Today was pretty fun...  

I (being a bachelor) like to visit my female friends' (and their friends') apartment just to talk about the Blood Type Diet, and try to get people converted.  And since I go to a very conservative school, most people have never heard of this kind of thing.  Ergo I generate a lot of interest in people..mostly women, because guys don't really care about their health.  

Anyway, tonight I was reading the "personality note" sections to an apartment of five girls- 2 O's, an A, a B, and an AB.  (pretty exciting!)  and they all sat around while I read the different sections, all of us getting a kick out of Dr. D's creative writing skills.  And I read a few of his stories from different patients, trying to get my friends excited about the BTD.  It was quite entertaining.... I've found myself to be known as the Blood Type guy on campus

good for you!!

Could it be that Dr. D has secretly written this book for the purpose of helping bachelors have a topic of conversation with the ladies?

Thanks for sharing Eric!  Great story.  With a willing audience, you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish.

Haha so true!   And yeah, it does make a great ice-breaker for meeting ladies.    It's great to learn how different people view the subject of health, and watch peoples' habits in correlation with the health problems they're dealing with.  I wish everyone could see the connection as clearly as us... but I guess that's just life.

What school do you go to?
Why would a conservative school be any different than a liberal one as far a diet is concerned?

How you behave around the ladies, at least you are more likely to be gentleman!!

S S & L,
Mrs "T"     O+

I go to BYU-Idaho, a Mormon school.  People just seem to be less open-minded about a lot of things, and health is one of them.  We have this set of guidelines called the "Word of Wisdom" which basically says not to smoke or drink, and to avoid tea and coffee.  So people have a problem with things like green tea (which is not tea..a.k.a. black tea), but it takes work getting a lot of my friends to understand stuff like that.   Thanks though, I try to be as nice as I can   

Being a Mormon myself, I find Mormons to actually be more concerned, in general, about their health than non-Mormons.  (I will admit, we are less open-minded about some things, but I like the phrase, "Don't be so open-minded that your brain falls out.")

Unfortunately, it hasn't been quite as useful an icebreaker for this bachelor   but it does make a great topic of conversation for those who are conscientious of their diet and health.  Just tonight I talked to a salesperson at the Vitamin Shoppe.  She was type O, and had lost 85 lbs. mainly from cutting wheat out of her diet, without even knowing about BTD!

ps: I'm not sure about this, but I think green tea is also excluded by the Word of Wisdom, presumably for its caffeine content.

Green tea and Black tea are made from the same plant just different processes to make each type, and both contain caffine.

L-theanine is a unique amino acid found only in the tea plant.

I don't think the religious issue is about the tea plant, I think it's about what's healthy vs. unhealthy.. and we know (esp. thanks to Dr. D)  that black tea is bad for you..a.k.a. and avoid, and green tea is beneficial, whether there's caffeine or not.  So idunno, it just depends on your perspective.  A lot of church officials will say green tea is OK, and a lot will say it isn't.. it depends on their level of understanding from what I've seen.  Thanks Lola, didn't know that!

Yes, the theanine counteracts the caffeine in many ways.

I consider green tea to be far better and less addictive than caffeinated sodas, so I've made progress there since I used to drink Coke.  I can take or leave the green tea, and get no caffeine withdrawal headaches when I go without it for a week or two (unlike colas).  I have to admit that I like the taste of green tea, but I drink it for health reasons, and I'm honest about that with my religious leaders with no problems.

I don't think most Mormons around me would like to hear my otherwise super strict version of the Word of Wisdom...since I consider Cambell's Condensed Soup, Lime Jello, and many other processed foods to be against the word of wisdom!  I mean, you want to talk about "conspiring men in the latter days" ... don't even get me started on that part

I'm a Christian & certain groups are against smoking & drinking, yet eat sweets, pork, coffee, etc. in huge quantities. Certain denominations seem to have high cancer rates!
I get a kick about someone being 'legalistic' toward a Christian who chooses to drink wine once a week, while they eat so much junk food almost every day!!
I sometimes call coffee "Christian booze" as coffee seems to be the mainstay of many Christians!!
Hey, I don't want to sound like someone who 'eats his own young' but that's how I see it. Times are changing & I don't see that much legalism in the churches. Maybe they realize there are bigger fish to fry (no pun intended) like stopping the killing of believers in foreign countries & helping the downtrodden(starving, AIDS patients, abused kids).
When you get busy doing the right thing, you don't crave those unhealthy things as much.
Sea Salt & Light,
Mrs "T"   O+
PS I don't drink booze or coffee - don't like the taste & it affects me anyway. Now that 'black chocolate' - I'm getting addicted in my older age!!

