Because I am in good health, I find that “just a little bit” of an avoid does not bother me. As I’ve said many times, I don’t eat avoids at home. But when I am at a friend’s home, I am a gracious guest. When I am in a restaurant, I look for the best choices I can find and do not stress over hidden avoids. . However in the last few days, too many “just a little bits” caught up with me and reminded me of why I have stayed with the BTD for seven years.

Last week I had “just a little bit” of cake. It was the social thing to do at the time. My weight popped up two pounds the next day, as it always does when I eat wheat, but I didn’t notice any other ill effects.

Monday my husband and I ate at a Chinese buffet. We love this restaurant because it is MSG free and the vegetables are fabulous. I stayed away from all of the breaded foods, but I know there were avoids in the sauces and melted cheese on one of the vegetables.

Yesterday I met with my book club. While I am the only one on the BTD, most of the ladies are interested in health. I have talked about BTD books, and others also bring in diet books and cook books. There are always healthy choices among the snacks. Yesterday’s hostess had lots of fresh fruit. She also had an egg casserole and cake. I stayed away from the cake, putting lots of fresh fruit and some eggs on my plate.

I thought I was compliant until I took my first bite of the eggs. This was more like French toast casserole. It was layers of white bread with eggs and cheese in between. There was also a layer of sausage hidden on the bottom.

Last night my stomach was gurgling. This morning my weight is up again, and my stomach is not happy. I have that heavy, burning feeling that I lived with for more than 10 years before I found Dr. D’Adamo’s book.

I will be ok. After I post this blog, I’ll fix myself some ginger juice and water. Today will be a beneficial only day, and by tomorrow morning, my stomach will feel right again. The weight is water weight and it will vanish as suddenly as it appeared as soon as the wheat is out of my system.

I still believe that people are more important than things, and that “just a little bit” of an avoid is better than ruining a relationship. This experience, however, was a good reminder, that even the “little bits” are causing inflammation, and that the cumulative effect over several days is not good.

When I think of grief, I think of sorrow, sadness, and regret. I was not consciously grieving in a traditional way, so I was caught off guard by my mood and my physical symptoms.

I can see how someone who has no assurance of a better life after death could be overwhelmed with grief after a parent dies, but I can back up my assurance for my Mom and Dad with many scriptures. I have grieved with friends who have faced the deaths of children and spouses. There is great sorrow, even when there is knowledge that they will meet again in heaven.

However after watching my Mom cope bravely with life for four months paralyzed and unable to speak, there was a lot of relief and solace mixed with the sadness when she passed away. I moved toward settling legal issues and resuming my life. Yet something was missing. It was hard to define. There was a spark, an enthusiasm, that just wasn’t there. I found myself skipping exercise and snacking at night. Healthy snacks, of course, I was smarter than to sink to eating avoids.

Most upsetting, I began to have indigestion – for the first time since starting the BTD 7 years ago.

A series of e-mails with my sister, led us both to realize that we were grieving. I described my mood as mentally active but emotionally lethargic. She said that we had been so focused on Mom, that we had never grieved for Dad. I said that I wasn’t sad, but there was a hole in my life.

Once I realized that I was experiencing grief in an unexpected way, I began to take action. I’m doing a better job of planning my exercise. I’m getting more sleep. I’m listening to less news and more music.

Nutritionally I bought some fresh ginger and juiced it. I also increased my ghee intake. I’m encouraged, just two days on ghee and ginger has almost totally eliminated the feelings of indigestion.

Now that I know I’m grieving, I understand that it will be a process. There won’t be any shortcuts. I am confident that faith will lead me through. And in the meantime, I’m glad that beneficial food will relieve the physical symptoms.

My Honorable Husband paid me the biggest compliment possible. He was happily eating a piece of fruitcake, and he was shocked to find out that I had made it. He thought it was a piece of genuine Collin Street Bakery Fruit Cake. DD and I have succeeded in developing a fruit cake that is 100% compliant and mostly beneficial for all Types.

For the cake part, you are going to use a variation on the Walnut Torte recipe on the Blood Type Diet Recipe Center.

Torte Ingredients:
4 eggs (separated)
6 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups finely ground walnuts.
1 cup dates, cut into pieces

Other Ingredients
4 cups chopped pecans
1 cup dried pineapple, chopped
1 cup dried papaya, chopped
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cherries.

Mix the pecans and chopped dried fruit in a large bowl. Spray a tube pan with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whirl the egg yolks, honey, vanilla and dates in a food processor until they are creamy. (The dates are the key to making the fruit cake stick together.) Stir the ground walnuts into the creamy mixture. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold into the creamy mixture.

Pour the torte batter over the pecans and dried fruit. Mix together. I could not do this with a spoon. I used both hands. Press the fruit cake batter into the tube pan. Press it firmly, so it will stick together.

Bake until the edges of the cake start to turn brown and a toothpick comes out clean. About 45 minutes.

