Welcome back to cyberspace. I wrote recently that I was able to get my secretor status tested in Canada. The good news is that I am a secretor (O), but the bad news is that my body seems to think it is a non-secretor.

Case in point, I can't digest soy, need protein at absolutely every meal, and respond poorly to cabbage and other marginal secretor neutral foods. I am an endurance athlete who trains an average of 8 hours a week. Has this regime tricked my body into acting like a non-secretor.

Also, can you recommend any foods/supplements for enhancing ability to adapt to hard training? Thanks in advance. Nadine

Hey there, Nadine! Congratulations on getting your secretor status nailed down -- taking that step makes everything else much easier!

A couple of thoughts for you: first, don't sweat the neutrals. Soy doesn't do for type Os what it does for type As, and its role can be played adroitly by other foods -- whether rice or nutmilks, or egg or rice protein powders. In the vegetable category, those beneficials are there for a reason, and not just for weight loss. They provide an abundance of plant sugars & fats, minerals, and vitamins of all kinds which you need to achieve your training goals.

Second, although you didn't mention which sport you're pursuing, I infer that you are training VERY hard for those 8 hours in the week. I wouldn't say your body's been tricked, but rather that it's honestly requiring extra nutrition to perform as you're asking it to do. ;-> For your situation, adjust Live Right's portion/frequency guidelines upward to include the extra protein, balanced with more vegetable foods, all of which you need to support your schedule.

Foods and supps which can help: (a) high-quality meat (meaning grass-fed red meat) for the protein AND the very important CLA not present in grain-fed beef; (b) fresh oily fish as often as possible; (c) adequate plant fats from olive oil, fresh-ground flax, and the beneficial nuts/nutbutters; (d) minerals found in seaweeds, nuts, green veg, mineral water, homemade meat/veg broth, and sea salt; (e) loads of pure water; (f) nutritional yeast for B vitamins and other trace elements; (g) Phytocal-O for recovery and "mental maintenance;" and (h) you might look into a product called Omegasentials, which I've never been able to get my hands on, but which boasts plenty of testimonials on its astonishing effects upon lactic acid formation and recovery from hard exercise.

Of course, I'd also take a stroll through the NAP Store catalog here, since you may find several items you'd like to keep on hand -- the Polyvite multi as well as the Protein Powder come immediately to mind. :-)

Let me know how these suggestions work for you, Nadine! and thanks for writing!! :-)

GLUTEN FREE WHEAT BREAD - I have an extract from a cookbook called "Nourishing Traditions' by Sally Fallon who explains that our ancestors would always soak their grains before use. During the soaking and fermenting, lactobacilli break down gluten and other difficult to digest proteins.I have just made a batch of traditional sourdough bread using mostly whole wheat flour, so I think this is gluten free. I can't find any other reference or recipe to support my thinking. Can you help? Thanks, Peter

Hi there, Peter! To tell you the truth, I wouldn't depend on that procedure to remove the wheat lectin. I do not even know that it takes care of all the gluten, so I suggest doing more research on it before entrusting your health to whole wheat bread made in that fashion. If sourdough were gluten-free, the dough would not hold the gasses released by the leavening, and you'd have a rather flat, dense loaf. Gluten is what makes that dough "stretchy" and able to rise & hold those bubbles.

At any rate, please see if you can't research it a little further, and let me know what you learn! thanks, Peter! :-D

Dear Heidi, Missed you while you were gone . I read your column daily. Good to have you back. I have read that sweet tasting things can cause your body to release insulin on an associative basis the same way ringing a bell caused Pavlov's dogs to salivate. I'm an O nonnie and use vegetable glycerine. I also read in your column that vegetable glycerine "regulates" blood sugar. Could you please address these two topics? Thank you. jonny

Hello, Jonny! :-) Vegetable glycerine is not metabolized as sugar ~ it bypasses that route, since it is a sugar alcohol ("glycol") rather than a sugar molecule. For that reason, even though it tastes sweet it does not stimulate insulin production. I hope that's what you were asking? best wishes, dear!

:-)

Hi Heidi: Glad you and the board are back! I had a quick question. About a month ago, I pulled some muscles in my back and abs. (My husband talked me into moving too heavy furniture!) I am feeling a little better each week but did have a question. Outside of following the diet, what is a good plan for healing and maintaining good back health. I don't have big back problems, but being 50, I do seem to get aches and pains more easily. When I did this last back strain, my sciatic nerve in my right hip also hurt on and off.

