I ordered my first book from Dr. D'Adamo's Health Library and it arrived yesterday. Suddenly I'm reading the explanations behind some of the super-beneficial food designations I've seen on TYPEbase4. I had all of the Type O secretor food designations memorized, but so many foods have changed, that I'm having to look everything up on the list again.

I did not want to write about menopause. First of all, it's a rather personal topic. Second, it's of no interest to any men or to women under 40. I'm going to give a little background on why I bought the book. From then on, I hope to focus on what I'm learning from the Health Library. That information would be just as useful if you were thinking of buying the books on diabetes, fatigue or allergies.

I was almost through menopause when I started the Blood Type Diet. I was fortunate. I had coasted through with warm flashes instead of hot flashes. I was a little more impatient, but I had no depression or any of the other psychological changes that frequently accompany menopause. Every time I talked with a struggling friend, I realized that I was blessed.

Then last year the lack of estrogen made my tissues dry out. My doctor uses the word atrophy, but dry more accurately describes what I experienced. I will not bore you with how I felt or what self measures I tried. If I had recognized that my symptoms were related to menopause sooner, I would have bought the book sooner. Perhaps then things wouldn't have gotten so bad. However, when I had two bladder infections in one month, I knew it was time to see my doctor.

I started the conversation by saying I did not want to do Hormone Replacement Therapy. To my surprise and delight, he agreed. He had recently read follow up statistics to the study about HRT and cancer, and he does not prescribe it except in extreme circumstances. He mentioned hormone cream, and then proceeded to tell me that while the risk was less than with oral hormones, there was a systemic effect and that the hormones did show up in blood tests. He said, before I prescribe it, you must be aware of the risk. He had another alternative for the bladder infections, which I am currently using, but I'm hoping that the specific diet for menopause will eliminate the need for it soon.

I should have started at the front of the book and read straight through, but I turned to the food lists first. There are some significant changes! Two new categories have been added: super beneficial and neutral allowed infrequently. The book says that neutral allowed infrequently foods should be eaten rarely, if at all. I noticed that sweet potatoes are still beneficial, but yams have moved to neutral allowed infrequently. In my grocery store, the words sweet potato and yam are used interchangeably. Fortunately the explanation under yam on TYPEbase4 cleared up this mystery. If you buy it in the US, it's almost certain to be a sweet potato and not a yam.