You may say, wait a minute what about papaya? Isn’t it Toxic for Hunters and Avoid for Type As? True, but it is also neutral for Type Os and beneficial for Teachers. DD and I have decided that if a food is good for us on either the BTD or the GTD, then we will enjoy it. It can’t be all that bad if it isn’t avoid/toxic on both diets. Especially with a fruit or a vegetable, there are phyto-nutrients that will be valuable in building health.

If you like traditional Texas fruit cake, you will enjoy this healthy BTD/GTD variety.

Experiencing BTD foods with someone new to the diet is so enlightening. Spending time with DD and one of her enthusiastic college girlfriends is so much fun. Put the two together and it guarantees a delightful weekend. My Honorable Husband spent the weekend with his mother. They had a good time, talking about family news and relaxing in front of the television. DD and a girlfriend drove in from college to visit me. We did “girl” things all weekend.

In the evenings we curled up under blankets and watched “Anne of Green Gables” movies. We laughed and cried at all of the same parts. I think all of us are just a little bit in love with Gilbert Blythe. On Saturday we drove to a quaint shopping area and strolled in and out of the shops, looking at antiques and designer clothes.

It has been rainy for a week or more, and it is raining again today. But the skies cleared and the sun was out on Saturday. After we got in from shopping, the girls studied for a while, then we all went for a run up and down the hills near our home. All of that would have made it an outstanding Girl Weekend, but there was one more element that made it perfect.

DD’s friend has been interested in diet and exercise for a long time. DD recently introduced her to the BTD, and she immediately saw how well it fit with her natural inclinations toward food. She is Type AB, which is the blood type I knew least about. She has been eliminating avoid foods, and is ready to introduce new fruits and vegetables. The three of us cooked up a storm.

Friday night I cooked salmon with broccoli and butternut squash. DD had never tried butternut squash. Her friend had never tried it with cinnamon. Saturday night we had ground turkey, rutabaga, onions, and sweet potato fries. It is amazing how people wince at the word rutabaga, but how much they enjoy it cooked with olive oil, cinnamon, cloves and onion. Saturday night I smoked a turkey. So when we came in from church, we sliced the turkey and pulled out all of the leftover vegetables including some black beans and mustard greens that I had fixed for myself one day for lunch. It was a feast.

I had a refrigerator full of fruit including grapes cherries, grapefruit, apples, pears and persimmons. By far the best thing we ate was fruit cake. Ever since New Years, DD and I have been eager to tweak our fruit cake recipe. In an earlier blog I reported that it tasted really good, but that it didn’t hold together, and I could not slice it. This time it came out both beautiful and delicious. I’ll share the recipe next time.

Before the girls left to drive back to college, we did a kick boxing video together. It was so reaffirming that I could hold my own exercising with those two 20 year olds.

I thought today that I was getting old.

I haven’t ridden my bicycle in a month or more. I ride once a week when the weather is mild. In the summer I get an early start before the temperatures get too hot. But I can’t generate any enthusiasm for riding in the cold. It’s just not fun. December and January have been cold months, and there haven’t been many good riding days. But this afternoon it was sunny and the temperature was 63. I put on my helmet and started out.

As I pedaled up the first hill, I didn’t feel stable. When I got to the top and started down it was worse. This is a long hill with a curve in the road about half way down. I usually enjoy the wild ride, braking only a little on the curve. Today I had no confidence. I applied the brakes all the way down. Now I was worried about myself. Was I getting too old to bicycle? Was I coming down with some dread disease – I’ve been reading a book about a man with Lou Gehrig’s disease, and his first symptom was instability.

The farther I road, the worse it got. I could hardly keep the bike on the road. I felt like I was leaning. I seriously considered turning back.

When I ride I listen to sermons on my MP3 player. I realized that I was having trouble hearing the words of the sermon. There was so much more wind noise than usual. Wind. I looked at the grass. It was waving back and forth; so were the tree branches. I found out later that the wind was 10 miles per hour with gusts up to 25. I was literally being blown off of the road.

In my neighborhood roads follow the curves of the hills, so none of them run north/south or east/west. One minute the wind was at my back, the next minute I was pedaling into a gust. But it was such a relief to know that there was a reason for the feelings of unsteadiness. Gradually I got used to the wind, and I began to pedal faster and enjoy myself more. The last hill before I arrived home I coasted down at full speed. It was exhilarating. I feel young again!

I came across a reference to an old hymn today. I’ve never heard it sung in church but the words are wonderful. It’s called “Be Gone Unbelief,” and the reason I mention it here, is because way back in the mid 1800s this hymn writer was acquainted with one of Dr. D’s principles.

Here is what he wrote:
Since all that I meet shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet, the medicine is food;

Is that not remarkably similar to “For you, some food acts like medicine.”

Here are the lines that got me interested in the hymn:
His way was much rougher and darker than mine;
Did Jesus thus suffer, and shall I repine?

