Dear Heidi, I've got laryngitis...again! I seem particularly susceptible to having a cold lodge in my throat -- it seems that one to two times a year I completely lose my voice when I have a minor head cold. My husband and daughters think it is hilarious, but it's getting rather annoying to me. I am type O+. Do you have any ideas about this? Any preventives? Anything!?! Thank you again for your input, time, energy...you're a huge help! ~ Ruth



Hey there, Ruth ~~ :-) Common laryngitis is caused by swelling in the vocal cords, which in turn is a result of inflammation -- either from misuse & overuse, or from infection. Once they're in that state, the best thing to do is stop talking altogether. The more you try to use them, the more you irritate them.



If tolerated, I'd start taking quercetin throughout the day. 500 mg caps, six to eight daily until your voice returns to normal. Then a maintenance dose of one or two per day, if you like. Warm herbal tea, like chamomile or something else that's soothing, is good for it as well. I feel for ya -- it's amazing how difficult things become when we have to whisper and use sign language with the hub & kiddies!! :-D

Dear Heidi, I am a type 'O' non-secretor that is significantly overweight and suffers from chronic fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, chronic depression and chronic pain that appears to be the result of either stress (tense muscles) or myalgia. I currently take two different anti-depressants (Wellbutrin and Celexa) as well as Ranitadine daily. I really want to follow the BTD program but have had a lot of difficulty. I find I am often too tired to prepare proper meals or exercise (as well as unmotivated). I don't eat often enough; often only once a day because I'm not terribly hungry and can't think of anything I want to eat (I'm a relatively fussy eater), then, when I'm finally really hungry and still can't think of anything I want, I end up eating something fast and tasty-inevitably some junk that is terrible for me.



At any rate, I am always looking for something to improve my energy levels and boost my motivation. I have been reading a bit about pregnenolone and wonder if it's for me. Is it safe to combine with the drugs I currently take? I am seeing a Dr. regularly and have had my hormone levels checked many times. I am not hypothyroid (too bad ) although we did supplement T3 for a while to see if I was subclinical and if it would help-it didn't. I am 32 and have been clinically depressed to some degree for 27 years. I have been on several different antidepressants over the years with varying success. I have tried to stop taking them, but find I inevitably become suicidal. Right now, I would describe myself as being about 70% 'normal' (whatever normal is) with occasional dips to about 50%. I just can't seem to get over this fatigue and lose weight. I know they are interconnected, but I just think that if I could jump start my energy I could get myself on the road. Any suggestions? Cheers, Paige



DEAR PAIGE! I'm so glad you wrote! I'd like to cover a couple other things you asked me, too. First, I just got the answer on the NADH dosage in the Encyclopedia: it should be 5 mg, NOT 50 mg. A zero crept in there -- it's a huge book, so I'm pleased there are so very few errors to announce. ;=>



You asked about agave, too, around the time I answered someone else's question about it -- you can find that column by entering "agave" in the search form at the bottom of this page, if you've not yet read it.



Now for the bad news (lol!) Between the long history of neurochemical imbalance (your depression is physically expressed as too much of some chemicals and too little of others), and the medication along with the harmful foods, I don't think that adding pregnenolone would be the way to go. However, if you decide it's worth a shot, then go to your doctor and explain what you plan to do and ask him if he knows of any drug interactions with pregnenolone. Pregnenolone may help your "master gland," the pituitary, and the adrenals, for which you weren't tested. I would definitely visit or call the doc to check and see if it would be harmful for you to take it --- that's the only question I'd ask him. Whether he thinks it would do any good isn't important, because if you're willing to find out if there's some good from it, and he says it won't be harmful, then it's open for you to try.



That said, I know what it's like to take everything in the book, and see no improvement in energy -- we Os just seem to REQUIRE the basic things, and don't seem to respond much to supps alone if we're not doing the basics.



Because the first and most basic step to benefit from this plan is doing the diet and exercise, that's where I hope I can help you get on track. I know it's a heck of a challenge, and you've already said you have a devil of a time even getting started, but that is the thing you need most of all. What I'd like to do is hook you up with someone local to you, either a BTD practitioner or some layperson who is skilled in using this diet with whom you can work out some details. Or, do you have a friend who could help you get the right foods into the house and maybe cook up some storeable foods for you once or twice per week? There are simple things that he, she or you can make, stick in the fridge or freezer, and just heat up when you're hungry. There are also good snacks that require no preparation, like rice crackers and almond or walnut butter -- If you write back and tell me what you absolutely can't face eating, I'll make up a shopping list and a simple set of meals that can be had with minimal effort on your part.



