I recently became obsessed with finding out my blood type. Mostly because I didn’t know it and I think this is a VERY important piece of valuable information for everyone to have, but also because a month into my vegan-macrobiotic transition, things aren’t going so smoothly. I haven’t had any animal products or byproducts for four weeks, and my body doesn’t seem to be reacting very well to this significant change. A few wise people asked about my blood type, explaining that some types need animal protein more than others. So I set to find out. My Toronto doctor said she couldn’t run the test unless I was pregnant (no!!) or needed a blood transfusion, but I could find out by giving blood. So I tried to donate blood in Toronto the next day, only to find out you can't within 24 hours of a dental cleaning. That ruled me out as I’d just seen my dentist. Back in LA, I contacted the UCLA platelet centre and after passing the initial prescreening, set up an appointment to donate. Unfortunately after explaining to a young technician that Nepal is a country, and Mount Everest is in fact a Mountain – I was denied as a donor until January 2011, because Nepal has a high risk for malaria. Explaining the elevation of Everest didn’t help, but at that point I wasn’t sure I wanted her putting a needle anywhere near me. I then ordered an online typing kit and put my grade 11 Biology skills to work, only to get an inconclusive result. Awesome. My last resort was to see my LA doctor, who happily did the typing test right in her office (sorry but I love US healthcare). Two days later she called me to let me know I’m Type A (negative). Classic.
Anyone who knows me, or who has read this blog, likely knows I’m a typical type A. It’s a funny coincidence that this now has more than one meaning for me. Not surprisingly, the A blood types are described as having fragile digestive systems – again anyone who knows me, knows this is an understatement, primarily thanks to my fantastic global travels (worth it!). It’s actually recommended that I have a vegetarian diet – but in adopting a “Eat Right for Your Type” diet, there are all kinds of other things it suggests I eliminate. A negative is a rare type outside of Africans (which works out well for me as I’ve always wanted to be African) – and is only prominent in about 7% of Canadians.
Dare to be different right?!
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