One of the confirming things when I first went on the Blood Type Diet was the way that peanuts and cheddar cheese affected me. I had always loved both of those foods, but they were rated as avoids. After I had been on the BTD for a few weeks, and had felt such good results, I had to experiment and find out what would happen if I tried to eat a few old favorite avoids. Peanuts and cheese made me noticeably sleepy. I thought back and remembered times when I had taken them as snacks in the car on long road trips. I would get so sleepy that I had to ask my husband to drive.

The ladies from my church brought dinner to us after Mom’s funeral. There was lots of really delightful and healthy food. However one of the dishes was King Ranch Casserole. Oh, how I used to love King Ranch Casserole! It is a Mexican chicken meal with corn tortillas, peppers, and melted cheddar cheese. I couldn’t resist a small portion.

After dinner my sister and I did the dishes. We were suddenly so tired. We had planned to do some paper work, but both of us were yawning and falling asleep. We blamed it on the stress of the weekend and the long drive home. Both of us went to bed early.

I woke up the next morning bright eyed and full of energy. That’s when it hit me. We weren’t sleepy because of stress. We were both Type Os, and we were sleepy because of cheddar cheese. My sister, because she lives in Europe, eats a lot of cheese. She is often tired at night, and tries to go to bed early.

I don’t regret the delicious taste of the King Ranch Casserole. It was a treat to be enjoyed once in a long while. However, I’m also glad I know the effect that cheese has on my Type O body. It’s much nicer tonight to be alert and productive after dinner. If I needed any confirmation that cheddar cheese is avoid for me, I certainly got it.

It is a good thing when the Blood Type Diet has become so ingrained that I can go on auto pilot. I haven’t thought a lot about blogging or meal planning or recipes in the past two weeks. I’m pleased that the habits I’ve developed over the past 6 ½ years have kept me eating right without any effort on my part. I have stayed alert and energetic and healthy through a stressful time.

My Mom passed away a week ago. When I look back, I realize that she did pretty well in therapy during September, October, and the first half of November. She didn’t regain any use of her right leg. She made a little progress with her right hand and her speech, but frankly not much. However she was remarkably cheerful considering the huge change that took place in her life because of the stroke.

The week of Thanksgiving things began to change. She began to be in pain. She got an infection in her leg that sent her to the hospital. She began to eat and drink less. During December she had good days and bad days. Being an optimist, I focused on the good days, but by Christmas the bad days were outweighing the good.

My Mom has always loved to eat. Even after the stroke, she ate the pureed foods with gusto and pleasure. But after Thanksgiving, eating seemed to cause distress. Since she couldn’t speak she couldn’t tell me what she was feeling. One friend told me that his mother’s stroke caused her bowel to shut down. When she ate there was nowhere for the food to go. That’s one possibility. Nausea from the pain medication is another. Perhaps she had another stroke. I don’t know.

What I do know is that her eating became a point of conflict for us. I pushed her to eat and drink more. She began to enjoy my visits less and less. I reached a point where I realized that if God was calling her home, and her body was shutting down, that I didn’t want to spend our remaining time together in a power struggle. One day I told the aids that I wasn’t coming for meals any more. I said that I hoped they would continue to try to get her to drink, but that I just wanted to love on her.

I would sit by her bed, holding her hand, and chatting into her headphones about the events of the day. She began to smile at me again, and I realized that she knew what was the most important. She passed away very peacefully one morning, and is now reunited with my Dad and in the presence of her dear Savior, Jesus Christ.

Since I don’t keep avoids in the house, I didn’t eat avoids. I would go into the kitchen and think, I haven’t had greens today. Then I would go to the freezer and pull out a bag of collard greens or turnip greens. I would think I need an orange vegetable to go with the greens. Out would come a can of pumpkin or a sweet potato. I was on BTD auto pilot.

Exercise was a different matter. I was so busy that I didn’t think I had time to exercise. But DD was home from college, and she understood my Type O body better than I did. She planned our exercise. She made me go with her to the gym or work out to a tape on the TV. Of course she was right, I always felt better after a workout.

People ask me how I’m doing. Right now I am buoyed by the knowledge that my Mom is not suffering any more. The last 4-5 weeks had been painful and difficult for her. I am comforted by my assurance that she has entered heaven and is experiencing life far more abundant than is possible on this earth. I am very busy with paperwork and the many tasks that have yet to be done, so I don’t have time to be sad.

Physically I feel fine. I think that is because of the auto pilot. I didn’t stop eating. I didn’t over eat. I didn’t eat junk. The BTD has become ingrained. I automatically ate right, and that has been a big help.

I am thankful to the Lord for many things this Thanksgiving week. Among them is thankfulness for a good osteoporosis report. Several years I blogged about Life Line Screening coming to our church to do non invasive tests that identify risk factors for stroke. Shortly after my Mom’s stroke, we got a brochure about another Life Line Screening in the town where we now live. We agreed that we should get tested again. This time, I chose to also test my risk for osteoporosis.

