The D'Adamo Clinic is accepting applications for a nursing position. I thought I'd note it here, in case OTD readers hadn't noticed this link on the home page that went up yesterday. This is a stellar opportunity, and one that appears very, very rarely. It won't be open for long, so follow the application procedures if you're interested & qualified. Best of luck to all! :-D

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Heidi - This is for Paul, the B+ sec unknown who is taking 5HTP for depression from (April 5th column). A couple of years ago on the old board, there was quite a discussion about B's using 5HTP. Dr D had a warning for B's using the supplement. I had tried it for a couple months - I think it was to control cravings or something, and I got quite depressed using it. The cloud lifted very shortly after discontinuing the supplement. So, this may not be for Paul. -Linda

Thank you for this, Linda! Paul's mention of using 5HTP bugged me because I recalled an Ask Dr. D. column posted in late 2000 saying it wasn't recommended for type B -- but I couldn't find that post, so I thought I was imagining things. and addressed myself to the questions Paul asked instead. :-} Paul, listen up! Your fellow Bs are on the ball! :-D thanks again, dear!

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Hi again Heidi, I am back with a question about my husband, type A+ (secretor status unknown). He believes in the BTD but is still eating red meat and products containing milk products such as salami. He is eating his vitamins and minerals + probiotic.

I am trying to make him aware of the importance of avoiding sugar in jams and biscuits like Digestives (if you have that in the States). The only candy he eats is dark chocolate on saturdays. He also exercises (for instance running) a couple a times a week and does qi gong every day. That is, I think he is doing a lot to stay healty.

Anyway for a couple of months now he has had a rash on both his arms (starting above his wrists and ending below the armpits). It is red and itching, especially at night and early in the morning. Putting aloe vera or ionised silver on the spots does not seem to help at all. Do you have any suggestions on what else to try ? Thanks a lot ! Carina

Hello, Carina! Without knowing a great deal more detail about your husband's diet and environment, the rash appears to be a reaction to bad fats.

It will be difficult for him to heal the rash until he removes from his diet the (saturated) meat fats, oils/nuts/seeds on the avoid list, and any hydrogenated oils (which hide everywhere in comercial products such as cookies, breads, cakes). It will help him to immediately start supplementing with fresh olive oil, flax oil, and walnut oil, along with 5-7 servings of fresh vegetables daily.

This is the kind of rash in type A that is also made worse by over-exercise. A daily qi-gong session is PLENTY (believe me, I know!). If he would like to add a workout, let it be a casual stroll on his running-grounds -- using that time to explore and expand his awareness of the natural world.

The first week I ever spent in London (at the age of 16) was fueled by pints of that marvelous milk most Americans have never tasted (sweet as God, 30% cream the bottle) and chocolate digestives (dark was my favorite, too). We don't have such things Stateside except in special import shops, but oh, how I remember. :-> I dimly remember the brain fog and exhaustion, too, but upon my subsequent discovery of fish restaurants and Paki, I recovered to triumph later! :-D

One last thing ~ give him Methyl B Plus or some other methylcobalamin formulation, every morning ~ it will help resolve the skin condition. The addition of Cortiguard, if only one capsule in the late afternoon, will help as well. Best wishes to you both, Carina! :-)

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hi heidi just a quickie,what's happened to dr bron?his website seems to have gone completely and no reference to him as a contact on anyones page.what has happened to the fellow? thanks debs

Hi, Debs! Well, Bronner's a dynamo in the clinic these days, and if you've never run a naturopathic medical facility, it may be difficult to imagine what he tasks himself with every day (and night). I hear his patients are very happy! He, too, is married with kids, so add it all up and you get a very busy boy. We still have the naturopathy news from the clinic staff in that column space, for which I'm grateful. Hope this helps, debs! :-)

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Suzanna's post on sciatica stimulated numerous responses among sympathetic readers. I could have said it "touched a nerve," but you know how rigorously I maintain my personal ban on puns. ;->

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Sciatica - left side is a sodium deficiency, right side is a potassium deficiency. The fastest way to elevate one's electrolyte level is green drinks like HARMONIA. Hope this helps. thomas

Thank you for the reminder, thomas! I hope addressing a full spectrum of mineral supplementation will get rid of it on both Suz's sides! SUZ!: - sea salt for the left side, bananas for the right!

