Kia Ora from N.Z.

May I ask Angela through your column who in New Zealand is able to confirm secretor status. I notice she is a nonnie and I would very much like to determine my status to improve my health.

And also if I may, another request for information from you Heidi. I had an allergic reaction to the Protein Powder, and am doing as you suggested, put it aside for awhile. I have been on O supplements for a month. After two weeks I developed a fairly constant cough ,no pain non productive, just an irritating cough, which also feels like an allergic reaction. I am feeling a bit stuck.

Ive stopped taking all the supplements except Polyvite and the cough is gradually subsiding. I thought I would gradually introduce the other supplements once the cough has cleared completely, but I am very puzzled that I am reacting to these supplements for my type. Thankyou for all that you do for us. Marni

Hello, Marni! As it happens, Angela did not use a secretor or Lewis test. She researched this site, compared her history and conditions with the research she read, and used other food-testing modalities to double-check what her 'gut' told her she should do. Once she satisfied herself that she would do best on the nonsecretor food lists, she proceeded with the nonnie diet. She, too, found no way of getting her secretor status in New Zealand -- so she did the best she could.

I'd like to revisit that idea with you, too, since Kiwis seem to have no clinical options for determining secretor status. When you wrote a few months ago to ask what to do, I thought it was best to get tested somehow. Now, I think you'll benefit from using whatever you can discover through other methods, such as muscle testing with a reputable practitioner.

I still wonder why there isn't a single lab in NZ doing Lewis testing, at least. Sheesh! What's going on down there?? ;-)

While it's fairly rare to have an untoward reaction to the BTD supplements, there are some among those few are folks who react to just about everything --because of years-long dietary practices leading to leaky gut, a history of surgeries, and sometimes just due to a generally allergy-prone condition (common among Os). As a type O (are you Rh neg?) vegetarian for 30 years, I'm not too surprised that you're one of the sensitive folks. I don't believe things will stay that way! rather, that your healing may progress over a couple of years before your digestive system settles in to a calmer state. You WILL see progress, though, and gradual improvements are often the best kind!

On the diet front, try using only foods which are either beneficial or neutral for both secretor and nonsecretor Os. That is the safest route -- just skip all O avoids. I do suggest that you eliminate grains entirely, since they are the least beneficial foods for you, and the most likely suspects in the allergic load you're carrying. And, of course: remember your two best friends, Exercise and Water. :-)

Hello Heidi In my search for the mixed glandulars that you recommended I was advised to consult the thyroiduk.org website and through their recommendation I have bought the following glandulars for adrenal support -Adreno-lyph Plus - containing 221 mgms of adrenal extract, and also pituitary and parotid extract with vitamins C & B. to be taken for a week or two and then for thyroid support -T Lyph – containing 130 mgms of thyroid extract. (They do have other strengths I think these are the higher doses) From the Nutri Company of New Mills, Buxton, http://www.nutricentre.com.Does this sound OK to you?

But worringly for me, among the list of goitrogenic foods on the thyroiduk website were some beneficial and neutral foods for O’s i.e. cabbage kale almonds walnuts millet. I love walnuts and almonds and kale. What is your advice, do these restrictions apply to O’s I can hardly bear having to cut out even more of foods that I like?Thanks again Chrissie

Hey there, Chrissie ~ Those are indeed high-strength supplements, fancier than I'm used to! ;-) If you can take just one capsule of each daily, I think you'll see a great difference in a week or so.

The foods you mentioned are on every 'goitrogenic' list on the Net, and I wouldn't be dismayed by them. The paradigm underlying these lists is rather different from ours. For instance, do they mention wheat's damaging effects on type O thyroid function? Or how generally sensitive thyroid tissue is to harmful lectins? Or the roles of protein and exercise in boosting your endocrine self-healing? See, that's why you're OUR girl, Chrissie. :-D Evaluate all one-size-fits-all health advice according to the individual-specific material the BTD provides, and you won't go wrong.

Let me know how those supps do for you, and enjoy your nuts and kale! :-)

Hi, Heidi, I had a Dietary Serotype Panel done at the local naturopathic college - I'm a B secretor. Question: what do I do when the test recommendations contradict the books? For example, the test says chicken and wheat are great, the books say no way. Thanks for any light you can shed!...Jebra

Greetings, Jebra!

Everyone is different... but not that different! ;-D We do make certain modifications to the diet in conditions such as cancer, diabetes, true food allergies, and extraordinary physical demands such as pregnancy or athletic training. Some adjustments are permanent -- for instance, if peanuts send you into anaphylactic shock, they're banned & booted off your list, even if you're type A. Other changes are made in order to lighten the stresses while the body heals, and are only temporary adjustments.

