A is for Anna, Agrarian, and A Positive

A is for Anna. That's why I bought this mug for my kitchen utensils a long time ago.. but maybe it also stands for A positive. That's my blood type. I took a nifty little blood type test today to make sure. I've been looking into trying a different diet to try to heal my digestive disorder. The hunt + gather diet was nice for a while, and I learned a lot.. but I didn't actually get better. Not even with all the supplements, and the western medications, and the acupuncture, and the yoga, and the cod liver oil.. Nope. Still not better.

I was turned on to the Blood Type Diet by a few friends here in Columbia while I was buying my first pair of "healthy shoes" (Clarks). I've searched the web to see what people say about the diet and I read the book, "Eat Right For Your Type." There seem to be a bunch of people out there who think the diet's a bunch of bull.. and they would probably say the same thing if you told them they had to stop drinking alcohol and eating pizza. So - I'm going to go with my gut feeling about this one and jump in head first.

The recipes from now on will be based on my blood type. Type A. I don't know if it will work, but I'm going to try it out. If you are having digestive-related problems then maybe you should check the book out from your local library and figure out what your blood type is too.. if you decide not to change your diet based on Dr. D'Adamo's research, then at least it was an interesting read.

The major difference in my diet from now on will be that there will be no meat involved. "Type As flourish on vegetarian diets - the inheritance of your more settled and less warlike farmer ancestors." -Dr. D'Adamo

There are some other things I should tell you before this next chapter of my food life begins.. I got retested for my allergies. The first test I got, about a year ago, was a blood test. My blood was drawn and sent to a lab somewhere in Georgia where it was tested for 120 different foods. My new doctor/chiropractor thinks that these results are either old, inaccurate, or a combination of the two. So she had me bring in all the foods I was tested to be allergic to, and she muscle tested me by putting each one (one at a time) in my mouth and measuring the strength or weakness of my arm muscle.

Her test presented a radically different outcome than that of my first test last summer. It showed that I am not allergic to some of the things I thought I was. But this test, like any other, will not be as accurate as the test of time and a good old fashion elimination diet. Which is pretty much what I've already been doing. So I'm planning on introducing the foods my new doctor thinks I'm not allergic to back into my diet one a time, and giving each food a week or two before I introduce the next food back in.

I am planning on introducing soy first. According to the blood type diet, type A's best get their protein from soy, fish, and a little poultry. And I'll be eating more grains again.. grains like buckwheat and oats. Eventually, I'll slowly introduce some dairy back in - in the form of cultured goat milk, and you might even see and egg in some pancakes. But this is all months away.. It's a little scary and stressful to make a big change in my diet, but it's going to make each day that much more exciting, and the best part will be a healthy Anna. I'll let you know when that happens.