I have been on the Blood Type Diet since 2003, which has meant no milk and practically no dairy products for 6 years. Other dietary sources of calcium are limited. The amount of almonds or spinach to get the recommended intake for a menopausal woman would be far beyond what I could eat every day. I have wanted to try bone broth, but I have not yet found a local provider of marrow bones. I have been careful to take calcium/magnesium supplements as well as silica and Vitamin D. However, I wanted verification that my bones were still strong.

The results are in, and I am very happy to report that both HH and I were within the normal range on all of the stroke and aneurysm tests. What a relief! And I tested as low risk for osteoporosis. Hurrah!

This is not a commercial for Life Line. I have no vested interested in their company, and I’m sure there are other companies that provide a similar service. I am impressed at their reasonably priced, non invasive screenings in a non medical environment. No needles, no radiation, no embarrassment. We were tested for Carotid Artery Disease, Atrial Fibrillation, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, Peripheral Arterial Disease, and Osteoporosis. They sent two copies of their results – one for our files and one to give to our doctor.

I am thankful for the good results, and thankful that the BTD is doing what is supposed to be doing, inside, where I can’t see.

No matter how good the BTD is, it cannot cancel out the normal aging process. I see this in myself as I struggle to maintain my muscle tone in my 50s. I see it even more dramatically as my 93 year old mother tries to regain movement in her right side after her stroke.

DD does a morning Bible Study from a book by Sarah Young called Jesus Calling. The author quotes scripture passages, and then paraphrases as if Jesus were talking in first person. I’m conservative about how people translate the Word of God, and am normally suspicious of personalized translations. But DD sends me excerpts that mean a lot to her, and I have to admit that Sarah has done an excellent job in her book.

DD sent me an excerpt this morning with a note that it had depressed her. That is because she is 20 years old, and thinks that she will always have the beautiful body she has now. I read the same passage and am greatly encouraged. Life on earth is a prelude to a far greater life in Heaven with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A life where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more aging.

I follow the BTD, NOT to live forever here on earth. Who would want to do that? I follow the BTD so that I can live the most energetic and productive life here that I can. But truly abundant life – that is still to come.

Here is the quote that depressed DD and energized me.

“I am your living God, far more abundantly alive than the most vivacious person you know. The human body is wonderfully crafted, but gravity and the evitable effects of aging weight it down. Even the most superb athlete cannot maintain his fitness over many decades. Lasting abundant life can be found in Me alone. Do not be anxious about the weakness of your body. Instead, view it as the prelude to My energy’s infusing into your being. As you identify more and more fully with Me, My Life becomes increasingly intertwined with yours. Though the process of again continues, inwardly you grow stronger with the passing years. Those who live close to Me develop an inner aliveness that makes them seem youthful in spite of their years. Let My Life shine through you, as you walk in the Light with Me.”

I was feeding my Mom her dinner in one of the common rooms and the television was on. I heard the word stroke, and started to pay attention. An ad was on, that listed risk factors for strokes: high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, and age. I looked at Mom and said, “Well, except for age, you didn’t have any of the risk factors. She grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

I have learned a little about stroke in the month since Mom’s event. First I went to the BTD Encyclopedia where I learned that there are two kinds of stroke - ischemic stroke when blood flow to the brain is impaired by the blockage like a blood clot and hemorrhagic stroke which is a rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. The Encyclopedia says that Type As have a higher risk for ischemic and Type Os have a higher risk for hemorrhagic.

I did a little more research on the internet and learned that 80 – 85% of strokes are ischemic. Family history is also a factor. Neither of Mom's parents ever had a stroke, though one of her sisters did.

In the hospital, after Mom was identified as a stroke victim, they immediately put her on aspirin and a blood thinning shot. She is Type O, and I wondered if that had been the right thing to do. I have since learned from her doctor at the Rehab Facility, that her blood work indicated that her clotting factors were out of balance. He tested her several times a week until he got the right levels of medication. He has not put her on blood pressure or cholesterol medication, so evidently those readings are still normal, as they were before the stroke.

Mom is a Type O, but evidently she had an ischemic stroke anyway. It makes me wonder why.

I remember when Hall of Fame Blogger Sharon had a stroke in 2007. She also had minimum risk factors, and she followed the BTD a lot closer than my Mom did. In one of her final blogs, she also wondered why.

Everybody has heard prune jokes. People snicker at the mention of prune juice. Referring to a recipe like Prune Whip will draw gales of laughter. Even a nationally advertised soda once became suspect because of a rumor that prune juice was an ingredient. It astounds me that people who pride themselves on speaking of sexual activity in the most graphic terms without a blush, act like adolescent boys when it comes to elimination.

What a shame that such a nutrient-packed food is so maligned.

Plums (ie fresh prunes) are beneficial for every blood type. Prunes are beneficial (even super beneficial in some cases) for Type As and Type Os.

