At 09:38 -0500 23/12/98, Janis Callen Bell wrote:

[ I just got the results back of  a stool test from Great Smokies Lab and
[ learned that I have two parasites, two kinds of yeast, no healthy bacteria,
[ and three kinds of unhealthy bacteria.  Yikes!  Yet I've been feeling better
[ than ever before -- lots of energy, able to run and work out and feel
[ energized afterwards, plenty of energy to do things at night, lots of
[ wonderful openings of space in my body when I do yoga and
[ spiritual/emotional release.  In sum, feeling better than I've felt in 25
[ years or more (I'm 48).

You seem to be monitoring your progress and overall health level
closely. As far as the test results, maybe keep them on the back
burner unless you feel compelled to use them as a diagnostic tool
towards changes in your diet / lifestyle.

[ I also feel that I'm not detoxing through the colon
[ enough and get skin rashes often; lots of exercise, skin brushing, hot &
[ cold showers, saunas, yoga all seem to support detox and keep me in check
[ but obviously not TOTALLY HEALTHY.

Do you practise food combining? How about short water fasts of, say,
one or two days?

[ Anyway, this doctor, a D.O., told me that the results were pretty bad, I
[ think he even used the word 'serious', and that I ought to be feeling a lot
[ worse than I do -- [snip] The power of suggestion was so great that I started
[ feeling uncomfortable in my stomach last night!

Unfortunately your doctor is not as aware as he could be regarding
the mind's influence on physical well-being. That offhand remark is
incredible for a health practitioner! I'm glad you were cognizant of
what was going on.

[ Whew!  The thought of taking all these things is overwhelming!

After recommending food combining principles and short fasts (if you
haven't already done so), now I swing to the other end of the rainbow
to comment that you're instinct may be telling you something here. I
looked at the suggested list of supplements and it kinda reminded me
of a bag of pills and powders prescribed to me while I lived in
Japan. I faithfully downed those drugs for three days (for my
ulcer/gastritis) and then chucked them out of sheer sensibility -- I
just felt worse by the hour.

[ Anyway, I know you all are not going to encourage me to take a whole pile of
[ meds, even if they are 'natural' mostly plant-based BUT, what I hope to hear
[ about is YOUR SUCCESS STORIES  with yourselves or clients with similar
[ imbalances who got balanced guts back with DIET

Allow me to quote from an article I wrote a few years back:

        "When I left Korea in the spring of 1987, I suffered from
stomach cramps, headaches, nasal congestion, coughing, constipation
and diarrhea, hemorrhoids, rashes, foul breath, bleeding gums,
insomnia and depression. General fatigue forced me to sleep 8 hours
daily and my eyes were hypersensitive to normal daylight. Bruises,
even small cuts took longer than usual to heal.
        In Japan, after three sets of prescriptions only exacerbated
symptoms (including one for an $80 dollar bag of pills that ate up
half my life savings at the time), I began implementing proper food
combinations and skipping breakfasts. Within three days I was able to
get up and walk, returning to work the following week. In the next
several months I overcame every ailment I had developed in Seoul."

When you're bedridden and you don't have a boat ticket to get back
home, it is a miserable existence. Fortunately, practising Natural
Hygiene principles helped me to regain the health of my alimentary
canal as well as overall level of well being.

If you have any queries regarding my recovery, I'd be glad to answer
them (if I can).