Dear Heidi, your column continues to be a source of wonderful tips and inspiration! Not a question, but a suggestion for Ann with the upper arm pimples and dandruff. Years ago I read an article that the upper arm pimples could be one of the first signs of zinc deficiency. It's something our family has kept an eye on over the years as our soil here in NZ is deficient in this mineral. I find eggs, walnuts and flax oil does the trick and clears up both complaints. Hope this helps. Regards, Angela.

You bet! Great tip, Angela, and much appreciated!! thanks, dear! :-D

Hi Heidi Just wanted to thank you for your encouragement and thorough answer to my questions! As I have only just started to eat fish, it is too early to know whether or not it will be sufficient to ward off all of my problems (particularly the period pain), or if i will in fact need to eat meat as you recommended last week.

I can say that since I started to radically cut back on grains (about 6 months ago now, on the advice of my partner who religiously follows the diet) my skin has improved markedly. Since I started eating fish a few weeks ago and virtually no grains, my digestion has improved too - far less bloating and gas. I was wondering if you could recommend any particular supplements/foods to help heal my intestinal tract and assist with my skin and menstual cycle, or if the O diet is enough. Thanks again for taking the time to impart your excellent wisdom, Emma

Hey, Emma! Glad to hear from you!!

It sounds to me as if the diet is working its magic right on schedule. Between the food choices and The Exercise (of course ;-)), I think you'll solve every difficulty on your own without the expense and fuss of supps. Using ghee on a regular basis is better than any med for healing your intestinal tract -- and some additional foods such as nutritional yeast, wild yam, and maca root can all be of assistance if desired. Just keep right along with what you're doing, and I'm very excited to hear your next "report!" :-D

Dear Heidi On LDN, diet 27 July 2003: My daughter is tested both LDN in a blood test and secretor by saliva test from NAP. So now you know two of them:-) I am an O secretor, but as a relative to an O non secretor I hope it is possible for me to join Nina's O nonnie list. Thanks for all the inspiration I get from your column. Kirsten

Hi there, Kirsten! That's fascinating! :-)

Since your daughter is a secretor according to the saliva test, she should follow the secretor food lists. The nonnie recipe list wouldn't help much, I'm afraid -- it's all according to the nonnie food lists.

Blessings to you, and many thanks for your kind words! :-D

Dear Heidi, I have not been able to follow your collumn every day due to travelling abroad. I hope I have not missed too much of your very precious advise and comments! As Marshal and Susan I have a little problem with the LDN and positive secretor status (and further: A1 Rhesus + MN) which is the case of my daughter. She does not react to the A secr diet as well as others do and and also feels attracted to the non secr diet. I suppose that her particularly tricky case is more for Dr Bron than for you, but still, I thought I would share the fact that there was another rare bird around the place! Perhaps there are some more little birdies hidden somewhere on this planet and it would be interesting to hear if they have particular experiences. What do you think Heidi? Anyway, than you som much for your dedication. Bianca

Yet another rare bird! Now we've got three!! :-)

Yes, if there are problems in that area, it's best to consult with the docs. I hope her situation can be resolved soon, and wish I could do more to help!

One thing I CAN help with is catching up on columns: just go to the bottom of this page, hit the List Previous Topics button, and "hover" your mouse over the titles until you see one dated previous to your trip. Then you can work up from there, if desired! Thanks so much, Bianca, and I hope to hear from you soon about your daughter's situation -- best wishes!! :-D

Dear Heidi, I have used Mineral Check hair analysis from Body Balance. My mercury and arsenic levels are elevated. Mercury is 3.69 (the range is <=1.69, and Arsenic is .140 (range is <=0.082). I eat a lot of fish, mainly haddock or cod. I am B non-secretor and these are the only fish that are on my beneficial list available here.

Is there anything I can do to detoxify my body. I plan on cutting consumpion of fish to once a week. Is there anything that you can recommend. I heard about mercury in fish but I was never was aware of arsenic. Thanks for your wonderfull work. Magda

Hi, Magda! Chelating heavy metals is a complex matter, but there are some columns posted in the past few months which may be helpful to you. Go to the bottom of this page and enter the search term "chelate" or "chelation" -- we've been graced with some expert reports as well as some folk remedies.

My very best to you, and I do wish I could help further there! Anyone who has some specific advice for Magda's condition, please do write in and share it! :-)

Hi Heidi! This time I'm asking on behalf of a friend. She's just been diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus. She's a type O, and by the time you get to answering this, she should know her secretor status. She hasn't yet started BTD, but I hope she will soon. Anyway, we've read the past OTD entry about GERD, but that's all I could find in this column. My advice to her has been to start BTD asap and very religiously and to get the Encyclopedia. I note in the Encyclopedia there are several behavioral guidelines to follow, and these pretty much mirror what's said in the straight medicine sources (which has been her only counsel so far).

However, the straight guys also give lots of diet advice. Since the Encyclopedia shows that the majority of people with Barrett's (and cancer, of course) are A's, I'm assuming that much of that advice may be useless or even deleterious for a type O and that (unless symptomatic) she may still be helped by eating O beneficials. Do you think that's right? Do you have any other suggestions for her? Would something like Heallix be advisable? Eagerly awaiting your best-guess opinion! Kathy K (B-NS)

Hi, Kath! Well, I took purely forever to get back to you, so did your friend obtain her secretor results?

You're absolutely right: she should emphasize type O beneficials! She did not develop this condition by eating an O-appropriate diet. If you're able, do help her sort through the various doctor's recommendations to avoid falling into the type A advice. There are general as well as O-specific recommendations in the Encyclopedia which would benefit her tremendously. Heallix would most certainly help in healing the tissues. She should also be taking bladderwrack religiously, as H. pylori is not just problematic in ulcers -- it's been implicated in Barrett's esophagus as well. VERY warmest wishes, dear, and please let me know how she gets along?? :-)