Sunday, October 16, 2011

A Very Picky Eater

I've always been a picky eater. Pickier than normal for a kid. And I never grew out of it. In the last few years, I've gotten even pickier still.

It's that time of year again--Blog Action Day. This year's topic is food.

It was in the late '90s when I was first introduced to the book Eat Right 4 Your Type. The book posits that blood types affect the digestive system and that some foods good for one type are "dangerous" for another. I took note of which foods were "highly beneficial" to me and which foods I was supposed to "avoid", but I didn't go much further than that...for a while.

I had a problem with the book. My "avoid" list includes beef and chicken. And corn (including popcorn). There were other things on my "avoid" list that I didn't have a problem with such as coffee, lima beans, and ham, but getting rid of beef and chicken (foods I ate all the time) was too much for me at first.

I had to start it gradually. First I switched from orange juice to pineapple juice (oranges are a no-no for me). That was about as far as I got until a couple years ago when I was reminded of the book. I decided to take another stab at it.

I can have turkey. And many types of fish. Slowly, I started to eliminate the stuff on my "avoid" list. I'm still working at it.

I don't know why I bother. It's not like it's doing anything for me.

Although, I have noticed that it's gotten easier for me to get up in the morning. I'm less tired all the time. And my headaches, while still appearing from time to time, aren't nearly as painful as they used to be. Of course, that could be due to other things I've been doing as well...

Or it could all be working in tandem.

I can do better. There are still foods I should eliminate (getting rid of ketchup is hard). And there are foods (ahem, vegetables, ahem) that I should eat more of.

(If anyone knows a good way to prepare broccoli, I would appreciate hearing about it. Besides slathering it in cheese. I've never been too fond of cheese.)

The book has its detractors and critics. It's an interesting idea, and so far it's worked for me. Anything that helps to improve diet (which is a major factor in maintaining good health) is a good thing. Even if it means I can't eat corn anymore.

6 comments:

  1. No popcorn? That would probably be a deal breaker for me.

    I'm a notoriously picky eater. I've been trying to change my eating habits to eat healthier but I'm having a hard time of it thus far. I need chocolate too much.

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  2. The only way I know how to prepare broccoli is to stir-fry it. :P

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  3. I've never heard of blood types affecting what you can eat before, but the changes you've made sound a lot like the diabetic diet my wife and I just started (no orange juice or corn because of the high carb/sugar content; turkey is great because it's lean). Basically if an eating program is making you feel better, stick with, but I'd do more research to make sure you're getting all the nutritional elements you're supposed to.

    Oh, and they can have my coffee when they can pry it from my cold, dead hands...:)

    Dan

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  4. Prepare broccoli?
    All my life, we've only ever steamed it.

    I'm also very picky when it comes to my food. Love most cooked veges, but if it comes in a salad I won't eat it.
    Then there's spices ... I refuse to eat anything I construe as ‘hot’. I cannot handle even a small dose of pepper on my food.

    @Dan: You can keep your coffee, if I can keep my chocolate. ^_^

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  5. They say Americans eat too much corn anyway. Be careful, because virtually every single sweet product has corn syrup in it.

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  6. I'm on a diet right now...it's calorie restrictive and I hope to drop 100-pounds. I've noticed already (after two weeks) that mornings are easier. This is enough of an incentive for me to keep it up as long as possible.

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