However, these are different matters from a food list which contradicts the diet. Live Right 4 Your Type, as amended by the Updates page on this site, is the seminal work - and final authority to date - on these diets. In terms of your diet, the useful information in your serotype panel is your ABO, Rhesus and MN types and Lewis status. They help you refine your personal eating do's and don'ts.

If you'd prefer to see the effects of chicken and wheat in a lab evaluation, how about getting an Indican scale done? You could eliminate the two for two full weeks, and do one test -- then eat chicken and wheat daily for two weeks, and do another test. I'll betcha the next note you send will open with, "Wow!" ;-D Let me know what you learn! ;-)

Heidi, Thanks so much for your column. I have learned a great deal over the past few months by reading your column. I don't know if you realize what a great help you are to other people. I know you have helped me.

I have a question that I wrote you about a month or so ago, but I haven't received a response yet, and I was thinking that maybe it didn't go through. I really need some help.

I have been going to a holistic physician for about a year now. I was diagnosed with celiac disease and taken off of gluten products and others.

This past February I was still continuing to have problems with sinus infections and sore throats at which time an IgG Food Sensitivity Blood Test was done. I found out that I was allergic to other foods such as: almond, banana, green bean, kidney bean, pinto bean, yellow wax bean, brazil nut, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cashew, cauliflower, coconut, corn, egg, eggplant, garlic, lettuce, cow's milk, millet, mushroom, onion, pecan, green pepper, white potato, quinoa, canola, radish, rice, rye, safflower, tomato, walnut, wheat, zucchini.

When I combine these foods with the avoid foods for my blood type (Type , there is hardly anything left for me to eat. This sometimes gets very discouraging. I am presently taking a multi vitamin, probiotic, and digestive enzyme. Is there a supplement that I can take that may prevent me from having a reaction to these foods so I will be able to have more to choose from to eat?

Also I have been having a bad case of dermatitis herpetiformis lately. I found out it was the oatmeal I had been eating. Is there some supplement to take to help with future outbreaks of this? Thanks for your help. Susan

Hello, Susan! I'm sorry I missed your question the first time around.

As a celiac, the very first health supplement on your checklist should be a powerful stress-reduction program. Meditation, T'ai Chi, visualization practice, Holosync, kriyas (a great resource is the book Meditation as Medicine by Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa and Cameron Stauth) -- the choice is up to you, but I urge you to explore this most essential element of treating the well-known effects of stored stresses which have contributed to your condition.

Your doctor probably mentioned this to you, but do check your supplements and beverages against the gluten-free list (check this page for resources). Oatmeal is an iffy item for celiacs, as it appears to have a weak form of gluten and some are bothered greatly by it -- you, for example. :-(

There really is nothing I can recommend which will completely protect your sensitive intestinal tract from all harmful foods. One supplement I'd be taking daily at the therapeutic dosage is Deflect-B, and the other is Polyflora-B -- with the addition of ARA6 (larch arabinogalactan). Ultimately, the healing must come from food and lifestyle changes foremost, helped along by a very few supps (the fewer processed foods and drugstore vitamin tablets, the better). See the Stomach Health and Intestinal Health protocols on this site, as well. Vitamin C in significant doses can help your immune system rebuild, and tone down your allergies.

A little good news on that Draconian food list: IgG test results can vary from week to week; they're not the hard evidence of what you should or shouldn't eat that they claim to be. Over time, I've heard a great many reports on comprehensive no-go food lists such as the one you received, and the consensus is that they produce results somewhere between marginally helpful and costly-but-useless.

For one example of success with celiac, see what John had to say in this column from August of 2002. If you are willing, the use of an elimination/provocation diet can allow you to identify for yourself any food which is harmful for you presently. You might start with a middle-ground diet: using lamb and fish as your base proteins, and kale, collards, watercress, squashes and whatever other vegetables line up with both the type B and the IgG lists, then provide plenty of flax & olive oil. These items can make a satisfying temporary diet with the addition of good sea salt, tolerated herbs, and seaweeds used liberally. Next, add sheep/goatsmilk products, watching for trouble. The safest place to start there is with fermented varieties of these foods, like kefir and yogurt. I'd set aside beans, nuts, seeds and grains entirely except for those beneficials which do not cause you trouble.

First of all, though -- the stress-reduction practice.

This is a complex issue, and I'd like to be able to give you some tips which you feel comfortable incorporating into your plan. Could you tell me a little more about ya ~ how long you've been on the B diet, whether you meditate, what your day is like? It would help me formulate a more specifically effective plan for you. Take good care, and write again soon! :-)