Theanine (an amino acid from green tea) is an effective supplement for giving a feeling of contentment.  The supplement is not a source of caffeine.

Melissa and Mrs. T--  Awesome posts!!   Do you mind if I save those to use in my persuasive essay due next week?     Lola, I lookd up that amino acid... great stuff!

Hey erictm998...did you see this thread?

http://www.dadamo.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1195093901/  

I know they are college age, but this could be planting a seed.

Debra

That's great!  lol

Quoted from Melissa_J

I don't think most Mormons around me would like to hear my otherwise super strict version of the Word of Wisdom...since I consider Cambell's Condensed Soup, Lime Jello, and many other processed foods to be against the word of wisdom!

You'd better not let anyone hear your take on lime jello, you might get excommunicated!     Oh, and right on about conspiring men, so true, and not just in the food industry.

ps: I served my mission in Ogden, and was actually once served, at a dinner appointment, green jello on a lettuce leaf, with shredded cheddar (or carrots, I can't remember), topped with mayo and a cherry.  Ick.

Four years ago we entertained two Mormon missionaries at our house a few times.  Didn't know about the BTD then, but since we didn't drink coke or coffee or anything anyway, it was no problem for them to eat with us, though they wanted to pray before we ate.  My husband said, "Nobody prays in my house except me, unless I ask him to."  So he prayed like usual before we ate.

I say, God made caffeine just like he made lettuce (and marijuana, for medicinal purposes, but that's another subject).  When the Apostle Peter had his vision that basically undid all the Old Testament Dietary laws, nothing was said about caffeine.    Any food, according to scripture, is okay in moderation; the problem is when people start imposing their personal convictions on others and trying to make it law.

Quoted from Ribbit

I say, God made caffeine just like he made lettuce (and marijuana, for medicinal purposes, but that's another subject).

God also made tobacco, arsenic, and deadly nightshade!

Quoted from Ribbit

When the Apostle Peter had his vision that basically undid all the Old Testament Dietary laws, nothing was said about caffeine.  Any food, according to scripture, is okay in moderation; the problem is when people start imposing their personal convictions on others and trying to make it law.

I would argue that things such as coffee bean and tea were never intended to become foods.

Excellent point!  One I cannot argue with.  I would say that about cow's milk.

Aside from views on what is healthy, the only foods I have real religious issues against are those that cause people to make poor choices in other aspects of their lives... or do things they wouldn't normally choose to do.  They take away people's agency.  This goes for some pharmaceuticals, alcohol (especially for those predisposed to alcoholism), and all addictive substances. (in my case wheat, milk, corn and possibly sugar do make me a bit less than charitable, as well, and I have reasons to believe I'm predisposed to alcoholism)

What foods are healthy, as we know, is often an individual matter, so I'm glad that, according to my bishop in my case, there's some room for discernment in how to interpret our dietary code.  (I always say consult your own local religious leaders, and go by what they recommend, since I'm not in any authority to discern it for anybody else).

Then there's the whole part about wheat is for man and eat meat sparingly...fortunately those are up to discernment as well.

But the basic spirit of the law, to be self-sufficient, don't trust processed foods, don't believe the commercials, and make or grow your own fresh food wherever possible...  I really like that.  

Ahhh, the wonderful commercials..  I swear, people base their life principles on what they grew up with on TV.  Well put, Melissa!  I love it when people read those verses to me (about the wheat and meat).   But of course, many people don't realize the other 5 or 6 scriptures in the Bible that endorse the use of meat.   Like you said, it's all about discretion and agency.. spirit of the law.  Love it!  

Yes, I think there's good reason why our scriptures says that anybody who tells everyone to not eat meat should not be trusted... something to that effect.  We know that being a vegetarian is a good idea for some, healthwise, but not others.

I recently heard another point about the meat part (to eat meat sparingly except in winter and times of famine): it was hard at that time to keep meat fresh without nitrates and preservatives, except in winter when it was easy to keep it cold, so the directive to eat meat mainly in winter would help to avoid the need for those preservatives.