Hi there, folks!

Due to a glitch with the software used to upload replies, a full column was lost.

It contained what was to be Saturday 9th August's Q&A, with roughly a dozen questions submitted in late July. The column intended for the 10th overwrote that one during upload, and my normal backup procedures weren't sufficient to circumvent this new oddity.

I have put new protections in place to make sure this kind of thing (which in other modes has occurred many times) doesn't happen again. I must here acknowledge the invaluable contribution of Bryan, who got me swiftly into my straitjacket and gag at the moment of upload meltdown, thus preventing me from harming myself or others during my recovery from this incident. LOL!!! ~:-D

I'm now working on recreating that material, but it will take some time to figure out which questions were included and to reconstruct the replies. So, if you're wondering what happened to your Q from July 20 or thereabouts, that's what happened to it. Hang in there, I'll get it done. :-) and yet once again, THANKS SO MUCH for your patience and loving consideration! it means a lot! :-}

HI Heidi, I've missed your column alot and glad that you're back. I have a question about vegetable glycerine - is that the same as glycerol, because I found an article in a magazine that was talking about different food additives and it said that glycerol can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea...etc. You always speak of it as if its the nonnies sugar cravers dream come true - so in that cause I want to know why they would write misleading information or where they would even get it from. I guess I want to be resassured because I saw some at my local health food store and have been thinking of using it. Also do good oils such as olive oil have the same value if it is heated.

I just bought myself a juicer and was wondering what vegetable and fruit juices would be particularly good for the liver. I have decided I will use the grapefruit for that gallbladder/liver flush because I found some grapefruit - I guess its just an acquired taste. I also wanted to know what the signifigance of the grapefruit is for the flush. And for teh second day before I do the olive oil thing should I just be eating fruit and vegies or vegie juices. Nice to have you back. Thanks in advance. Chantelle

Thanks for the welcome back, dear! ;-)

About your vegetable glycerine question: yes, it is glycerol. But as to why the authors of that article would write what they did, and where they got their information, I think the best way to find out is to ask the author/publication. I'd be interested in their answer, too, so please let us know when you receive a reply!

Oils have the same listed food values whether heated or not, as long as they are not brought to a temperature where they begin to break down and smoke.

To choose vegetable and fruit juices for specific health purposes, consult the book Juicing for Life (Calbom/Keane). Always check a recipe for avoids, and remove them or substitute an OK choice for those items.

Grapefruit or lemon juice may be used for the gallbladder flush - grapefruit is simply more palatable for many people. The day before the flush is best spent with juices only -- apple juice/water for everyone except O nonsecretors. :-D

Type (A1+)MM,Sec: I have 27 years experience in foodservice. 5 years experience in blood group (A) preparation. I looked into www.foodtv.com < They require a sponser from an established production company to air a blood type food tv show. I thought it out & got an idea. We could do a blood type cooking/ food prep demo at the February 2005 IFHI conference to show people our style of cook-right 4 your type. I can demo type(A) someone could demo type (O) food another type (b) & (AB), if this could be fitted into the tight schedule. Please reply at your convenience. Tell me what you think:) Brian

Hi, Brian ~ It sounds really interesting! If you'd like to put together this kind of presentation for the 2005 conference, just go to this page and propose it to the IfHI folks. Best wishes!! :-D

Hi Heidi, Hope all went well with your projects. Not a burning question at all so whenever you get to it is great. Revisiting the L-glutamine discussion. Leafing through the encyclopedia and under Alcoholism it says recommended for Blood Group A: Specifics: L-glutamine: 500 mg. twice daily Maybe alcoholism is something where the upside of raising cortisol levels outweigh the downside. Like when eating lima beans is good thing when a Type A has cancer. Thanks for everything Heidi. Best, Nina

Hi, Nina!! I haven't yet been able to verify the glutamine issue, but I'll be posting it as soon as I do. I suspect it is one of those developments in research that supercede the info I have on file, but when I hear, so will you. thanks for everything, dear! :-D

Hi Heidi, It is Lisya again. I am mainly writing for my mother and my best friend. My mother is 70 years old and started BTD a year ago although secretor status unknown, I am shure she is a non secretor (Iam as wel)she lost 11 kilos during the year and 75kilos now. She is using basic pack A. Important of all she was suffering 25 years long from very soft eliminations with mocus (at times not able holding it) and now it is normalizing!

