I recently realized that it has been quite some time, years actually, since I studied the beneficial food lists for B secretors. I know the avoids quite well, thank you very much, but hadn’t thought much about emphasizing the beneficials, let alone the 70/30 ratio of bene’s to neutrals that is considered optimum. So, I got out my dog-eared copy of Live Right to review the beneficial listings and test to see if any of my usual foods were actually beneficial. And I prepared myself to fail miserably.

Surprise!! Not only were most of my favorite foods in the beneficial category, almost ALL of the foods I consume on a regular basis are beneficial. I hadn’t realized that. Then I reviewed: of the beneficials, which ones don’t I eat. Hmmm...some interesting findings here...

Of the beneficial fruits and vegetables, the only ones I never eat are collard greens and papaya; I don’t know how to cook collard greens and I just don’t like papaya. All the others are regulars with the exception of shitake mushrooms, mustard greens which I love but aren’t often available, cabbage, which I use on occasion... and beets.

Now beets are an interesting story. I enjoy beets quite a bit but I live with a family of males whose urine turns red after eating beets. Every time I prepare beets for a meal, I tell the menfolk, “Now remember, if your pee is red in the next day or two, it is from the beets".

They never remember.

After several times of frantic-looking faces in the day following beet consumption, and constant reminders, “You had beets for dinner last night... remember?”, I’ve decided it’s just not worth the stress.

The only oil I buy is olive oil and I use it for all baking, cooking...everything. I thought I wouldn’t like the distinctive olive taste in baked goods, but it isn’t noticeable.

Grains, beans, and nuts: I eat all of the beneficials; I even eat black walnuts when my father brings me a bag he has gathered, although this is admittedly a rare occurrence.

Dairy: I do have difficulty with goat’s milk and goat cheese; I think it is an acquired taste and I am making numerous attempts to acquire it... All the others are high on my list except farmer’s cheese, paneer (what’s that?), and kefir. Now, I don’t know why I stopped buying kefir. I really do like it. When my boys were toddlers, I put kefir in juice bar molds and froze for delicious yogurt pops...sounds good, doesn’t it? I just might have to take that up again.

Now we come to meat and fish... The only beneficial meat I eat is lamb. And of the plethora of beneficial fish, I eat salmon, halibut, and sardines, and sometimes cod, sole and mahimahi. I can take amnesty in my lack of fish consumption, living far from the ocean there just isn’t much fresh fish for sale, and the fish that is available has not seen the water in several days. But I really do feel the need to experiment more with beneficial meat, like rabbit and venison... particularly after my last blog on the glory of protein.

Well, there you have it. I sure learned something. Without thinking about it, the BTD has become a way of life, structuring my choices from backstage. I remember making small choices along the way... learning how to substitute spelt for wheat in recipes, figuring out what vegetables my type A husband and I CAN eat together and emphasizing those in meals, eating oats or millet for breakfast instead of boxed cereals, ground turkey for beef... but I don’t remember when it coalesced into a whole.

So, if you are struggling with making BTD changes to your lifestyle...Take Heart! It’s the small changes that add up over the long haul. And perhaps some day, you too, will realize that the BTD has become a way of life without much effort.