I admitted that when we ate at Rudy's last Saturday night, since there were no beneficial or neutral vegetable choices, I ate pinto beans and creamed corn. My stomach gurgled all night. Sunday I watched what I ate pretty carefully. But my stomach gurgled again all the next night. I was frustrated - two vegetable avoids had thrown my system so far off balance.

Then my daughter complained that her stomach didn't feel right. Then my husband called from work and said he was nauseous and was coming home early. He ran 102 degrees of fever that night.

Suddenly the light came on - I wasn't dealing with a reaction to avoids - we all had a stomach virus. We are all fine now, but the experience underscored a concept that needs to be restated from time to time on this website where we are all trying to build better health by using natural means.

Sometimes people have a bacteria, virus or parasite that needs medical intervention. Sometimes people are dealing with a critical disease that must be identified in order to treat it effectively.

I cringe when I read a post on the Forum that goes something like this, "I have tightness in my chest and pain in my left arm. Do you think this could be detox?" I scream at the computer - NO, NO, NO, get to the doctor! Go to a naturopath, go to an osteopath, go to an MD - but get competent medical advice."

Sante J. wrote brilliantly about this when she told of her friend who died after going to a chiropractor for an aneurysm. If you have read many of my blogs, you know that I found the Blood Type Diet AFTER getting an upper GI to make sure my symptoms were not warnings of something serious like cancer in my stomach or esophagus.

I've been following the best nutritional advice I could find for nearly 30 years in an effort to live a healthy life. The BTD was the final piece of the puzzle that made all of the other theories come together. I am living proof that it has paid off. But I'm still going to pick up an occasional virus. And I'm still going to get professional advice when I am concerned about symptoms that might mean something bad is going on inside.

On a lighter note - a quote about spiritual disciplines that is equally valid for the BTD:

"Like any new model of behavior, they must be wrestled with, talked through, come to terms with, and tried on. With time, a few of them will begin to settle in and become a consistent lifestyle. Looking back, you'll discover you've actually changed."