People-groups are formed anytime we gather together, cling together, or are catagorized together for any reason. 

This past year, my wife became a member of the people-group called ‘cancer-survivors’. 

In 2010, my wife and I became members of the people-group called ‘Marine Parents’, when our youngest son joined-up. 

Let's discuss people-groups based on diets. There are many kinds of diets. 

1) There are religious diets, where followers don’t eat certain things, or eat certain foods during certain times.  

2) There are diets where some folks think that certain things shouldn’t be eaten at all, as with vegans.  

3) There are weight-loss diets, where people reduce certain foods to lose weight.

4) There are health-diets offered by doctors that are often ignored. 

5) And there are medical diets, that keep certain people from getting sick, because they have a certain disorder. 

It is helpful to know how to help relatives and classmates who are supposed to obey a medical diet, 

so we don’t accidentally make them sick, or put them at a party with nothing they can eat. That is no fun, eh? 

Diabetes is a major source of medical diets. I won’t go too deep here, but if you have a classmate with diabetes and want to hold a class birthday party with treats, ask them what kind treats your classmate can have. 

 OOORRR, if you are their best friend, and there are multiple treats, you could choose to eat the same kind of treat, to show your friendship. 

If you are going to be friends with someone who has a medical diet, you need to do that sometimes, as a good friend. 

You don’t have to adopt that diet, but be considerate. 

I, for example, have 'celiac-sprue disease'. 

Some grains, like wheat, have 'glutens'. My body reads gluten as ‘Poison!’ when I accidentally eat gluten, my digestive tract is sick for two days. When I go to a birthday party, I don’t expect anyone to make a gluten-free cake just for me, but it’s nice to have a bowl of ice cream. (and no, I don't get upset when other people enjoy their cake).

Being celiac has taken about half the fun out of my vacations, because it is far more difficult for me to get a safe, complete meal. 

In our house, we read the labels of everything we buy, being careful not to buy anything with ‘wheat’ in the ingredients. 

Or ‘modified starch’, because modified starch is a food thickener that may contain wheat. 

I do use products with ‘modified corn starch’. There are also other starches that have gluten.  

But corn, potatoes and rice are safe from gluten, as are fruits, vegetables, and  meats cooked without crusty- battering. 

A friend on a medical diet will feel more at home, in your home, when you provide safe foods, even with other foods they can’t eat. 

You can’t let them control your menu-planning, but you can try to accommodate them if they are at your house a lot. 

Kids like to visit, and kids like to eat. 

Another food-issue, for some, is lactose-intolerance. This is when their bodies cannot process dairy products.

The photo is a map that shows which nations and races have lactose intolerance. 

Why do you suppose that the coldest areas of the world, have the least lactose intolerance? 

Finally, allergies are a type of medical restriction. 

You may have a friend at school that can’t come to your house, because of pets or an adult in your house that smokes. 

You need to understand the biology behind this, and do what you can, to be friends away from your house. 

Fun fact: For those who can have milk products, milk-cows are sustainable, portable food machines, that you can eat from without harming them. Have you ever thought about that? Yes, this true of all milk-able animals. 

Annnd, Cows can graze on lands too fragile to cultivate. 

But wait! Moveability is also sorta true of honeybees. Bee hives can be moved, but not nearly as often as a milking herd. 

Fruit trees and nut trees give us food and still live, but they have to stay in one place forever. 

Many people’s way of life would be destroyed if they had to get rid of their milk herds and be vegans, and the world’s food supply would be drastically reduced. It can be argued that lactose-tolerant people increase the amount of food available for lactose-intolerant people. 

This is because dairy herds can graze on land that is unsuitable for tilling.

Eric J. Rose 

middlegrademysteries.com 

photo: vividmaps.com