The second thing I can offer is the simplest and briefest (yet effective) exercise plan I've ever seen: it's the 5BX Plan and I will be happy to walk you through it. It's just four simple movements, and a jog, or a "jog in place" which can be done in whatever way you are comfortable doing it. It can be done anytime you think of it -- it takes only a few minutes to do. No sweating, no equipment, nothing but enough space to stand up and lie down is required. If you can make the motions of getting out of bed, of picking up a sock, of looking at the ceiling, you can most CERTAINLY do this plan!! and it's amazing how different you feel afterward! I'd be very glad to discuss it and assist you in any way I can!!! Keep me posted!! :-D

Hi, Heidi: I wrote to you a few days regarding a nickel allergy. And I wanted to let you know about the results of my blood work. My doctor couldn't find a thing wrong with me. My thyroid, liver function, and my hormones were all normal. I didn't have anemia and I didn't have a high level of metal in my body either. She also did various other tests, but I'm not sure what they were. I'm not sure why I'm reacting so serverely to so many of my highly benefical foods, but apparently they all contain traces of nickel. In your previous advice you told me to take the supplement quercetin, which I already take. I was doing yoga every other day and walking on the alternate days, and now I don't have the energy to do either anymore. As soon as I get home from work, I put on my pajamas and climb into bed. I've also just come down with a case of shingles. I'm really at a loss as to what I can eat. I'm only eating chicken, soy products, rice products, and some vegetables. I can't eat lettuce, spinach, brocolli, fish of any kind, nuts of any kind, or any beans without having a reaction. I've made an appointment with a holistic doctor here in town, who is an advocate of the blood type diet. I'll take my blood test results to him and hopefully he can help. Any suggestions from you would be greatly appreciated. Shelley



Shelley, you're doing exactly what I'd recommend -- getting professional advice. I'm not at all familiar with what you're dealing with. If anyone writes in with experienced advice for you, I will put it up here post-haste! Best wishes to you, and please keep those updates coming --- very much appreciated! :-)

Heidi, Hello again. I was all ready to embrace Dr. D'Adamo's dietary suggestions for myself and family (we're all Os, secretor type unknown). But then, I came across a book called Eat to Live by Joel Furhman, M.D., and now I'm very unsure. Have you read his book? It's new. In it, Furhman makes a very case based on 1,000s of scientific articles/studies for eating 80-90 percent of one's diet from mostly raw vegies and some cooked, and fresh fruit. He says that the data strongly support eating meat/poultry/fish/eggs only as condiments and only occasionally, and eating only a cup or so of grains each day. What's a Type O to do??? Any feedback you can offer is appreciated. Thank you, Kathryn



Hi, Kathryn ~~ :-D Well, it sounds so close to what Peter recommends, that I'm sure there are some good points in that book. Tell me, does Dr. Furhman say that everyone will profit by a cup or so of grains daily? and does he make any distinction at all between raw food items, based on the differing biochemistries among individuals? For instance, does he consider whether the particular food contains elements which agglutinate certain blood type material, or raises urinary indican levels, or protects against disease (or is common in the diet of certain individuals with certain diseases), or contains enzymes which react with ABO type expressed in the mucus tissues, or stimulates opposing blood group antibody reactions? That's just the tip of the iceberg that I'd want to ask about.



If his plan does not ascertain and take into account all those things, then I'd say all you need to do is follow the O diet (which DOES take into account all those factors, and many more), and eat as much in the way of beneficial and neutral raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds as you like, along with the animal foods which we thrive upon. There are too many of us who have found that vegetarianism and constant grain intake sets us up for low energy in the short run, and failing health and disease over time. In good conscience, I could never recommend a one-size-fits-all plan to you and your family. thanks for your note, Kathryn!! :-D

I have purchased both the book Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type and the small companion book of food lists for my blood type O. The problem is that there are descrepencies between the list of Highly Beneficial, Neutral and Avoid in the book and that of the paperback Blood Type O Food Beverage and Supplement Lists. Which one should I do by? For instance, in the Food Beverage and Supplement book it lists Goose as neutral but the book says to Avoid goose; Food Beverage and Supplement says Avoid Pinto beans the book says they are highly beneficial. What happened? I want to know which to avoid and which is beneficial. Will there be another Food Beverage and Supplement printed that is more complete and proofed better? Thanks, Jean



Hello, Jean! Scroll to the bottom of this column, and read the last few paragraphs there starting with "Found Contradictions." Thanks, dear! :-D

