I said a week or so ago that I would tell you a story about my children and milk. No story is told without a purpose, and the purpose of this story is three fold. 1. There is a certain natural inclination toward foods that are beneficial and away from foods that are avoid. (It's not 100% accurate, but it's there). 2. You can train yourself to like something that is avoid. 3. Once a taste is developed for an avoid, giving it up may prove very difficult.

I nursed both of my children for a year. During the first year of his life, my son hardly ever tasted milk. My husband and I were so thrilled to have him that we took him with us everywhere, rarely leaving him with a sitter. The only time he had a bottle was if he was staying in the church nursery.

As he entered his second year, I introduced him to milk and he didn't like it. I had read pros and cons about milk, and had decided to believe the pros. It looked to me like milk was the best source of calcium for a growing boy. I tried all kinds of bribes but none worked, until one day at the grocery store he noticed a brand of milk that had a bright green label and a green cap. Green was his favorite color. "Look Momma," he said, "green milk." I not only looked, I bought that brand. At home I asked if he would like to try the green milk. "Can I have it in a green glass," he asked, "with a straw?" I agreed, thinking how wonderful this turn of events was. And so my son learned to drink milk. More than that, he learned to love it.

My nephew is also Type O, and he also hated milk. One night we went out to eat together and my son ordered milk in a little carton. His cousin watched in envy as the carton was opened and the straw unwrapped. The next thing we knew he was begging for milk. My sister was delighted. My nephew still loves milk today.

My daughter was different. She was not fooled by colored caps or straws. She hated milk, and would drink it only if threatened and only if it was ice cold. One year on vacation she refused to drink milk from the ice chest because it was not cold enough. It developed into a conflict of wills. Dad and I said, "No snacks, no desserts, unless you drink your milk." She did not drink. She was 4 or 5 at the time, and she watched everyone around her eating treats with a stoic expression. One of the happiest days of her life was when I said, "According to the Blood Type Diet, milk is not good for you. You never have to drink another glass."

My daughter stubbornly followed her natural inclination. My son and nephew developed a taste for an avoid. Now, though the boys know that milk is not good for them, they don't want to give it up.

Think about the avoids that are the hardest for you to stop eating. Try to remember what pressure or bribe or tradition made you overcome your body's warning signals. Don't think about how that avoid tastes when you are eating it. Think about how it makes you feel an hour or a day later.