I like prunes. They naturally taste as sweet as a dessert without any of the disadvantages of refined sugar. They are delicious chopped up in my morning breakfast mix. They quickly restore my blood sugar if I’m late eating a meal. They are essential when traveling throws my normal body rhythm off.

I was happy to see that Reader’s Digest did an article in their health section on prunes, and I learned something new. Recent studies have shown that prunes are one of the best fruits for strengthening bones! They not only prevent bone loss, but animal studies indicate they may reverse it. Preliminary studies indicate that benefits come from as few as three prunes a day.

Not only do they contain bone building nutrients like boron, potassium, and vitamin K, but they are also high in disease-fighting antioxidants – a good thing to know when Swine Flu is daily in the news.

I had three prunes for breakfast this morning, and that’s not a joke.

It seems to me that there is a natural tendency for cholesterol levels to drift higher and higher every year as people get older. I haven’t read this in a study, but I talk to people whose cholesterol numbers were nicely balanced when they were 30 years old. However, the numbers were moving upward by 40 and in the warning zone at 50. By 60 they are on statins.

My own cholesterol numbers were drifting higher when I started the BTD. There was a marked improvement when I first went on the diet. But the last two years they had started to drift upwards again. My ratio was still good, but my LDL drifted above the high mark for the first time ever.

I wrote a blog in April about what I was changing in my diet to try to stop the drift.

Spinach, Okra and Cholesterol

I am thrilled to say it worked. Here are my numbers from my July cholesterol test.

Total Cholesterol: 215
Triglycerides: 60
HDL: 86
LDL: 77
Ratio: 2.5

I am not at all concerned about a total cholesterol number 15 points over the 200 level when my ratio is so good. My total cholesterol reads high because my good cholesterol is so high.

Prescription for the future:
Stay on BTD.
Stay on Niacin and Vitamin B6.
Maximize cholesterol lowering foods like grapefruit.
Never neglect exercise.
Don’t get complacent. The tendency to drift will surely continue. Like all forms of aging, it is the result of living in a decaying world with a body irrevocably marred by sin.

Pears confuse me because they are superbeneficial for Hunters, a black dot avoid for Gatherers, and neutral for Type Os. Because I’m fairly confident that I’m a Hunter, I tell myself I should eat more of them, but because they have never been one of my favorite fruits, I usually choose something else. However, in the past three weeks, I’ve eaten three varieties of pears.

My Mom always liked trying new things. Some of her finds are healthy, like cherry essence prunes - which are beneficial as well as heavenly tasting. Other finds are not so healthy, like marshmallow cream – which has no redeeming value as a food product, but it sure tastes good.

When I went to visit her three weeks ago, she had a box of apple pears. According to the box, they have been grown in California for 20 years, but they have just now made it to Texas grocery stores. Mom had been saving them until I arrived so that we could try them together. They were very crisp like a fresh apple. The flavor was more like a pear, but without any of the grittiness that pears usually have. They were very good. I wouldn’t be surprised if they grew in popularity

I went back to her house this week to clean out the refrigerator and set up an alarm system. I went to her grocery store to buy food for my two-day stay. I wanted bananas, a peach and a pear. Most of the pears were hard and green, but at last I found a bin of ripe yellow pears.

At check out, I noticed the one pear cost $1.35. I questioned the checker and was told that it was a French Butter Pear. Whatever - that was pretty expensive for a pear ($2.99 per pound)! But on impulse, and perhaps in honor of Mom, I kept it. This pear was outstandingly good. It was very juicy and very sweet. If the price on French Butter Pears went down, I’d buy them regularly.

Today I am back home. After I fed Mom her lunch – pureed beef, green beans and potatoes – I went to the grocery store. I came home with two Bartlett pears. Perhaps pears are becoming a habit with me.

I’ve followed the Blood Type Diet since 2003, and I’ve written this blog since 2004. Clearly I think the BTD matters. I’ve talked to friends and total strangers about the difference it has made in the way I feel. There should be no question in anyone’s mind that I know the BTD is important.

I’ve blogged on many occasions about restaurants and certain social situations where it is difficult if not impossible to eat right for a meal. I have advised to always be kind and gracious, never to be offensive, and to do the best you can in those complicated but brief situations. The real evidence of how much you believe the BTD is not your public posture, but what you eat in the privacy of your own home. If you eat right at home, an occasional avoid in public will do you no harm (unless of course you are celiac or have serious allergies – obviously I’m not talking about that).

But there are three circumstances when the BTD doesn’t really matter. All of those are when the desperate need of your body for calories trumps everything else. Poverty is one. People who are starving don’t think twice about potatoes in the soup, or avoid foods in a care package. Prison is another. People imprisoned or in concentration camps, may care about what they eat, but they have no leverage. They must eat what is set before them in order to stay alive.