Dear Heidi, my 4 years old child(O plus)is ging to be operated on his both eyes, in a month time. they use narcosis to make him sleep and explaind me that he might feel very bad after. I was wondering if you could recomend pre and after operation treatment which wil help bust health before entering surgery and going back to normal more rapidly after surgery.(He eats according BTD and I give him every day multi vitamins for children plus vit-C)thanks a lot, Lisya



Lisya, do you have the Encyclopedia, the big paperback book? It contains surgery recovery protocols, to be used two weeks before and continued two weeks after surgery. He would take them at 1/2 dosage. Let me know if I can help you find the book where you are. Or, send an email to info@stacktheme.com and ask the European folks about getting that book. If you can't obtain it in the next week, write again and I'll try to help with the supplements. Best wishes for your little one, Lisya! :-)

How do you feel about crystallized ginger? Does the fact that ginger is a beneficial for O types outweigh the evil in the sugar? It's a tasty treat ocassionally. Maureen



Whoa, it's mighty sugary! ;-) The ginger is still beneficial, and the sugar is still... well, sugar. The good effects ginger has upon digestion, however, may be somewhat difficult to notice when your tum is faced with dealing with all the sugar. As a sweet, I think it's superior to lots of other things one might choose, but I guess I'm trying to say it's more of a candy than a beneficial food. :-D

Hi Heidi, thanks so much for your long answer to my long questions about the lung cancer thing. I did look in the Practitioner Registry but couldn't find some who is certified. And even with that, there didn't seem to be that many choices, which surprises me since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area (zip code 94947). I may not entirely understand how to use that particular search function but I didn't come up with much. If you could point me to anyone that is good around here, I would really appreciate it. I don't think I can know who would be good or who not so good. And then on a very small note, I'm glad to hear that coconut milk is in the fruit, not the oil, category! How much coconumt milk would equal one piece of fruit? Oh, and on the subject of tumor markers and A non-secretors, I guess my real question is: if a tumor marker is not present, would that result be as reliable for a non-secretor? Thanks again, Heidi. JoanV



Hi, Joan ~~ Coconut milk? I'd say 8 ounces would be roughly equivalent to one piece of fruit. And I think your tumor-marker question is custom-made for Doc Bron! I'd pop right over there and ask that question of him. He is sure to know the authoritative answer!



How weird! I couldn't find any San Francisco practitioners in the database, either! I did see one in Aptos, about two hours from you, but... hmmm! The way I searched was, I asked it to sort by state (from the pulldown menu on the left), then I typed in "CA." 33 hits, and not one in your city.



Hey, you SF folks out there! Must be loads of BTD practitioners in your neck of the woods. Any suggestions for Joan? Perhaps some of you who attended the conference met an ND from her area? All suggestions and recommendations welcome!



Take good care, Joan, and I hope you're doing well! :-D By the way, Sarah's been thinking of you... see below!

Hello again Heidi. In today's column (17 May) you printed a question from Joan who has lung cancer. She had lost a lot of weight and wanted to put some back on. She said "And then there is the limitation on fats for my A diet. I get as far as thinking about a smoothie with almond butter, water and berries." I have always assumed the limitation on fat for As derived from our propensity to heart disease. If this is the case I would respectfully suggest that Joan can worry about heart disease later once her lung cancer is under control. Weight loss can be a big problem with cancer. It seems to me it is more important for Joan to get food and calories into herself in any form that (a) she can tolerate and (b) will not overburden her immune system & liver. This means avoiding her allergic foods and the A-non avoids, especially the lectin-based avoids. A-nons have fewer avoids as well as fewer beneficials. Fat is not in itself an avoid. If I were her I would not worry just now about sticking to fat portion controls. I would just try to concentrate on getting enough of each category of food, preferably beneficials, to keep me well. When she is on chemo she may find she can tolerate certain types of food better than others and they may not always be the ones most highly recommended for her type. I do not generally eat any meat, even the neutrals, but there are points in the cycle when tempeh tastes like dung to me and salad feels like steel ribbons, and all I can get down is turkey & root veg soup. Joan will have to be adaptable & make occasional compromises. I wish her all the best in facing her challenge. This is a horrible time for her and I think we ae all sending her our very best wishes. I'd like to recommend a couple of books and a website that are full of hope and have been very helpful for me. The books are Dr Bernie Siegel's "Love Medicine & Miracles" and "Peace, Love & Healing", and his website http://www.ecap-online.org which also has a message board. Love, Sarah XXX



Elizabeth Kubler-Ross said: "If there were no windstorms, the rocks would not be carved into such beautiful shapes".



Great advice, and lovely inspiration, Sarah ~~ thank you so much!!!

:-D