Avalon, thanks for another timely heads-up!



The relevant area of the site is on the right-hand side. You will be asked to register (free) with a username & password of your choice. Folks in the U.S., please go and cast your vote -- let your public servants know what you think on this issue! MANY THANKS!! :-D





Heidi, You are so prompt! Just a couple of notes: I knew that the agave nectar probably wasn't great, I just figured it was the lesser of two evils due to it's low glycemic index and it's sweetness (sweeter than sugar). On the upside, I have discovered chicory syrup which was mentioned in the same column you refered me to for the agave and said was probably OK. It's also cheaper than agave! (For all you nonnies looking for sweeteners-if Heidi says chicory syrup is OK-if I can find it in Canada, you should be able to get it in the US. It's pretty good-very natural tasting.)The veg-gly I have IS Frontier brand, I just find that it smells and tastes a bit artificial; kind of metallic. I will keep trying though. Thanks for your continuing advice and support. You are always a font of information. I'll keep in touch (I'm sure you're sick of seeing my name , but I always think of more questions!) Cheers, Paige



:-D Heavens No, I'm always pleased to hear from you!! :-) Let us all know the brand name of the chicory syrup -- sounds tasty, and I'd no idea we had something like Abby's chicory extract here in North America! BEST wishes, dear!! :-D

Hi Heidi, Are you doing okay up there in NY? I hope you fared the blackout alright.



Had a story and a question to share. My AB nonnie cousin who lives in NY and eats out almost every meal and does not follow the diet, except to cut out chicken and corn, visited me this past weekend. We had a long heart-to-heart about her health and the BTD. She has had so many sinus infections that antibiotics no longer work and basically always has a low level one. She has fertility issues and many fibroid cystic tumor on her ovaries. She just went to a new doctor in NY who told her there was some correlation between the tumors and blood sugar levels. Wanted to share that interesting tidbit with everyone. So she is now trying to drink the Sip Right Tea for AB rather than her morning cup of coffee, which she did not know affected blood sugar levels, and has cut back on the fairly regular and large quantities of wheat that she consumes. Amazingly enough, she was the one who introduced me to BTD some 5 years ago.



On the other hand, my A nonnie sister has come around so much to the BTD that she won't eat my Tofu Mousse with Mori-Nu tofu because it contains Gluconolactone (GDL) which is not in the TypeBase. Love her for that. :-) Not 4 mos. ago she was eating potatoes and wondering why she was getting headaches. This is what the company says about it, "Although a very tiny amount of GDL is used in making Mori-Nu, you should know that generally, the companies that make this ingredient use corn syrup as a starting base. Of course, by the time it is processed into a pure white, crystalline powder, it carries none of the characteristics of corn. The final product can be found in its natural state in bee's honey." Is this stuff alright to eat? Thanks Heidi. We are very lucky to have you around. Best, Nina



Hi, Nina -- I enjoyed the blackout tremendously -- and it was brief enough that little or no damage was done among my nearest & dearest. Mind you, I was not one of the thousands of poor souls caught in the subways when the lights went out & the A/C went off. Shoved together in humid darkness with hundreds of nervous strangers, waiting for the crew to come along and open the car so you can walk miles through the extremely filthy and dangerous tunnels is not a laughing matter, and I'm sure it was a much longer outage for them than it was for me. We were very fortunate this time, in terms of duration and the relatively mild weather. Only a few hospitals here have emergency generators. People undergoing operations or dependent on life support could easily have died on a hotter day, or if the grid hadn't come back up when it did.



But here where I was, it meant sudden, luxurious quiet. No blaring radios. No A/Cs rattling and humming along. No TV noise, anywhere. At first we thought it was just our apartment, or our building, but soon learned the score from the transistor-toting folks who gathered out front. Just as people check on their moms & dads during a catastrophe, Bryan & I headed down to check on our butcher. ;-) You see, in the '99 blackout (a localized phenomenon when Con Ed's poor planning got our entire "unimportant" neighborhood shut off), he lost thousands of dollars of meat to the 100+ degrees and nearly three days it took to restore the electricity.



So, we found his little shop already packed with other concerned locals, and him sitting on his stool, pronouncing "what will be, will be!" grinning and cracking jokes with everybody as usual. As it turned out, his carefully packed-up meat stores survived the only-16-hours unscathed. :-)



The best parts were ... reading by lamplight ... an hours-long philosophical discussion with Bryan that somehow turned to designing a BTD-compliant "Ding-Dong" (a very long story) ... and the unlooked-for blessing of a light-pollution-free night. We strolled outside around 11:00 to catch a little breeze, and stood in the street with our neighbors, gazing up like little children at the incredible sight of STARS overhead. Great night for a walk in the park! I wanted to go for a walk in the park, but he chickened out. LOL! Don't tell him I said that. :-D



