Having a blood type O is a blessing in my opinion, and besides being the universal donor, here is what else you should know about your blood type and the benefits and characteristics it brings to your body and personality.
Blood type determination
Was first discovered in the 1900s by Karl Landsteiner. Blood types are classified according to the presence or absence of certain antigens in the blood. These antigens can make your immune system attack the antigens from the transfused blood and make a harm to the organism, if the transfused blood isn’t a match with your own blood. That’s why it is absolutely crucial to know your blood type ever since youngest age.
Universal donors
Actually, the only universal blood donors are the individuals with type O- blood. They can transfuse blood to all the blood types and all the sub-blood types -RH+ and RH-. The O+ blood type can only donate blood to blood types with a positive RH. A type O- blood is safest to be transfused to babies whose immune systems are not fully developed, such as premature born babies.
Type O only receives from type O
On the other hand, when it comes to transfusing blood to type O individuals, unfortunately, they can only receive from their own blood type. While the blood type O- is the universal donor, it can only receive blood from another blood type O- donor.
Health risks
Even though the field which connects the blood type and the immunity towards certain diseases is not fully discovered yet, there are scientific theories that claim that people who have a blood type O can be more susceptible to some infections than the other blood groups. Diseases like plague, mumps, tuberculosis, salmonella and cholera are in this group. The study also confirmed that “blood type O individuals have a 35% higher incidence of duodenal ulcers compared to people with A, B, and AB blood types”.
Health benefits
Blood type O individuals have the lowest risk to develop coronary heart disease, pancreatic cancer, circulatory diseases and cognitive disorders in the later period of life. This doesn’t mean that if you’re a blood type O, you should depend on your genes only and don’t maintain a healthy and sporty lifestyle!
Antigens
The blood types A, B and AB have the presence of the A, B or A and B antigens in the red blood cells, while the type O has both in the plasma. Also, statistic shows that type O+ is the most common blood type, which is recorded to 52% of the human population of people from different ethnic backgrounds and racial groups.
Personality traits
Another study that hasn’t been fully researched and developed yet claims that there’s a certain connection between the blood type and the personality and character of the individual. This theory is particularly popular in Japan. In Japanese culture it is believed that an individual with a blood type O is passionate, generous, sociable and financially stable and successful. They also believe that the best romantic, partner match for an individual with a blood type O is an individual with a blood type A.
Diet plan
Blood type diets have proven to be very successful and promising. Nutrition and scientific facts have proven that people with blood type O should choose high-protein foods and eat lots of meat, vegetables, fish, and fruit but limit grains, beans, and legumes. To lose weight, seafood, kelp, red meat, broccoli, spinach, and olive oil are best; wheat, corn, and dairy are to be avoided.