I realize that lifting beyond what someone can is not a good idea, and I am walking each day which seems to be helping the healing process, but what do you and the others suggest for a good, safe exercise? I bought a treadmill late last summer but hear that this can cause sciatica to flare up. Any ideas and suggestions would be much appreciated! Joyce

Hello, Joyce! The first and most important thing to do is to stretch your hamstrings -- the muscles in the back of your thighs running from the hip to the knee. An easy way to begin is to lie flat on your back, and raise one leg straight up until you can grasp the knee and pull gently toward you. Switch legs & repeat, 5 times each side.

The second most important activity is anything which strengthens your abdominal muscles. Simply lying flat with hands at your sides, and raising your head until you can see the heels of your feet is a starting point. Three times to begin, and increase as you're able.

If you do both these exercises morning and night, your back will thank you!

Walking is great exercise -- I'd also suggest manganese, 50-100 mg daily, and quercetin, as much as you like daily (to sooth inflammation). Be sure to get that 1/2 ounce of salted or lemoned water per pound of bodyweight daily, too. It's wonderful for healing strains.

Best wishes, and I hope you're fit as a fiddle in record time, Joyce ~ keep me posted! :-D

Hi Heidi I am B+ (optimism is in my blood) and have been doing well on the diet for almost 2 years now. I am scheduled for a Colonoscopy next week and in preparation for the procedure my bowel is viciously purged of all contents. :-p Do you have any recommendations for a first meal(s) after the procedure to rebuild my gut flora and fauna? ;-) I was thinking of yogurt and maybe a probiotic supplement, but was wondering if you had any other ideas. Thanks Tom C.

Hi, Tom -- I think I'm late in answering your question! The first meals should be cooked vegetables and fresh broth, fresh-juiced vegetables, and certainly do a full-scale assault with PolyFlora-B for at least a month after your colonoscopy.

VERY warmest wishes to you, and please let me know how you're doing! :-)

Hi Heidi, I have a few questions to ask, regarding a Type O+, who is a secretor, based on my test-free testing :

1. If a type O has no stomach problems, and is not overweight, can they still enjoy beer?

2. I was researching this protein powder called Goatein, which is made from goat's milk. It is free from most of the allergenic products found in regular milk. Here is the link, http://www.gardenoflifeusa.com/products/goatein.html about the product. Would this be an OK protein source for type O's. Thanks Heidi, Raymond

Tsk, tsk! now Raymond,... ;-) test-free testing is notoriously unreliable... and I'm an authority on THAT if nothing else. :->

Beer's an avoid for all type Os, perhaps because of barley's avoid status (although the sweetener known as malted barley is sec-OK), or for some other reason... whatever it is, beer plays havoc with the digestion. Have a nice pint of your choice, and attend closely to how your stomach feels. A little ... stiff and dry, you might say? Your sensations may be different from mine (yeah, I'm a *tested* nonnie, lol, but I've been canvassing for 'secretor sensations,' too), but ... beer's really an avoid. Bummer, but there you have it. :-}

Goat's milk is an avoid, as it contains whey. I read the link you posted, but couldn't see whether "goatein" contains whey. If it does, it's still an avoid. Go ahead and find out from the manufacturer what the exact ingredient list is, and kindly post back for me.

If you'd like a great protein powder that IS good for type O, howzabout Peter's formulation that just arrived in the Store! just a suggestion!

thanks for your message, Raymond! I look forward to hearing from you! :-)

Does GEROLSTEINER need the pinch of salt or sqeeze of lemon?? Are there any other products like glycerine which are also "switch-hitters?" Or, is glycerine unique? Is your column & Dr. D's printer friendly? Thanks, Conrad

Hello, Conrad! Gerolsteiner benefits from a squeeze of lemon, but it's not necessary in that case.

Glycerine is the only product of its kind I'm aware of, although there are other sugar alcohol products which haven't received comment by Peter.

We don't have a full-screen link for the columns, but you can always copy & paste to the word processor of your choice if you'd like a text version for saving.

Best wishes, and happy holidays to you! :-D