[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/22/2011: Brad from Aurora, Colorado: "Ted, I have tried OP 4 yrs ago and quit because after one month I suffered dramatic hair loss. I followed all directions to the T, I was a little bit down in the dumps and thought I could correct this situation my self, so I started taking food grade ( diluted of course ) Hydrogen Peroxide as per recomendations ( followed all directions ) and after a month my eyesight started to get very blurry and has gotten a little better but I now need to wear bifocals. I am just now feeling like asking some questions if I can change my situation for the better. Please help? Has some bacteria gotten dislodged and settled in my scalp and behind the eyes?"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  05/25/2009: Covered from Fort Hood, TX: "I've been taking olive leaf for about 12 days now. A couple of days ago I broke out with bumps (they look like chicken pox bumps) is this natural or is it an allergic reaction?"

[BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS]  07/19/2011: Curly from Chicago, Illinois: "Heya Earthclinic, when I take probiotics my sweat smells like bread dough or yeasty. And when I shower and stop the probiotics the smell is gone. Is this die off of candida?"

04/17/2011: Tm76 from Dublin, Ireland: "ok just started taking psyllium husks capsules yesterday, 2 an hour before each meal, have spent today in bed with terrible cramps, diarrhoea, and now vomiting, thought it was a gastric bug, but not sure after reading some posts here, drank plenty of water, does anyone recommend I continue with it?"

04/17/2011: Francisca from Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France replies: "It would be interesting to know why you were taking the psyllium husk capsules..... Constipation, I suppose.... I have never tried them but the only thing I can think about is that you took too much and had a terrible diarrhea! You say that you took 2 an hour before every meal but how many meals a day do you take? Does that mean that you took 6? It might have been too much! What I do in case of constipation is to start with a little bit and wait to see if it works. Sometimes I eat prunes, for example, but never a lot or else I can have the exact same problems (I have never vomited though...)."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  10/25/2011: Smiler7700 from Manchester, Nh, United States: "Hello, at about age 30, I began having severe gastrointestinal distress from eating lettuce on anything, even if there was lettuce snuck inside a sandwich or a burrito. It took me a while to isolate what was causing the problem. It happens with all raw green substances (all lettuce, romaine, alfalfa sprouts, anything raw and green). However, I can still eat celery & bell peppers. What occurs is......... I get these huge stabbing, painful cramps in my stomach/intestines that is the worst pain........ Then pretty soon thereafter, I get the worst diarrhea ever, painful, and it goes on for hours, until whatever green was in there is out. (Sorry to be so graphic, but it's awful........... ). Now, every time I look at raw greens, I shudder, and I'm very vigilant about making sure no one puts raw greens on anything of mine! I told a gastroenterologist about this, and I don't remember if he had a real "explanation" for it.

I do have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I don't remember if he said that this raw green intolerance is part of the IBS. However, I cannot find anyone else in which this happens. It seems very rare. And, I don't really know how to "cure" it. The gastroenterologist didn't really seem to help. Perhaps I should try a more naturopathic gastroenterologist? They could possibly recommend digestive enzymes? Because, the idea of me slowly introducing raw greens into my diet until I tolerate them........ It just frightens me, the pain is so bad when I eat them. But, I think I might have to "risk it" and plan to re-introduce myself to greens when I have a few days off of work, because it takes a lot out of me, I'm drained after these digestive attacks. Thank you for any input. I read on here a lot, but have never posted."

10/25/2011: Smiler7700 from Southern, Nh, United States replies: "I also forgot to mention, I want to move toward a more plant-based diet, with less processed foods. So, I would hope to at least at some raw greens as part of this diet shift. But now, with smoothies, I don't put kale or any greens in a smoothie, just fruit and ice................ No dairy - I am also lactose intolerant. So, for someone who wants to venture into vegetarianism....... Having a greens intolerance and a lactose intolerance is not a good thing- it won't leave me with many options! Thanks."

10/25/2011: L from New York replies: "Hi Smiler, I have had a similar experience when eating raw vegetables in some restaurants. It does not always happen and it never happens at home. I think some restaurants do not properly wash the greens and I am particularly sensitive to the bacteria or preservatives that is left on them. So my policy has become to eat only cooked vegetables in restaurants and to wash the veggies well at home. It has been effective. I wish you good luck because raw vegetables are so good for us. Lee"

10/30/2011: Maria from Gippsland, Australia replies: "Hi Smiler7700, I don't think it is a rare as we tend to think, I think it is more that we don't talk about our bowel movements. I too used not to digest raw vegetables and cooked corn. Lettuce was the worst it would just float in the toilet bowl, 2-3 extra flushes to get rid of it. (Sorry folks about the graphics. ) I too agree that washing the veg is vital as even the chemical residue causes IBS symptoms for some. I took digestive enzymes for years to help. This enabled me to have salads but not twice a day only once a day, and only for 2-3 days in a row. I also found that all white products needed to be removed from my diet.

