I'm always behind on reading magazines. I just finished a summer Reader's Digest that had an article called "19 Diet Tips." It was mostly about lifestyle strategies to help people eat less. (i.e. start your meal with soup and you will eat less during the meal). However there were two points that drove home Blood Type Diet truths.

"Think quality, not quantity"

The article said, "The French snub processed diet foods not found in nature, opting instead for high quality meats, fish, produce, dairy, even desserts. When food is fresh and flavorful, you can be satisfied with smaller portions. This is the opposite of the American approach, which is to fill up on bland diet foods, then gorge on sweets later."

My daughter laughs at her friends who have a diet soda and a bag of chips for lunch and think they are cutting back. I am horrified when I look at faddish low carb foods that are way overpriced and filled with artificial ingredients. Once our son caught a ride back to college with a girl whose mother loaded a case of a popular weight loss liquid meal in her car.

One of the things I love about the Blood Type Diet is that it is built around normal fresh food: meats and fish, fruits and vegetables, whole grains. Good food simply prepared without additives is satisfying in a multitude of ways.

"Go for color"

The article said, "Not only does color make food more attractive, but consciously seeking out colorful foods is a great way to bulk up your meals without a lot of calories. A Cornell University study of 6,500 adults in rural China found that while the Chinese ate about 30 % more than the average American male, they weighed about 25 % less, largely because they ate a lot of plant based foods. The Japanese aim for five colors at each meal: red, blue-green, yellow, white and black, including things like red peppers, squash, broccoli, onions, black beans or black olives."

For every one of the blood types the largest portions per day are in vegetables. I eat a lot of food - sometimes I'm embarrassed by how high I pile my plate. But almost all of it is vegetable, fruit, and meat. I am satisfied at the end of a meal and my weight is stable. The vegetables are not only filling, but they give me enough variety to keep me from becoming bored with my diet.

I aim for 10 fruits or vegetables a day. I try for at least 2 green, two orange and 1 white vegetables. The Japanese goal of 5 colors at every meal is setting the bar even higher.