I saw this on a plaque in a cute little Hill Country shop.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I oughta eat,
The courage to avoid the things I shouldn’t eat,
And the wisdom to know that a little chocolate never hurt anyone.
Is that not a great summary of the Blood Type Diet lifestyle?
After our hike today, the group went to an adorable sandwich shop with the intriguing name of Bumdoodlers. I searched the menu for something good for Type Os, and there was nothing. The only salad was Chef Salad. Between the ham and the cheese, this salad was not Type O friendly? The only thing I could find was a dinner salad. Would I have the serenity to order a dinner salad and wait until I got home to eat? Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. On the sandwich menu was a note that if you wanted to increase the meat on your salad you could get 3 more ounces for $1.50. I stepped up to the counter and said, “I’m going to create my own salad. I’ll have a dinner salad, no cucumbers, no cheese, no dressing. But add 3 ounces of roast beef.” I had olive oil in my camera bag. Indeed I was serene eating what I ought to eat.
Bumdoodlers is also a bakery that specializes in pie. They looked delicious. Coconut Cream Pie is my favorite, and it looked especially delicious. But I think everything in Coconut Cream Pie, except the meringue on top, is avoid. Would I have the courage to avoid Coconut Cream Pie? Today I did. Courage prevailed.
Given my overall health, a slice of pie would not have hurt me. But I try to reserve my avoids for special occasions, or for moments when to refuse would be ungracious. Not everyone was having dessert, so I wasn’t being unsocial. After a healthy lunch, I didn’t need a slice of pie. If you want to eat an occasional avoid, do so. Enjoy it. Once in a while is not going to hurt you.
Chocolate is a different matter. It is actually a beneficial food for both Hunters and Gatherers. Some people find that something to celebrate, but when I started the BTD, it didn’t make any difference to me. You see, I had been allergic to chocolate since I was in 2nd grade. It made me break out in hives. As a child, I occasionally ate some at a party, knowing I could go home and take antihistamine. One night in college I broke out in hives so quickly after a piece of chocolate cake, that I had to have my date drive me home immediately. It scared me, so I stopped chocolate altogether. Not even a chocolate chip cookie or thin mint for me.
When my Dad was in his 80s, his blood pressure began to creep up. He read that unsweetened chocolate could lower blood pressure, so he began eating a square of unsweetened baking chocolate every day. It worked. He was able to go off his blood pressure medication. I was intrigued. I had not had chocolate for more than 30 years. I tried one of his chocolate squares – no hives. I had another a month later – no problem. I began eating it several times a week, and have never had a single hive.
My chocolate allergy disappeared along with my seasonal allergies after I went on the BTD. The only thing I have to watch is that for a while I started eating chocolate at about the same time every day. I began to develop an addiction to the caffeine. At any rate, I would get a low level headache if I didn’t eat my chocolate on time. So I limit chocolate to 3-4 days a week, but not every day.
So is it proper to pray about the Blood Type Diet? Absolutely. God is the one who led me to this diet, and with his help I am serene and courageous about staying on it.
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