Hi I have submitted various questions to Heidi but have never received a reply or answer to these. I am not sure why - is it a technical problem or perhaps my questions are stupid!! Either way, if this email is getting through to you could you please let me know so that at least I can rule out the technical error! We can work on the other one later. I must admit I really miss the message board as there was always really good feedback to questions. I am a real fan of this diet but the questions I need to ask are almost gagging me! Please help! Shalinee

Shalinee, I’m sorry for your frustration. You’re not the only one who has not yet had a personal answer to their question. Let me explain the situation a bit so that perhaps you will understand the reason for the delay.

In this past week, I received 67 questions. Some weeks there are 50 or 60, sometimes 70+. Over the roughly 5½ months, or 170 days, I’ve been writing On The Diet, I’ve received nearly 1800 questions... not including the half-dozen or so emails I get daily. Some of the queries are in foreign languages. I do try to post multiple Q&A’s as frequently as possible ~ but as you can see by using the "list previous topics" button at the bottom of this page, I didn’t realize the need to do so until early June. I always expected there would be fewer entries, rather than more, as time went by. I was wrong. :-}

Some of the questions need their own column due to length, topic or complexity, and others have been answered with only one or two others because they so clearly fit together. Writing projects of this kind are always a bit of a balancing act between readability and information quality -- quite different from a message board, where the quality of information can fluctuate wildly. With two doctors "on staff" here, as well as many knowledgeable friends who write in to help, there is far less chance that what I tell you will be in utter error and dangerous for you to follow. We all have more time and emotional energy to focus on the information itself now.

It is my great regret that I haven’t yet responded to each and every question personally. It is true that I continually receive questions on subjects I have addressed in the past, so I urge everyone who has posted a question, or is thinking about posting one, to use the search function at the bottom of this page to discover if your question has already been answered one or more times. Enter the primary term for what you’re seeking: oatmeal... glycerine... hypoglycemia... chickpea... errata... blueberry... beet.... My mission is to get you your information as quickly as possible, and there’s nothing quicker than finding what you need with a simple search.

The On the Diet column is the work of a volunteer -- it is my choice, and my great pleasure, to do it -- but since I’m not a genius by any means, what value I can offer to you involves taking significant time to research and write replies to your concerns, to the best of my ability. There are some questions that are beyond my scope because they truly require the services of a skilled, local physician – I’m also going through a few of those every day and responding via email.

Shalinee, I have the two questions you posted in the last few weeks, and will answer those with tomorrow's column. I certainly do not want you to gag on your questions. I hope that you and others have a better grasp now of the mechanics of getting replies to everyone, and that you will concurrently seek help from your local health care practitioners, Peter's many books, and by reading everything our site has to offer -- I wish you all the very best!!