She reported that when she uses polyflora more frequently she notices better eliminations. She doesnt use her allergy pils anymore.

The only thing I do not follow is, when she eats abricots, prunes ore green salad and oils even if beneficial she gets a water like elimination.

Her galb ladder was removed years ago because of stones. So I tought meybe part of the problem is the absence of gal bladder. Would it be more dificult to digest oils because of that? On the other hand we do need some oils for vital functions. I cheked on internet site but can not find any recomendation for people without gal bladder.

Another thing is that she has has a very big vet buble at her back and some under skin white hard little bubles on her face. I thought of giving her brewers yeast and lecithine because I red that the inositol and choline part in yeast and lecithine can help in this cases. Doe you have any suggestions about these subjects?

My friend is 46 she is an O+ secretor sta. unknown. She is on a diet sinds a year as wel. although she sais she does not eat avoids, I noticed she does not chek the ingridients of products very wel. I think she is eating mainly ok. 1.she is suffering from joint pain ellebow and fingers. I adviced her to to chek trough her doctor if it a kind of reumatic illness like artritis etc. cut all grain and cheese for the time being. Her doctor was not cooperative she was very laconic about BTD so I thought she could carefully try Glucosamine sulphate, detox pro. liver support protocol with basic pack O.

She menstruates every 18/17 days which is to often and has a meat tree (i dont know how to call it in English it is non cancer growth in or out the womb) out side of her womb. In the medical publications of Academical Medical Center of Amsterdam they suspect disbalans on ostrogen levels could be causing myoms as they call it. My friend is been told that hers is rather a large one.

I thought, can a hormonal disbalans cause also reuma like symptoms? meybe it would be ok using fem balance anyway to normalize the hormon balance which might effect many complains positively? Last interesting one is that she has a buble (walnut size)on her right side immidiatly onder her last rib. After an ecography chek they said she has a air buble in the upper side of her bowel?? So they can not do anything abaut it and they do not know the cause. Heidi did you ever heard of anything like this before? Can a poor flora meybe cause that? But I can not follow why and by what air can be captured in the intestines without the ability to move? a certain bacterial overgrowth? I thought of intestinal health pro. and Ara powder but I would appriciate any advise from you

Okey last one about myself. I have little white underskin bubles under my eyes. I have it since I am 15/16 I think. They call it here underskin colesterol. I was wondering when my colesterol levels reading normal how can I have underskin colesterol? Do you have any idea how one can get rid of it. In one of the books I was reading recently they see it as early sign of cardiovascular problem and genetical suseptibility for hart problems. I hope it is not that bad. after 6 months of antibiotics I started to get vertical lines on my nails could it be mineral deficiency or efa or both? I am taking basic pack O. I have few more questions but I will stop now and send it an other time. Thanks ahead for everything, Lisya

Greetings, Lisya! For your mom, I think your suggestion of brewer's yeast is excellent. For her digestive trouble, there is a place online to study. It contains information on the liver/gallbladder flush for those whose gallbladders were removed, just like your mom. It is www.sensiblehealth.com -- and Julia Chang answers questions there as well.

For your friend, I think your recommendations for her joint problems are very good, but instead of glucosamine sulphate, use straight n-acetyl glucosamine ("NAG"). I don't know the answer to her intestinal bubble situation, but it definitely warrants getting a second medical opinion. For both the joint and the hormone/endometriosis problems, cleaning up her diet is the most important thing to do. She would certainly benefit from taking the type O probiotics, ARA6 and Deflect, but her commitment to her own health will be the deciding factor as to whether she begins healing, or gets worse. Avoiding the wheat and corn in the ingredients she isn't now checking will make a big difference in the way she feels. Do encourage her in that direction!

The antibiotics you took for a long time are the reason why your digestive system may not yet be up to snuff. Take some brewer's yeast and lecithin, along with your mom. Horsetail herb (Equisetum arvense) would be good for your nails (and hair), and make some good homemade broth from leftover roasts & birds. It is full of collagens & other proteins you need for healthy nails, and should also help with those little under-eye bubbles -- especially if you drizzle a little flax oil into it just before eating it.

