However, over the last couple of years, she says she started to feel depressed, as if she was living in a fog.
"I was starting to become unmotivated and tired and I was losing my zest, my ambition. It was really baffling for me," she said.
But then she says a trip to her doctor seemed to change everything.
"The first thing she said to me was 'What's your blood type? I said 'O' and she said 'You should be eating beef three times a week.'"
"I came home and cooked myself a steak!"
Lisa says after altering her diet according to her blood type she immediately felt a change.
"I was immediately becoming more energized, more motivated, happier, stable mood."
Doctor Peter D'Adamo wrote the book "Eat Right for Your Type."
He claims that your blood type reflects your internal chemistry, and also determines the way your body absorbs nutrients.
"When you have that information you can see which foods are going to be more friendly or unfriendly to your immune system based on how they work in your digestive track," Dr. D'Adamo said.
D'Adamo breaks down his diet by the four blood types: A, B, AB, and O. He believes eating "right for your type" is the solution to staying healthy, living longer and reaching your ideal weight.
The diet plan works like this:
- Type A blood types do well on vegetarian diets, rich in soy and plant based proteins. They should limit most animal proteins
- Type B does well with cultured dairy products and certain animal protein. But, B's should avoid eating chicken.
- Type AB should eat turkey and a diet rich in rice rather than pasta. AB's should avoid corn
- Type O blood types are natural carnivores. This diet thrives on lean meats, poultry, and fish. Type O's don't do well with wheat.
According to D'Adamo, eating according to your blood type can also help build immunity to illness and even help prevent or improve certain health conditions.
But, there are critics.
"It's a good idea for a book, but there's no science behind it," said Dr. Gary Foster of The Obesity Center at Temple University.
Dr. Gary Foster is a weight loss expert. He says while the structure of the diet may help people eat healthier, there's no proof the four blood types respond differently to certain foods. He also said eating accordingly won't magically help anyone lose weight.
"You could make just as good a case saying you should eat based on your height, based on your eye color, but those factors don't impact weight loss. What impacts weight loss is calories," said Dr. Foster.
Lisa wasn't looking to lose weight, instead she was just looking to feel better. She does, and says that's all the proof she needs.
"When you see your own grey hair moving back to brown, you know your body is moving in the right direction."
Dr. D'Adamo also says eating for your blood type can also help improve some medical problems such as rheumatoid arthritis and some thyroid conditions.
While there's no proof different blood types react differently to different foods, just like chicken soup, if it makes you feel better and it's not going to harm you, then go for it.
