Suzanne Graham

Our son is home from graduate school for a week. He is taking many interesting classes as he works toward being a doctor of physical therapy. One that fascinated me was a class he nicknamed “diseases I will never treat.” It is about symptoms of diseases that physical therapists must recognize before they start treatment. If another disease is present, it is important to refer the patient to the proper specialist. It was a very difficult course, but it was practical and necessary.

At lunch today, I asked him what he and his roommate do about food. He said, “I don’t eat out much, Mom.” He fixes himself a sandwich and fruit before he leaves for class. He eats his sack lunch at the hospital.

For dinner, he fixes meat and frozen vegetables. He eats a lot of frozen chicken breasts and ground beef patties. He and his roommate don’t cook together, but his roommate also prepares most of his food in the apartment.

He said, “I don’t eat as healthy at school, as I do at home, but I do try to eat right.”

This really makes me glad. As heavy as his class load is, I couldn't have blamed him if he had been picking up fast food in desperation. But he is not. He is making a conscious decision to focus on vegetables, meat, and fruit.

I asked if any classes in nutrition were part of his program. He said that they had studied how protein, carbs, and fats were metabolized in physiology. They haven't studied diet. He agrees that it is important, particularly with people who are trying to lose weight to minimize joint pain. I hope that when he has his own practice that he can share some of what he knows about healthy eating and the Blood Type Diet.