Heidi, I would love to get some answer about the following: Internetclients of mine from Belgium were tested both Non-secretor! She is an O-non-secretor and her husband an A-nonnie! It is the same situation you have at home! She, also a Heidi is troubled by IBS in a terrible way. Since on the diet, she has improved. But now she knows she is a nonnie, things have become more complicated. One urging question from me (I have been checking the archives and your recent column entries!) Question: are ther ANY grains she can have?? I read in a previous entry that O-nonnies must not eat any grain!! and that later on some can be introduced slowly again. Is Amaranth and Kamut also to be avoided by O-nonnies. And what about 100% sprouted wheat: ezekiel or essenebread! She loves the mannabread (is what we have here: 100% sprouted!) Would be much obliged if you could mean something for my Belgian Heidi-client!! Love Cocky

Hello, dear!

Since your Belgian Heidi has IBS, I would suggest she eliminate grain products for the time being. That is not because any one of them will necessarily cause her trouble, but because she is very ill right now and would be best served by a diet of vegetables, meat, fruit, nut- and seed-butters (no whole seeds or nuts) and oils. If you think of the ancient times in which we were forged, it becomes apparent that very little in the way of grain was available. People ate what the seasons of hunting and gathering provided. That is the safest route for now.

When grains became widely cultivated and used in bread, we Os thought we were in heaven... all those grain carbs right there, easily available, in quantity, when we used to get so little!! No more waiting till next year for a little honey!! Like a kid (me, in particular) let loose in a Teuscher shop! but it was a curse for us, and we have paid with our health.

O nonsecretors have a choice of neutral grains: amaranth, kamut, quinoa, millet, rice, rye and teff. Amaranth and millet are seeds rather than true grains. Strictly speaking, none of them should make trouble for her -- but I'm playing it safe, and she would probably prefer to do so, too. The sprouted grain is a little better for her than whole grain, so if it does not provoke an IBS attack, it would be OK to have a few times per week. In order to find out if it does indeed change her intestinal health, I suggest she take two weeks away from it, then try one slice and see what happens.

Good luck, dear ~ with friends like you, she is in good hands!