When I was in 2nd grade I found out I was allergic to chocolate. I continued to eat a little chocolate here and there until I was in college, when I had such a bad reaction that I gave up chocolate for good. In my 20s I found out that caffeine made my ears ring. Nerve deafness runs in my family, so I gave up coffee, tea and sodas. Because I don't eat those foods and I never smoked, I had great looking white teeth - until recently.

A month or so ago I started noticing a brown stain on my lower teeth. I thought, "Oh no! What is the BTD doing to my teeth?" A little detective work led to a simple solution, which I will share with you in case you face the same problem.

I buy nuts from bulk bins in my health food store. Walnuts, pecans, and almonds are favorite snacks because they are filling and easy to carry anywhere in my purse. When I get near the bottom of a big bag of walnuts or pecans, there is a lot of dust mixed in with the nuts. Some comes from the shelling process, and some is little bits of the nuts themselves that flake off in the bags. When the dust starts to get in my way, I pour everything in the bag into a colander and let the dust fall into the sink. As I searched for the reason behind the stain on my teeth, I realized it looked just like the stain that the nut dust leaves in my sink.

I had always thought whitening toothpaste was just a sales gimmick, but now I needed it. I found one that was made with baking soda and peroxide. I use it once a day. In addition I occasionally rinse my mouth with ½ peroxide - ½ water. The stain responded quickly, and is now barely visible.

Since I brought up the nerve deafness, I will add that while eliminating caffeine has kept me from the aggravation of ear noise, I do have a noticeable hearing loss. It is a hope and a prayer that strict compliance to the Type O diet might slow or halt the deterioration of my hearing.