Choosing the right food: Is it in your blood?

Choosing the best food to eat has become something of a minefield, as we are bombarded with complicated, confusing and sometimes conflicting nutritional information.

But for adherents of the blood type diet, one restaurant has made ordering the right meal easy.

All of you have to do is say the word, or more precisely, the letter. Healthy Choice in Mega Kuningan's Bellagio Boutique Mall is Jakarta's first organic blood type cuisine restaurant.

Whether your blood type is O, A, B or AB, the restaurant offers a selection of tasty meals tailored to your blood group.

From dory tofu soup and cranberry vegetarian fried rice to sirloin flank steak with mint sauce and yaki don fried noodles, the menu includes a wide range of options categorized according to the four blood types.

The restaurant is one of seven Healthy Choice restaurants in Jakarta that promote healthy eating and living.

The menu is based on the theories of naturopath Peter J. D'Adamo, the author of Eat Right 4 Your Type.

The Eat Right 4 Your Type diet is built on the idea that our blood contains various antigens depending on our blood type and these antigens react positively or negatively to lectins in the different food we eat, rejecting assumptions that everyone's body digests food in the same way.

Therefore, our blood types determine which foods should be included or avoided in our diet, and which are neutral.

It is also based on the theory that blood types evolved at different times and our food consumption should mirror the food that our ancestors ate.

For example, according to D'Adamo, O was the original blood type and was identified in the hunter-gatherer period.

On that basis, O blood types should eat a meat-heavy diet, similar to that of the hunters.

Passionate restaurant co-owner and naturopath, Riani Susanto, first became interested in healthy eating 12 years ago while suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome-like symptoms.

After much experimentation, she concluded that the solution lay in eating organic foods - foods grown and produced without chemicals, preservatives or hormones.

Riani decided to spread the word about healthy eating through the Healthy Choice restaurant chain.

"I don't say people cannot eat cake. I just say that if you don't eat cake everyday then you can have another 10 years to enjoy the cake."

When she initially read D'Adamo's books, Riani was a little skeptical, but on completing the series, she thought the theory made sense and decided the blood type diet would be the theme for her next restaurant.

She compiled the menu based on the foods prescribed in the blood type diet and the organic ingredients that were available, before refining the menu according to Asian tastes.

Riani believes that the Eat Right 4 Your Type diet can help to control weight, reduce fatigue and allergies, improve the functioning of the liver and even help with fertility.

"People think that the doctor will always be there waiting for you, that the cure is always there. People do not appreciate prevention," she says.

"We have to take responsibility for our own health - we cannot give that to the doctor."

But Soekirman, a professor in nutrition science at Bogor Agricultural University, has little faith in the diet.

"There is no scientific basis behind it at all. It is science fiction," he laughs. "It is an interesting read, like a novel."

In Soekirman's opinion, there is no consensus in the scientific community that O was the original blood type. He also asserts that there is no research published to back up D'Adamo's theories.

So why has the diet gained so much popularity?

"It is successful because it results in weight loss," he says.

"Of course if you eat only certain foods, automatically your weight goes down because it is not a complete diet. According to nutrition science, this is not a healthy diet."

Soekirman argues that the best diet is a balanced one consisting of a large proportion of carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables and smaller amounts of dairy, fats and sugars.

He does agree, however, that the appropriate diet varies from individual to individual.

"It should be according to the needs of the person. It will be different for the old and young, for the pregnant and the overweight," he says.

"It should be based on the condition of the person, not the blood type."

Soekirman believes it will take some time before Indonesians prioritize a healthier diet.

"Food patterns will follow what is happening in the West in developed countries - more fat and sugars. That is the trend we are afraid of."

However, TV host and presenter, Sophie Navita, believes the reason organic food has not taken off in Indonesia is because it is more expensive and offers limited ingredients.

Despite this, Sophie turned to organic eating when she was pregnant with her first child, because she believed it was a much healthier option in the long run.

"And it really tastes good. Usually healthy food wouldn't taste as good, but it went beyond my expectations!" she says.