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Hi there, Heidi! I want to share a recent experience regarding sciatica, that could probably help Susanna and other sufferers of back pains and/or sciatica (well, actually all muscular pains).

I have been suffering from lower back pain, pain in my left hip and along my leg and foot. This has been the situation since last May. I have been to orthopedist, neurologist, homeopath/manual therapist since then. I have been taking bromelain and lately dewil's claw, the latter being more effective in relieving the pain (I'm type O).

Dear Heidi, I will understand if you do not believe me. But I had this experience and it seems to be working. So let me tell you how it all started:

One day, I thought I was sick of the shape of my study and I decided to move the furniture around to give the room a new shape. I did it while no one was around! I moved the bookshelves, TV set, computer, sofa, rugs and kilims, in essence I did 11 out of 10 things not to be done by people with sciatica or back pain! (I also have a grade 3 tear in my left knee meniscus cartilage and a grade 1 tear in my right one)

When all was over, I felt so energetic, for the first time after all those months FREE OF PAIN! I have then thought there must be an explanation of this. I have made a search on the web and come across several books on mind-body connection and the healing power of human brain/mind. I have picked up John E. Sarno's (M.D.) "Mind Over Back Pain" and "Mindbody Prescription". The pain in my hip and leg were gone before I was halfway through the first book.

When I finished the book, I took my bike and went cycling for around an hour, something I was forbidden to do since last May. Since that day I have read the other book too, and now I am able to overcome the pains whenever they occur.

John E. Sarno states some facts based on research and statistics. - There are a lot of people with herniated discs or other structural abnormalities who have never suffered back pain or sciatica. - There are many people who have no structural abnormalities but suffering from back pain and/or sciatica. - The Homo Sapiens has a healing power that will relieve any pain or heal any injury within a given time.

Yet, back pain and the like are persistent. So they are not (at least in overwhelming majority of cases) triggered by structural abnormalities. What he concluded is the cause of the pain could be "mild oxygen deprivation" and that was why some activities or physical treatments could alleviate the pain, as they improved the blood flow to the area, hence the oxygen flow. He takes the Freudian approach and says that the repressed rage in our unconscious is the main culprit. The brain, in an effort to stop the unconscious bursting into the conscious, deceives us and sends orders to restrict the flow of blood to some tissues, which in turn develop pain. He has well presented cases in his books, and speaks of people who have healed themselves just upon reading the books. I appear to be an example.

I have stopped taking dewil's claw, I am back to my normal activities, exercising, running, cycling. All I have to do is to listen to "my mind" to find out whether I have a certain rage for something/someone. I don't even have to remove the rage, just recognising the cause cuts down pain immediately.

It is as if one's saying to his/her brain "you deceiver, I've gotcha". Well Heidi, this is the story. It looks amazing, but it worked for me. I hope it works for Susanna and others too. You know what? Among the people I happen to know with back pain, type O appears to be more common. Wouldn't one think that the overindulgence of type O's in being "goodists" could have been contributing to their unconscious rage? I am sorry for having to write so long but I appreciate you reading so far. take care, Yaman

Yaman, You da Man! (complimentary slang expression!!) Your observations are superb.

I wish everyone with chronic pain would buy these books. Actually, I wish EVERYONE would buy them. Sarno has knowledge from which anyone can benefit if s/he so desires.

You did a magnificent job summing up some very complex ideas, as well as illustrating your day-to-day experience with them. Kudos to you, and thank you for writing, Yaman! write more! :-D

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Hi, Heidi! I am Rachel the blogger, and I wanted to thank you SO much for all of your hard work. WOW! I am so very impressed with the time and care that you put into your column.