The third is the condition my mother is in right now – critically ill. Sure it would be better for her Type O body if she ate only beneficial meats, vegetables, and fruits. If she did, it probably would give her a better chance of recovery. If I requested it, the rehab center would take away her dessert and give her double portions of meat. But the pleasure foods keep her eating, and she is as desperate for calories right now as the poorest of the poor. If a few spoons of ice cream in between the spoons of pureed meat keep her opening her mouth for more, I’ll feed them to her.

She has trouble swallowing, and liquids give her the most trouble. We have to mix a cornstarch product into her drinks to make them a honey consistency so that she doesn’t choke. Do you think I am worrying about cornstarch as an avoid? Absolutely not. She must have fluids to survive, and choking on organic pineapple juice or pure spring water could give her pneumonia. The thickener in water must not taste very good. She would rather have orange juice or cranberry cocktail. Guilt free, I spoon those juices into her mouth.

DD is home for Labor Day weekend. She went with me last night to visit her Granny. When she saw the menu she raised her eyebrows as if to ask, was I really going to let Granny eat all of that? Some of the people around her refused to eat any of their dinner last night. There is not an avoid so bad that I would not use it to keep calories and fluids going into her body. She relished the thickened milk stirred into pureed brownie. There will be time to improve her diet later on. Right now she has to have calories, and the will to work with her rehab team.

If you are reading this hoping for a way to make the Blood Type Diet practical, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. The BTD is, in my opinion, the best diet out there. It is logical. It explains why people are different and why a diet that works for me doesn’t work for my best friend. It doesn’t require a lot of special purchases to make it work. A person can shop at their local grocery store and follow the BTD.

But practical – now that’s a different matter. Dealing with multiple blood types in one family is neither practical nor easy. It is, in my opinion, well worth the effort. None of that, however, is the subject of this blog.

Two years ago we moved to the country. For a year I commuted back to the city to teach journalism at the school where my daughter was a senior. When she graduated, I resigned my teaching job and began looking for a writing, photography, or graphic design job closer to home. My timing couldn’t have been worse. I started looking about the time the markets fell apart. During the year that I have been unemployed, friends and professional contacts have told me on multiple occasions that I should go into business for myself.

Neither my husband nor myself was enthusiastic at first about starting a business, but about a month ago I began floating some trial balloons. I got some contract work that has been fun and creative. While we were on vacation, we thought and prayed about the decision, and I have launched my own business.

It is called Practical Photography & Publishing. It reflects my core belief that if you want to stay within a budget for wedding photography, if you want to have a simple, user-friendly website for a small business, or if you want to preserve valuable family pictures and documents, it should be practical for you to do so. I am not in competition with high priced photographer/artists or big name advertising agencies. I want to serve ordinary folks and help them protect their memories and grow their businesses.

I have a web site. I hope Dr. D doesn’t mind my mentioning it.

PracticalPhoto-Publishing.com

Obviously I can’t come to Ohio or Florida to photograph your wedding. But many of my services can be handled through e-mail or UPS. If I can serve you in a practical way, let me know.

I introduced my book club to the Blood Type Diet yesterday. All of the ladies were interested and receptive.

Book Babes got its start when two friends became disillusioned with the immorality and dirty language in the books they were asked to read and review for a local book club. They began a club for ladies with a little more conservative world view. Rather than assign a book for everyone to read, each lady brings two or more books from her personal collection to the meeting. You tell a little about your book. Other members can borrow it for a month.

Yesterday I took Atlas Shrugged, Lord Change Me, and Live Right 4 Your Type. The hostess served fudge, spiced cookies, strawberries, quiche, and coffee. As we were eating, one of the ladies said something about wishing she could lose some weight, but always being hungry.

I jumped in saying that was the perfect segue to one of my books. I talked about all of the popular diets and how each had statistics to prove that it was right, yet they were all in conflict. I then said that the Blood Type Diet was the best predictor of what kind of diet you would do best on. A Type A who has often wanted to be a vegetarian, but has been scared to try it because she didn’t think it was a “balanced diet” took my book. Two other ladies wrote down the title and said they were going to buy it on Amazon rather than waiting for next month.

I warned them that this was not an easy diet, pointing to my plate and explaining why I hadn’t eaten the crust to my quiche and why I had declined the fudge and cookies. I also said that I had been on this diet since 2003 and that the health benefits had been far greater than I could ever have imagined.

A quick glance at the Type O/Hunter food lists could be overwhelming because of the abundance of choices. A closer look can be disappointing, because many of the foods are not locally available, and many others are too expensive. Lamb and bison used to be in that category.

Lamb was available at my grocery store – if I wanted to pay $10 per pound for a bone-in chop. (which I will emphatically say I did not!) I well remember the day I found boneless leg of lamb at Sams Club for about the same price as a roast. Suddenly it was possible to enjoy this Type O beneficial on a regular basis. Not only that, the package says that the lamb is 100% grass fed. I know that grass fed meat or yard raised poultry is better for my body, but it’s not usually good for my budget.

