMID 23697707). They reviewed all published research on ABO blood type diets and concluded: “No evidence currently exists to validate the purported health benefits of blood type diets.” A large 2014 study of 1,455 young adults, Wang and colleagues in PLoS ONE, tested whether following each blood-type-specific diet produced blood-type-specific health improvements. It found that the diets did produce some cardiometabolic benefits, but the benefits happened regardless of blood type. In other words, if you eat more vegetables and less processed food, your blood pressure and lipids tend to improve. That doesn’t depend on whether you’re type A, B, O, or AB.

The takeaway isn’t “don’t try it if you’re curious.” It’s “don’t expect blood-type-specific magic, and don’t skip proven health tools (like standard cardiometabolic advice) in favor of it.”

Type B: Recommended Foods

Here’s the full type-B food list as described by the diet, so you have it if you’re following the plan.

Meat and poultry

• Recommended: lamb, mutton, rabbit, venison, goat, calf liver, buffalo, beef, turkey
• To avoid on this plan: chicken, duck, goose, cornish hen, partridge, guinea hen, squab, quail, bacon, ham, pork

Seafood

• Cod, flounder, haddock, grouper, hake, halibut, mackerel, monkfish, mahi-mahi, pickerel, ocean perch, porgy, pike, sardines, salmon, shad, sea trout, sole, sturgeon, tilefish, caviar

Dairy

• The plan says type B can freely consume: cottage cheese, feta, farmer cheese, goat cheese, kefir, goat milk, paneer, plain yogurt, ricotta, cow milk, cheddar

Grains and cereals

• Recommended: millet, oat bran, oatmeal, spelt, rice bran, puffed rice, shredded wheat, kasha
• To avoid on this plan: buckwheat, amaranth, wild rice, sorghum, rye, tapioca, teff, cornmeal, corn (any color), popcorn, whole wheat, wheat germ, bran

Vegetables

• Recommended: leafy greens, arugula, asparagus, beet greens, beets, bok choy, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collard greens, cilantro, cucumbers, dill, eggplant, endive, fennel, garlic, ginger, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms (shiitake), parsley, parsnip, sweet potatoes, yams
• To avoid on this plan: artichokes, corn, olives, pumpkin, radishes, rhubarb, tomatoes

Fruit

• Recommended: apples, apricots, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, dates, figs, grapes (all types), grapefruit, guava, kiwi, cantaloupe, papaya, peaches, pears, cherries, pineapple, plums, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, watermelon
• To avoid on this plan: avocado, coconut, persimmon, pomegranate, prickly pear, starfruit

Oils, fats, nuts, seeds

• Recommended: extra-virgin olive oil, ghee
• To avoid on this plan: pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts, pine nuts, sesame, sunflower, safflower, pumpkin, poppy seeds; corn, canola, cottonseed, peanut, soy, and safflower oils

Beverages, herbs, condiments

• Recommended: water, green tea, ginger, peppermint, licorice, rosehips, sage, raspberry tea
• To avoid on this plan: soda, seltzer water, distilled liquor, aspartame, corn syrup, dextrose, gelatin, maltodextrin, ketchup, soy sauce, most artificial sweeteners

Type B: Foods to Avoid (Summary)

The main type-B “avoid” list, per the diet:

• Chicken and other poultry (except turkey)
• Corn, buckwheat, wild rice, wheat, rye, tapioca
• Peanuts, lentils, garbanzo beans, black beans
• Tomatoes, artichokes, olives, pumpkin
• Avocado, coconut, pomegranate
• Most vegetable oils (canola, corn, sunflower, safflower, peanut, sesame, cottonseed, soy)

Notice how many nutritious foods land on the “avoid” list. Chicken, lentils, tomatoes, avocado, and peanuts have strong independent evidence for supporting health. Cutting them based on blood type alone means giving up things that are genuinely good for most people. That’s the honest tension in this plan.

Why People Sometimes Feel Better On It

The type-B version, like most versions of the blood type diet, cuts:

• Ultra-processed foods, added sugars, and sodas
• Refined grains (much of what’s on the “avoid” list)
• Corn syrup and artificial sweeteners

Any diet that reduces those categories and increases vegetables, fruit, quality protein, and healthy fats will make most people feel better. That’s what the 2014 Wang PLoS ONE paper found. The improvement wasn’t blood-type specific; it was a healthier overall pattern doing its usual work.

Type B At-a-Glance Table

FAQ

Is the blood type diet backed by science?

No. A 2013 systematic review in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Cusack et al., PMID 23697707) found no evidence to support the health claims of the blood type diet. A 2014 study of 1,455 adults (Wang et al., PLoS ONE) found that the diets produced some benefits, but not in a blood-type-specific way.

Is it dangerous to follow the blood type B diet?

For most healthy adults, no. The diet is generally nutritious. The risk is unnecessarily eliminating foods that would benefit you (like chicken, lentils, or tomatoes) and possibly missing evidence-based approaches for whatever health issue you’re trying to solve.

Should I follow it if I have a specific health condition?

Don’t substitute the blood type diet for evidence-based dietary guidance for a diagnosed condition. If you have diabetes, heart disease, PCOS, or a food allergy, use the guidelines built for that condition.

Can I lose weight on the type B diet?

You may, mostly because it cuts refined grains, added sugars, and ultra-processed foods. That works for almost any diet that does the same thing.

Why do some people feel much better on it?

Usually because it displaces highly processed foods with whole foods, which improves how most people feel. That doesn’t require blood-type biology.

Is there any modern research reviving the theory?

No large, high-quality clinical trial has shown blood-type-specific effects on health outcomes. Some small mechanistic studies persist, but they haven’t translated into practice recommendations from major nutrition or medical bodies.

What’s a more evidence-based way to eat?

Mediterranean, DASH, and generally plant-forward whole-food patterns have decades of research behind them for cardiometabolic health. They don’t restrict foods based on blood type, and they consistently outperform fad diets.

Medical Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes and doesn’t replace personalized medical advice. Do not use the blood type diet as a substitute for evidence-based dietary guidance for a diagnosed medical condition (diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, food allergy, etc.). If you have any chronic condition, are pregnant, or plan a significant dietary change, discuss it with your clinician or a registered dietitian first. Restricting nutritious foods (like chicken, lentils, or tomatoes) based on blood type alone can create unnecessary nutritional gaps.

Medically reviewed by: Franco Cuevas, MD

Edited by: Damla Sengul, Food Editor