A comment from Joan and a line in Catherine's blog got me thinking about how I make practical decisions about living life on the Blood Type Diet.

I've condensed a paragraph from Catherine's blog. "A big chunk of my money has gone on health supplements and foods. I can't help feeling resentful about that sometimes…There are so many different approaches and brands…Practitioners and manufacturers are also trying to make money so how do you know who to trust?"

Joan's comment (after I wrote about my daughter taking protein bars on a mission trip) was: "What soy protein bars did she get?" I could imagine Joan thinking - "Suzanne has found a blood type friendly protein bar!!!"

My store has an entire shelf of protein bars. They cost as little as 75 cents and as much as $3. To be honest, I didn't read the ingredients and I don't remember the brand name. I had my daughter pick soy bars that sounded good to her and were a dollar or less. The way I looked at it - if she chose it herself she would eat it. If the first ingredient was soy protein, it would be infinitely better for her (Type A) than chips, candy bars or other vending machine snacks.

I could have read the labels and picked something expensive that she didn't want. What would be the point of that? I walked a fine line between being strictly on the diet and being practical.

I face the same sort of decisions at the grocery store. Organic carrots cost about the same as regular carrots, so I buy organic. Organic fruit is way too expensive for my budget, so I buy regular. At the meat counter, I can choose between cheap commercial chicken, moderately priced no-hormone chicken or expensive organically fed chicken. I go for the middle. In supplements, I choose capsules over tablets because they are better absorbed, and I buy moderately priced, respected brands at a health food store.

I have to be practical. How long would my family go along with the Blood Type Diet if I spent so much money on rare foods and supplements that we had to disconnect the satellite TV or buy generic tennis shoes? Not Long!!

Some of you are horrified at what I just wrote. Most of you are breathing a sigh of relief. Like Catherine, your budget won't allow you to buy the best all the time. Don't be resentful, and trust your own good judgment. Maximize the beneficials; minimize the avoids. You will feel better, and you will be less stressed.