Health Starts at Home

Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Eat Right for your Type

by: Annette M. Hall

Not only does our family choose an unconventional education method, we tend to do other things differently as well. For instance most of my extended family will run to the doctor at the first signs of illness. On the other hand my darling husband, Shawn has a family comprised of many Chiropractors. They have a tendency to seek more natural responses to healthcare, which is the example we follow. Heck, we don't have health insurance or have any plans to obtain health insurance because we wouldn't use it if we had it.

So, when faced with our desire to obtain our son's blood type instead of taking the more common route and calling a doctor to have blood drawn and sent off to a lab somewhere for typing, we decided this was something we could do at home. It would be learning experience for us all.

We had this crazy notion that we could simply order a kit online, prick our son's finger with a lancet and type his blood ourselves, saving time, money and enjoy the educational process together. We weren't too far off.

Ordering the Blood Typing Kit

Our single most frustrating part of the whole ordeal was actually getting our hands on the kit. The first kit we ordered was from a company in Virginia. The owner, whom we spoke with not once, not twice but at least three times, assured us he had shipped the kits twice but neither kit ever arrived, though we waiting several weeks for it to be delivered. Because the owner swears this was a fluke and has never happened before, his name and company have been omitted from this article.

Our second attempt to order the kit was fun. We decided that since so many people were starting the popular "Eat Right For Your Type" diet, by Dr. D'Adamo, we would just order a student kit from Delta Education, which was enough for 40 students and we would be all prepared. While the kit was nice, it comes with simulated blood and simulated syrum and will not type actual blood. So, we were back to square one.

On a side note... I highly recommend Delta Education products, their customer service representative was both friendly and helpful, they have a liberal return policy, and Delta was very prompt in crediting our account.

The third time was the charm. We ordered five EldonCard ABO/Rh Blood Typing Kits from Cascade Healthcare Products. They were reasonably priced and arrived in a timely manner.

The tests were very easy to complete and my eight year old son, handled the pin prick very well. Shawn's father, an avid hunter, was really hoping to be a "Type O", but turned out to be an "Type A" and my son who was wishing to be a "Type B", is also a "Type A".

It was very interesting to watch the blood begin to coagulate in reaction to the chemicals on the test card. The card was very simple to read and provides a perfect example of how certain foods can react in our blood stream. I found the entire process most facinating.

Science Interest Grows

In the past several weeks, post blood typing, my son has shown a keen interest in science experiments. He's been collecting "samples" of all types to examine and has shown a desire to learn more about his body and how it functions. This is the same child who's face glazes over at the mere mention of the word "education." While I haven't yet invested in an expensive microscope for him to use, we did purchase an inexpensive microscope for him to play with. We don't have to worry if he breaks it or loses pieces of it, we picked it up secondhand for $2.00 and it's provided hours and hours of fun for him, all the while encouraging his love of science.

If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. He has been so engrossed with exploring this area, finding unique items to study and sharing his discoveries with us. His questions have been pointed and insightful, like he's actually absorbing what he's doing. It often takes the smallest thing to spark a life-long interest in our children. This may be only temporary, but it's an experience which is sure to provide a positive building block for future areas of exploration.

Life has gotten a little simpler for me since the blood tests are out of the way. Since both of the men in my life are "Type A's", they help each other stick to their diets and I don't have such a hard time cooking for them. This child who has often fought us over the foods he likes to eat, actually takes the time to request items that are on his diet and is learning to enjoy seeing more vegetables on his plate. I sat amazed as I watched him get excited over seeing tiny raw carrot sticks cut up on his plate.

The "Eat Right For Your Blood Type" diet offers so many wonderful choices for him that he really enjoys being on it. The best part for me, is that I don't feel like a mean parent, putting my child on a diet. This is more of a healthy lifestyle choice that he is making for himself. One that as a mother, I certainly approve of. It has made him more aware of the role food plays in our life and is teaching him how to make the right decisions.

Tough Decisions

I notice that many children have a tough time learning to make good decisions for themselves and often find they are in trouble once they leave the nest. As I see our son making choices for himself on a daily basis, I can't help but think that these skills will serve him well once he is out on his own and he transfers these important life skills into other areas of his life.

Now don't get me wrong, we are all still mourning the loss of ice cream in our home and occasionally we do take a detour along the way but these are informed choices we make. Instead of picking up a bucket of ice cream at the grocery store, since none of us are supposed to have it, we'll pick up a small cone, which satisfies the urge but doesn't tempt us to over indulge.

This is just one example of the way homeschooling has influenced the way we live our lives and is making a positive impact in our home. We use our healthcare issues as a way to learn how to better care for our bodies as a family. Learning together can be fun and educational.

For more information on Eat Right For Your Type visit: Health Starts at Home.

As a side note, I'd like to mention that I have read several articles about the problems other doctors have found with this diet and while I certainly do not agree with every assertion made by the good doctor, I have personally noticed a huge difference in my own health since our family started using the Eat Right 4 Your Type Diet. I personally don't care why it works, just that it does work for our family.

Try it, what have you got to lose? I don't understand how electricity works either but I know when I turn on the light switch my lights work. It's enough for me.

December 29, 2008