Hope you had a good break- we missed you!

I just wanted to tell you that my dad (ab man with severe kidney failure) is so much better- the sun, light exercise and good ab food helped so much that his nurse at hospital said that it was cases like him that made her work worthwhile BUT- because he is in dialysis every night he has to keep his intake of potassium and phosphorus very low - it means that a lot of the veggies and fruit, nuts and dairy that is beneficial for him is a NO NO if he follows the hospitals advices.

I´m really worried because I do not think that he gets enough fruit and veggies. He eats : In the morning ryebread with a bit of butter and cottagecheese or jam maybe a glass of applejuice. Lunch is ryebread with different types of meat and fish. Afternoon green tea and one fruit and a biscuit. Dinner: meat, rice/pasta and small amounts of veggies, glass of wine.

Do you know a place on the internet where I can find the amount of minerals and vitamins in different food? - I really want to show him that not every veggie and fruit is high in potassium- the hospital is not very helpfull on this. Henriette B-sec.

Hallo, Henriette! I'm thrilled your dad is doing better now!

HERE is a page detailing potassium content of various common foods, along with cooking techniques which reduce potassium. Most of the low-potassium foods listed are neutral or beneficial for him.

You know, the hospital's staff is where this info should come from -- this is a huge part of their responsibility, both in educating their patients and in giving full information on dietary guidelines. You may have to nag a bit (in a friendly but persistent way) if they don't feel like helping you. Speak to the doctor, nurse or dietician and ask for a comprehensive list of foods showing potassium and phosphorus content, and to give you an exact upper cut-off amount on those minerals so that you can plan his meals. Also, make sure he gets plenty of beneficial proteins -- lamb, liver, mutton, rabbit and turkey, and fish -- he needs them for healing. One portion of meat or poultry 3 times per week, and one of fish 4 times per week.

How about eggs? A little less grain (bread, biscuits, etc.) would be better for him -- he really should have a maximum of one grain serving daily (two slices of bread, one muffin, or 1/2 cup of dry rice, cooked. Reducing his grain intake will make it easier on his kidneys.

Thanks SO much for that report, and I look forward to the next one! VERY best wishes to you both -- you are a wonderful daughter!! :-D

The reason your various readers have not found umeboshi plum seasoning to have the same ill-effects as vinegar is because it isn't vinegar. Umeboshi plums are pickled in salt with something called shiso leaves. The plums are then sold at great expense & the pickling liquid is sold separately as a seasoning. It does make a good vinegar sub by way of a change but I assume we wouldn't want anyone to go hog-wild on it because of the need to moderate salt intake. Sarah

Yep! It's a very strong, tasty pickling liquid. ;-) Thanks for that, Sarah! ;-)

Dear Heidi, Thanks so much for responding to my letter and thanks to all the other readers for the support! I'm sorry I haven't checked in for so long; I've been away for 3 months and have neglected to check the postings-I didn't even know you had answered my questions! As an update, not much has changed YET, but I'm working on it .

One thing I have started is making iced green tea to drink instead of soda (I'm afraid that was a nasty addiction). I make about 2.5 liters (I'm Canadian so you'll have to convert) and use 16 tea bags. Then I add the juice of 2 limes and 1 lemon. Unfortunately, I just can't give up sweeteners entirely right now, but I try to minimize them-I use 1/2 cup of unrefined sugar and 1/2 cup of agave nectar and try to reduce the amount each time. I am finding that I require less and less sweetener each time. The way I look at it is that 1 cup of sweetener in 2.5 L is a lot better than than the amount in the soda or drinks I had before.

I am slowly trying to get an exercise program going and plan to try some of the suggestions you and the other readers made. I'm just such a picky eater *sigh*. I'm working on making some sort of snack bar, like a breakfast bar, that I can keep at work for snacks or have for breakfast when I can't make something. Do you have any suggestions for a protein supplement/powder to use since whey and soy are out (I'm Type O non-s)? I was thinking about ground almonds or other nuts, but don't want to overwhelm the recipe with one flavour. Bottom line- it has to be tasty or I just won't eat it.

My cupboards and fridge are always filled with healthy food I buy with all the best intentions, but end up tossing out because I really don't like it. I seem to have very limited taste preferences; possibly because I've eaten so poorly for so long. I just don't think I can give up sugar or sweeteners entirely, I guess I just have to minimize. You mentioned hooking me up with a btd practitioner in my area, well I live in Ottawa, Canada and would love to know if there is anyone in my area. I would really like to correspond with some of the readers-you know, for support and to trade recipes etc. so if anyone is interested my email is [LET ME KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE TO CORRESPOND WITH PAIGE, AND I'LL FORWARD HER ADDRESS TO YOU. :-)]. Thanks Heidi for your continuing support and information.

Heidi, Just one more note. I have some veg-gly that I try to use-especially when baking-but I find it imparts a very metallic taste. I have tried it in tea etc. but find the taste off-putting. Have you or any of the readers noticed this? Cheers, Paige

Hello, Paige ! Vegetable glycerine would be a wonderful substitute for the cup of sweeteners you currently use in your iced green tea mix -- 1/4 cup equals 1/2 cup of sugar. If the brand you bought does not taste good to you, try any of the other brands mentioned in the several columns on sourcing veg gly. Frontier brand seems to be the frontrunner on flavor. And if you're interested, take a look at my quick note on agave in this column.

I don't think I'd be of much help in designing a protein supplement you could *keep* at work and just mix into a drink, or use as a food bar. You might try albumin (egg) powder -- try ProteinFactory.com. Jerky is most definitely the best option for protein snacks that will survive a while in an office desk drawer, and the book Jerky by R.D. Livingston explains the basics and offers plenty of recipes which can be adapted at will.

It does take a little determination to find tasty ways of using beneficial and neutral foods in cooking. We all face that obstacle, and overcome it either by testing new recipes or adapting the ones we're familiar with. For instance, if the only way I could drink green tea was with sugar, I'd choose a beneficial juice or an herbal tea I liked instead. I do understand your difficulties incorporating new foods, starting your exercise and weaning yourself off sugar. Just try to move forward a little bit each day - take as much time as you need. ;-)

About your request (posted later) to design a meal plan for you, it looks like you have all the tools at hand to do so -- and only you can taste-test recipes to see if they meet your exacting standards. Just start by making up that frequency table for yourself out of Live Right, then fill in the blanks with meat, fish, vegetables, in very simple combinations for main meals. For reference, try using just one big cookbook like The New Basics Cookbook (Rosso & Lukins) to have all your recipe choices in one place. It gives plain cooking techniques and tips for most common foods, as well as a wide variety of recipes which easily can be adapted for your purposes. VERY best wishes, Paige, and please do update us now & then when you can! :-D

? The column of 14 oct 2002: "back by popular demand~more potpourri? Chris wrote to you stating: im "(rh neg Kal neg." I wanted to find out what "KAL neg" designates? Can you tell me? brian

Good question! I'm not familiar with this term. Anyone have an idea on this one? :-)

i am a type B soy products are bad for me does this include soy protien isolates? allen

Hello, Allen ~~ Yes, the isolated soy proteins should be avoided - that is the concentrated form of the soy elements which are most harmful for Bs. :-)