Interesting, while lamb is not a popular American food, once I found a good source for it, the quality was superior to the easily available beef.

I’ve eaten bison when we’ve vacationed in Colorado and Wyoming. However for years I could not find it in Texas where I live. Once I got really excited when I saw buffalo sausage in a store, but my enthusiasm vanished when I read that the top two ingredients were buffalo and pork. No way! Last year I found buffalo hot dogs in the freezer section at the Health Food store. But they were expensive and very salty.

This week I answered an ad for a used bicycle in town 30 miles from where I live. It sounded perfect, and I drove over with every intention of buying it and going for a ride that afternoon. What a disappointment, the “like new” bike was rusty, and the seat was frozen. I couldn’t even have taken it for a test ride.

On the way home I passed an HEB grocery store in another town. I went in to pick up food for the weekend. In their meat department they had ground bison and bison steaks. Ground bison was $5 per pound; bison steak was $5 per 8 ounce package. I got two packages of ground bison and one bison steak. The package says that the bison is guaranteed natural grass fed and no hormones. I have never found grass fed beef for that price!! There is an HEB in my town, and I’m hoping they will also start carrying bison. If not, I think it would be worth a drive once every couple of months to stock my freezer with bison.

The price of the steak was more than I usually spend on meat, but I really wanted to try it. In it’s defense, it was very lean and well trimmed - no visible fat. So there was no waste. I sprinkled it with Braggs liquid aminos, and cooked it at 400 degrees in the oven. It was delicious.

Once again, when I finally find an unpopular beneficial, the price is more reasonable than many readily accepted cuts of beef. Some day perhaps I will find canistel for the same price as pears or Jew’s ear in the produce section next to mushrooms.

It is so much fun when in the middle of an innocent conversation I correctly guess someone's Blood Type. They look at me like I'm psychic. The resulting conversation is always interesting.

I am at my Mom's house for a couple of days. Her caregiver had to go out of town. The last time I was here Mom said she thought she had a cavity. She was right. Actually she had three. All are small. Two were filled today, and we'll go back for the third in March.

While I was waiting I asked the receptionist if there was a place nearby where we could get barbeque for lunch. Mom and I - both Type Os - were hungry for some good brisket. The receptionist rolled her eyes. It turns out that the dentist loves meat, but she doesn't. When he wants to take the office staff out for a treat, he takes them for barbeque. She said, "They have really good sauce, but I just don't like to eat meat."

I said, "Do you have Type A Blood?" She looked at me like I was crazy, and said, "Yes, but how did you know that?" I had fun telling her about the Blood Type Diet, and I wrote the web address down for her.

Then the dentist came out, and the conversation got even more interesting. He loves meat, and he feels guilty about it. He believes meat is bad for everyone, but he can't help craving it. I kept thinking that he had to be an O, but when I asked, he said he didn't know his Blood Type. Rats, I wanted to be two for two.

After the appointment, Mom and I drove to the restaurant. The line was long, so I felt sure that the barbeque would be as good as the dentist promised it would be. We were not disappointed!

When I look at what Dr. D says about Type Os and Vitamin E, I see the explanation of the near disaster in both of my pregnancies. I am very much aware that anecdotal evidence is not proof in science or medicine. I can't prove my theory. I can only speculate what might have happened if the BTD had been written 25 years ago.

When I found out that I was pregnant with my first child I was thrilled and delighted. I was following the best Health Food plan that I knew of at the time, and I was committed to sticking to it without compromise for 9 months. Fortunately, I had come across a pregnancy diet that stressed high protein as a way to avoid for pre eclampsia. It would have been a disastrous diet for a Type A, but it was really good for me. Unfortunately I had read that Vitamin E was important for pregnant mothers. I bought 400 iu capsules, and was taking two a day.

When I was about 8 weeks along, HH and I went to see his parents. They were as thrilled about this pregnancy as we were. HH has two sisters, but he is their only son. The day after we arrived I began spotting. They took me to the doctor, and after an examination, he told me that I was having a miscarriage, and that all I could do was go home and wait. I lay in bed all weekend, committing myself and the life of that precious baby to God. I continued spotting and we drove back home. The spotting continued for a week or so and stopped. I went back to my own doctor and he could hear the baby's heart beat. The rest of the pregnancy was trouble-free, and SS had an easy and natural birth.

Being interested in all things natural, I planned to breast feed for a year. One of the vitamins recommended was Vitamin E. Everything was going well, except that I never stopped bleeding after childbirth. Vitamin E was again the recommended treatment, so I increased my dosage, I think I was taking two or three 800 iu capsules a day. Eventually I had to have a D&C to stop the bleeding.

