While we were talking on the phone with our son last night, he mentioned a friend who runs with him. The friend is very interested in nutrition, but does not know his blood type. He recently tried increasing the amount of vegetables he ate, and decreasing all other foods. He experienced a noticeable improvement in muscle mass.

My son wanted to know if this meant his friend is probably an A. The question sent me back to "Live Right". Certainly an A would notice improvements in physique by increasing his percentage of vegetables. However, if he is an O and he replaced grains with vegetables, he would also see a benefit. Without knowing his blood type, he would not know what kind of protein he needed.

While I was reading, I stumbled across the answer to a nagging question about my daughter.

Her brother was a track star at our school, so when she was in 6th grade everyone assumed she would run track. She pushed herself through the long workouts, wondering why she didn't love it the way he did. At track meets a scary thing began to happen. When her race was over she would be very light headed. Once she fainted, stumbling and falling at the finish line. I was concerned and took her to the doctor. The doctor was puzzled. He found nothing wrong with her heart. He could have sent us for expensive tests, but his instinct was that she was a healthy girl. The dizziness at the end of races continued, not only in track but in swimming as well.

She eventually gave up track and swimming. She is now focused on twirling, a sport that involves coordination, stretching, and music. She loves it, her muscle tone is even better than when she was running, and it never makes her dizzy.

Today in "Live Right 4 Your Type," I found this paragraph, "While it is fine for Type As to participate in more intense physical activity when you're healthy and in good condition, be aware that these forms of exercise do not act as safety valves for stress in your blood type...The warning signs that you're overdoing it include: chronically cold hands, excessive fatigue two hours after exercise, or lightheadedness upon standing."

I'm glad to know why. I'm also glad her instincts led her to a sport that is well suited to Type A.