I hope these ideas help you & your mom & friend, and look forward to hearing more from you again! take good care! :-D

I just found out recently that my blood type is O positive, and it shocked me because i've always fallen right into place on the type A diet. I feel sluggish and bad when i eat meats, healthy and energetic with soy and veggies and fit into everything else about an A even down to feeling worse after eating cashews and eggplant. The two are exact opposites, and I was wondering if there were any exceptions or factors that could cause that switch in diet. Thanks Shayna

Hey there, Shayna! Long-term vegetarian Os often have a lot of trouble adjusting to the diet that's best for them. Pancreatic enzymes taken before meat meals for a few weeks will alleviate that sluggish feeling. Your body will need time to begin producing those enzymes which haven't been called upon in years. I'm O positive as well, and cashews and eggplant have always been my least favorite foods -- as it happens, they are both avoids for me (O nonsecretor). Neither soy nor veg is an avoid for O secretors, except for those veggies on the specific avoid list (not many).

Try using the enzymes I mentioned, and commit to 100% beneficial O foods for just three weeks (along with the exercise). I think you'll then have ample evidence on which to base your decision. Best wishes to you, and thanks for writing! :-D

boo hoo! boo hoo! boo hoo! my mornings are just not the same without you.although i like reading dr dadamo & brons columns everyday they can sometimes be a tad heavygoing sometimes or i'm just thick! but i thoroughly enjoy your column & i miss it & you any chance of you staying up all night to do your other commitments so we can have you back sooner!? i know i'm being selfish but it just ain't the same without you! sniff!boo hoo! sniff!debs :-(((((

That was a great suggestion, debs -- I just stayed up all night, and got a little more caught up. Just like college days! LOL! thanks for your kind support & compliments... and don't be too hard on the good doctors OR yourself. We're all working on understanding what's gone before and planning for what the future holds! bless ya, dear -- :-)

Hello Heidi! It seems that in my quest for better health I may be doing some damage. The BTD diet has worked well for me for the past 8 months, having lost about 10 kg but nothing more. I am type A (no knowledge of secretor or not) have also found that for the past few months I have had a constant craving for chocolate. Does this reflect low iron levels? Also, I have been taking some coral calcium, which is reputed to have wonderful healing qualities. However, since taking this regularly, my body acidity levels have skyrocketed and stomach acidity has dropped.

I note that the BTD book refers to Calcium Carbonate requiring highest levels of stomach acidity. Does this mean that I can't take the coral calcium? They say that the body can go through quite a dramatic toxic dump when starting on the calcium so could this be what is happening to me?

Then one last question: when buying pasta I am confused with the ingredients as the front of the pack says 100% durum wheat, but the back of the pack lists it as durum wheat semolina. As a type A I can have durum wheat but no semolina. Whew, that was a mouthful. Thanks for all your wonderful responses and I hope you are able to help me with the above queries. Have a wonderful day. Dagmar/Vicki

Hi, Vicki ~ The chocolate craving is more likely a hormonal problem, and/or a chromium deficiency. Try a daily tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast, and consider using Phytocal-A instead of coral calcium to alleviate those stomach problems. It has all the calcium and balancing / trace elements you want, in an easily digestible form. ;-)

About the semolina issue - yes, the ingredients list on the back is the one to go by. They did use a rather confusing combination of terms! since semolina is a byproduct only of durum wheat, so the only semolina IS semolina made from durum wheat. Hope this clears things up!! ;-D

I've been curious about something. I can find no evidence to support the claim on the website http://www.dadamo.com/ regarding the advocating of the blood type diet by the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation. I have emailed them and they were unaware of this claim. They said that they do not advocate the diet. In actuality, the link takes the Internet user to the Life Extension Foundation--which is something entirely different. Why is there a misrepresentation of something so important? It truly bothers me because I believe that the blood type diet can work for many people--so there is no need to make false claims. How can this be explained? Lydia

Hi, Lydia! I think it was probably just a typo. At any rate, I see that our website has already been corrected to reflect the correct information, so thank you for the heads-up! :-D