OH! Whoops! you asked a question. :-} Gluconolactone, eh? Darned if I know. The description given by the manufacturer leads me to believe that the low carbers, celiac folks, and probably BTD'ers as well, have already torn them ragged over whether there's corn in there, and they've done their homework to give a thorough answer to those concerns. I'd opine that your sis can enjoy your tofu mousse with a clean conscience! :-)



It's great to hear your stories of family & friends -- I have to say, that's a big 10-4 HOO-RAH for your AB nonnie cousin! If I can help her with anything, just say the word -- hey, she's a "neighbor" of mine, after all! and keep up the magnificent work, Nina! Blessings on ya, dear! :-D

Heidi, Just a note for Helena, the celiac in Sweden (August 16, 2003). I don't know if it's available in her language, but the Gluten-Free Gourmet cookbooks by Bette Hagman are fabulous. Some substitutions need to be made for type O's and nonnies (arrowroot for cornstartch etc.) but it's a great basis for a lot of recipes.



The Gluten-Free Gourmet bakes bread is great for flour mixes as well as the information for making your own flour blends.



Another great cookbook for us type O's is The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook by Marjorie Hurt Jones, RN. Again, some substitutions are necessary, but the general idea is there. Hope that is helpful! Cheers, Paige



Many thanks again, Paige! Great stuff!! :-D

Dear Heidi: I'm going to be teaching high school foods/nutrition this fall, and I thought I remembered a teacher writing in that she was teaching the "blood type diet" to her students. Does Dr. D have any visual aids that could be used for teaching to 9th & 10th graders? I'd love to be able to teach it. I'm not teaching "the food pyramid." Thanks, Judy



Hi, Judy! OK, ANYONE GOT BTD TEACHING MATERIALS? :-D I know some of you out there are doing presentations and may have something Judy can adapt for her classrooms?



Write in!! :-D

Hi Heidi, I wanted to get back to you about the yeast/fungus rash on my body. I tried the grapefruit seed extract and Heallix and it is gone. I said before that I am kinda compliant on the B diet. I do OK at avoiding the avoids during the week but I don't eat as much as I should and there is no such thing as fresh fish in this town. On the weekends with my husband, he likes mexican food and I can't seem to resist the salsa and chips. I know I shouldn't but I still do, although I'm cutting back.



I'm living in one town during the week and at home on the weekends. Instead of managing my stress it's managing me. The only excercise I get is a little walking a couple of times a week. I've tried the alternate nostril breathing and can't seem to focus long enough to get it done. I'm taking 2 caps of Corticaid a day and pregnenolone. Once I took dhea with pregnenolone and felt pretty good but I'm afraid that the dhea will cause facial hair growth.



I know I need to do yoga or something like it but I'm not one to do it at home alone. I went to a yoga class several days a week in my 20's and that's the best I've felt, ever. I've looked for a class and the closest one is 70 miles away. I'm in Lawton OK during the week if anyone has any suggestions.



I went to see a counselor today and he told me that if I don't start feeling better in the next couple of weeks he's going to suggest antidepressants, which I really don't want to do. But my stress, anxiety, depression is affecting my marriage which is making matters worse. Do you have any specific recommendations that will help me feel better? Vickie



Hello, Vickie! GREAT news about the fungal stuff being gone!



With a choice between doing the alternate nostril breathing for a couple of minutes daily, or else taking antidepressants, I'd certainly try my utmost to "work it out" with myself to do the breathing. ;-) It's a very flexible thing: start with just one minute, and work up to 5 or 10 if you can -- and there's no need to focus mentally on anything in particular. You can plan your day, work on a meeting agenda, run through your shopping list, anything you'd like. You need not close your eyes. If you put something like a "single-ding" kitchen timer in the next room, or in a drawer, it can time your session without your attention, and without a noisy alarm jerking you out of relaxation.



A yoga class would be superb -- I DO hope readers have some suggestions for you as to finding a closer location to Lawton!



With such a demanding schedule, it must be very tempting to just do whatever you can to get through your weeks. I suggest taking a few Deflect caps for those Mexican meals, to help minimize the damage. Also (even though it's not a group activity like the yoga class) I heartily recommend the 8-minute full exercise program detailed on the 5 Basic Exercises pages. They require nothing except those few minutes and space to lie down in -- fabulous for perpetual travellers. Take a few minutes to look it over. First, look up the info in the Age tables, then go to the lowest level of exercise routines and just start right in. There are four simple exercises, then either a walk or a run. You can jog in place instead of outside if you wish. Even this simple activity would be powerful for your stress-reduction needs. Another very brief (and very B-like :-)) program is the Five Tibetan Rites. Again, no equipment or special space required -- a hotel room floor would suffice -- and just a few minutes to do the five exercises.



I truly hope that one of the above can fit into your schedule, while you're searching for a good yoga or T'ai Chi or martial arts class near you! Folks, please do write in with any suggestions for Vickie, OK? Take care, dear!

:-D