Regarding the sciatica e.mail today, I wanted to put this forth: I have had on again, off again sciatica pain for several years, but it became steady and miserable last fall.

I discovered 2 things that made all of the difference.

1) I was taking a bunch of dance classes. Over the holidays, when there were no classes, the sciatica nearly disappeared. It became clear that the actual movements required in dance class (especially the specific way that you have to hold yourself and stretch in ballet) were one of the biggest culprits with respect to my sciatica pain.

I am sure that your reader has already looked into their exercise routine (or lack of it), but there might be something in their daily life that is aggrivating the condition. Something as simple as "flopping" into the car can do it.

2) This is the biggie: if I eat any - ANY - corn syrup my sciatica flares up immediately. Certain sugars - corn syrup being the main one for me, clearly cause this reaction. I ate a handful of gummy bears yesterday and found myself rubbing my lower back and hip 5 minutes later and miserable from the pinching pain.

I would suggest taking a really close look at the sugars that he or she is consuming and trying to eliminate all of them for about a week. Try putting them back in one at a time, and see if there is a reaction. Thanks again, Rachel-the blogger

Excellent points, Rachel! Suz is an O-nonsecretor, and like you O secretor folks, she's prone to inflammation. I have an unproven theory that Os also lose structural integrity (and incur joint and spinal trouble) when muscular & ligamental vitality lags behind the optimal. More to follow!

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OT: In reading Rachel's blog, I came across an issue that I've tippy-toed into in this column, but have tried to limit in discussion because it actually doesn't belong here and if the doors were flung open to it, I'd be wandering even further from my remit here than usual. Namely, pet food. What to feed Bowzer and Pawz?

With the coming of spring in the northern hemisphere, I'm reminded of the biological imperative all creatures feel to go out and eat spring goodies. I want all creatures, human and other, to be free from poisoning in this season of cleansing and renewal.

So:

I see so many crippled animals every day in my neighborhood. Hugely obese, with distended bellies, swollen and disfigured joints, dogs who need help just to stand up. Kittens and pups with cancer. They didn't get that way from some rare disease or traumatic injury. They lost their health and entered a world of pain because of what their human ""caretakers"" FED to them.



From the page Rachel linked, "Food Pets Die For:"



In case you're thinking that's reactionary nonsense, here is a news report on the grease industry. Replace the word 'fat' with 'transfat source extraordinnaire.' Would you drink exhausted fry grease from Burger King? If not, would you ingest the stuff they ""process"" out of it, which is actually a polymer(plastic) and not a food anymore? That's what YOUR PETS ARE EATING, folks! And worse, unimaginable as it seems. Read carefully. It tells you exactly what "sourced from restaurant grease" means.

Grease, the New Industry

Here's a brief excerpt:













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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/8305985.htm

[Emphasis in red is mine.]

Please, please, PLEASE, folks -- if you feel any affection at all for the animals you care for, DO NOT FEED THEM COMMERCIAL ""PET FOOD."" At the VERY least, please call the company who makes the feed you use, and FIND OUT WHERE THE OIL IN IT COMES FROM. I mean, FIND OUT, ask them where and who they get it from and what the chemical components of that "oil" are, and don't take waffling for an answer. If you've been poisoning your animal companions for years, today you can begin to do otherwise. Today is all anyone has.

We human individuals have every right to destroy ourselves with rotten diet, lousy attitudes, cancerous habits and self-serving ignorance, but that right ends where it harms another creature who has no choice in the matter and must depend on OUR judgment for its life and good health. Fail yourself if you wish, but do not fail the creatures dependent upon you. If caring well for animals is too heavy a burden in whatever way, do yourself a favor and find better homes for them. Don't neglectfully feed your animals into a living Hell.

Here ends the rant for today. *:-}

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