When HH and I began to think about another baby, I reread all of the best material I could get my hands on. Nothing I read cast aspersions on Vitamin E. When I became pregnant, I increased my Vitamin E. I didn't want spotting like I had had before. I was careful about everything - I knew I was at risk because I was now 36 years old. I well remember the sinking feeling I had when the spotting started again. It lasted a couple of weeks. I lay on the sofa all day, trying to take care of a toddler, and trying to trust that God knew what he was doing. The spotting stopped, we celebrated hearing the baby's heartbeat, and the rest of the pregnancy was a joy.

I bled a lot during childbirth. Vitamin E was universally recommended, and I took it. My doctor was perturbed that I continued to bleed, but he was more patient this time. We waited 3 months, but eventually I had another D&C. I continued to have very heavy periods, and I continued to take Vitamin E. I never made a connection between the two.

SS was 18 when I first read the BTD. I immediately recognized the connection between my chronic stomach inflammation and the "natural" wheat and dairy products I poured into my Type O body. It has taken me much longer to realize that the BTD is also right about Vitamin E and Type Os. When he was in his 80s my Type O father began to bruise easily. A little bump would leave him with a huge red and purple mark on his arms and legs. He was taking Vitamin E to protect his heart. Because of Dr. D's recommendations, I convinced him to stop the Vitamin E and take bioflavonoids instead. The bruising went away within weeks, and he never had that problem again.

I am past the age where I can experiment with Vitamin E for pregnancy or periods. However, I do not knowingly take any supplemental Vitamin E. What I get from beneficial oils and nuts will have to be enough.

I see that this blog has been linked to a pregnancy website. Because of that I need to add that while Vitamin E is avoid for those with Blood Type O, it is beneficial for Blood Type A.

This is one of those cases where someone does a study and finds out that a food or a nutrient is helpful for a high percentage of people. They don't stop to think why their technique helps some and harms others. The answer often turns out to be related to Blood Type.

Type Os with their already thin blood are harmed by substances like Vitamin E that further thin blood. Type As with their thick blood are helped by it. While I do not take Vitamin E, I do give it to my Type A husband and daughter. DD tells me that Vitamin E lotion really helps her skin. Someday when DD marries and is pregnant, I will encourage her to take Vitamine E.

DD has gone back to her university full of hope and enthusiasm. She has had several bits of really good news, and she said, “Mom, you need to blog about this.” I thought about several Type As who have written on the Forum that they wish they could gain weight. I thought about several others who deal with thyroid problems. I said, “DD, why don’t you write about it from your perspective. Your experience could be an encouragement to someone.” So today’s blog is from my Darling Daughter.

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As Marvelous Mom has blogged, I have been struggling with gaining back weight. My “Daring Experiment,” seems to be working, and I am getting close to what my weight was a year ago. I have two more pounds to gain. Then, I can level off for a while and see if my hormones will start up again. My new diet was very easy to stay on while at home for Christmas break. I was slightly worried about going to back to school though. I brought a blender back with me to make my tasty soy shakes.

The second day I was back at school, I suddenly dropped two pounds. It scared me. I began to think that the weight gain had been a fluke and that my experiment had failed. I continued to plunge ahead with the plan—eating mini-meals every 2-3 hours and emphasizing egg white protein and vegetable proteins like nuts, nut butters, and soy.

I get fresh veggies from the University dining hall every day. They have an excellent salad bar that is quite accommodating for my new eating habits. My fellow students do not think that I am eating enough—since they just see me eating fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch, and a nut butter soy shake for dinner. However, they just do not understand that I am literally eating ALL day long. I am sure that my roommate finds it strange that I drink a shake for dinner (she is much too sweet to say anything though).

The next day, after my scare, my weight was up a little, and the day after that, I was back to where I had been when I left home. My morning temperature has been in the low 98s three of the last five days, which is a huge improvement. Then I got the best news - the doctor’s office called Friday to say that my latest lab report showed my thyroid is within the normal range. I was so excited. I had a lump of happiness swell up in my throat. I immediately e-mailed my Sunday School teacher and told her of all the AMAZING and unexpected blessings that God had showered down upon me. Who would have thought that having my wisdom teeth extracted would lead to weight gain, which led to a diet breakthrough, which led to my thyroid going back to normal?!?!?!

As much as I have learned this past year about my physical, as well as spiritual, weaknesses and strengths, I ought not be worried about my weight gain. I know with all of my heart that God is going to take care of me. He has said so in so many ways—especially through this new diet.

I found this verse in my daily Bible study: Deuteronomy 8:3
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Prior to Christmas break, I was eating meat in an attempt to gain weight. I have never liked the way a whole serving of meat makes me feel. Forcing myself to eat 3 ounces of meat was very stressful, and I looked for any excuse to cut back. I knew I could gain weight by eating more bread and grains, but that's how I ended up with an unattractive kind of fat. While I can admit that I lost too much weight, if I have to gain it back, I want to gain muscle, not lumpy fat.

It was not until I came before the Lord desperate for His answer to my problem, that I finally began to see that I needed soy, egg white, and vegetable protein to gain healthy weight, nourish my thyroid, and feel better all the way around.