There are times when fate seems to catch up with us in the midst of our busy lives. Last week I watched a program on television that affected me greatly. I don’t watch daytime TV as a general rule, but I was tired that day, and flipped it on as a way to help relax. The program I watched mirrored some early parts of my life, and affected me to a great extent. So much so that I felt a pressure in my chest all evening and it was there to a slightly lesser extent the following day. I considered my health options, knowing that I needed help and couldn’t do this by myself. I’d seen my MD doctor the week previous and knew he was cruising the Caribbean the day I had this problem. So, in terms of conventional medical treatment, I had the choice of surrendering myself to a hospital emergency room or going to a walk-in clinic. Neither appealed to me. Our health care system in Ontario has deteriorated so badly that people wait endlessly for attention in emergency wards, and hospitals in general are not a place I choose to hang out in general. Going to see an unknown doctor didn’t feel like any better option. Taking drugs doesn’t appeal to me, either. Fortunately, there are always more choices than may be obvious at first glance. I live down the street from a wonderful Chinese acupuncture doctor who has helped me out of difficult health situations over the past 15 years or so, from time to time. I was able to see him that evening, and between his treatment and the herbs he gave me to take, I was much relieved of my symptoms. Also fortunately, my heart pulse was strong, even when I first saw him.

My problem is high cholesterol, which I’ve had for a great many years now. It seems to be catching up to me, now that I’ve celebrated my 67th birthday recently. In fact, the reason I had visited my MD doctor was to see if we could figure out why the remedies that are supposed to help lower cholesterol levels don’t seem to work in my case. I had discovered in the book “Healthy Immunity” a little note that said that people with subclinical hypothyroidism would block the ability of herbal remedies to be effective. It also said that this is very difficult to detect. My MD was angered by the book, said it was written to make money and that it had no value. I did not point out to him that it was based only on scientific research, like the BTD, although in hindsight, I should have said this. He did order some blood tests, though, and I will see him in a few weeks to check on the results. He also protested that my thyroid levels, in recent blood tests, had been well within normal limits.

This whole episode has given me, once again, a great thankfulness for the BTD and for Dr. D’s efforts. The BTD Enclyclopaedia recommends supplements for cardiovascular health (and other health situations). I bought several on the weekend, and even without having all of them, I feel remarkably better shortly after taking them. I will buy the rest in the next day or so. I couldn’t buy the first item on the list, because the health food store wasn’t familiar with “oligomeric proanthocyanidins”. When I looked it up on the internet, I quickly discovered that it is also known more familiarly as grape seed extract, which is very easy to purchase here.

I am also grateful to the BTD because I was able to make a reasonably fast recovery. When I returned for a second acupuncture treatment two days later, the doctor said I had really scared him when he saw me initially. We cannot underestimate the value of keeping ourselves in the best possible condition, especially if one is afflicted, as I am, with two permanent situations: growing older and being a non-secretor.

As always, I end this blog on the note of gratitude to Peter D’Adamo and his incredible work, inspired by his amazing father, James D’Adamo whose intuition and intention deserves a Nobel Prize.