After being on ayurvedic remedies I now digest my food. The ones I believe that were of most benefit were: Ginger; Triphala; Tulsi; Neem. If you do a search for each one with the word digestion you will find some info about each of them. Triphala I found best taken after rising in am and also before bed. The others all taken with meals, 2 or 3 time a day, although the ginger with every meal. I have tried many different ways of eating and excluded things but it was the above remedies that changed it all for me. All the best."

10/17/2012: Smiler7700 from Southcentral Nh, Nh, United States replies: "Hello, I did not see your replies until now, a year later! Thank you so much. I will diligently wash any raw greens, and will only order cooked vegetables from restaurants. I will also look into those supplements & enzymes mentioned in your replies. I recently found out that I have lymphocytic colitis - it came about after a biopsy from a colonoscopy. The good news was... No polyps! So colitis might explain some of it. But thank you."

12/14/2012: Sara from Sacramento, Ca: "A warm Hello to Everyone! I am a full time student and heard so many good things about the benefit of Schizandra berry such as mental clarity, mental focus, sharpness and alertness. I bought it from a local Chinese store in my town and started taking it. Here is the funny parts: When I make a tea out of Schizendra berry and drink, I feel tired and need to go to sleep right away. If I take this berry at night, I can 13 or 14 hours of sleep. I wonder how people can take this instead of coffee in the morning. Thank, Sara"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  10/05/2012: Meredith from Dubbo, Nsw Australia: "Can anyone explain why using sea salt as a mouth rinse has totally stripped my gums away. Where there was no issue before now I have some major gum recession going on, its not painful, just unsightly and a great concern. I'm stocking up on Vitamin C and eating well, but I'm nervous my only choice will be surgery. Any ideas?"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  11/13/2011: Peter from Lynnfield, Ma: "Do not take sodium nitrite. it can kill you at it almost did me!

My mom has end stage renal disease with high bp and is diabetic. i came across this article and i took a very small dose 2mg of sodium nitrite to try it out before giving it to my mother. i took it at 4:30 am and i became delusional and psychotic in 1 hour time. my wife called 911 and in the emergency they administered methylene blue and this saved my life.

The doctor said that the sodium nitrite caused methemoglobenemia and my oxygen saturation was only 50% even with using a oxygen concentrator. i would have been dead in 3 hours or definitely brain dead if not for the emergency doctor. i am an educated guy. i am a dentist but still i got taken into this nonsense. it was also a very embarrassing situation. i hope this ted would try his remedies on himself before he posts these poisons as remedies as cures."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/04/2009: Catherine from Leiden, Holland: "About a month ago, I changed from using Benzoyl Peroxide to Tea-Tree oil to treat spots and pimples. Maybe a week later, I developed a patch of Perioral Dermatis on my chin. I've been dabbing tea-tree oil on this patch since, thinking it might help but to no avail.
I've been looking into dermatitis and was interested to see if tea-tree was meant to be of any help so I googled it and the first few results were that tea-tree can CAUSE dermatitis! I've had patches of dermatitis before and thinking back, I'm pretty sure I was using tea-tree those times too... The thing is, is that I've been applying it to other parts of my face with no repercussions. Is it possible that using tea-tree could trigger perioral dermatitis when used around the mouth but NOT cause a reaction when used on other parts of the face? I'd be interested to hear peoples thoughts.

Anyway, I'm going to stop using tea-tree completely and try using ACV, for the dermatitis at least."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  02/22/2009: Steve from Indianapolis, Indiana: "my wife started taking tumeric by the powder for a boil and now has a 100 degree temperature along with being tired...is this a side effect of tumeric?"

02/23/2009: Keith from Boston, MA replies: "She either has a virus, which just happened to appear at the same time, or she is having a Herxheimer reaction to the turmeric. Remember it is a blood tonic."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  07/02/2011: Joyce from Dallas, Tx: "I read one of Ted's posts about taking Vanadium Sulfate to help lower blood sugar... I have been taking 200 grams a day not milligrams, but GRAMS. Since I've been taking it, I have been so dizzy, lethargic and weak... I have absolutely no energy, am fatigued... Good thing is though, that my Insomnia is gone and I have been sleeping like a rock!!!!! DOG TIRED!!! I've stopped taking the Vanadium Sulfate a week ago, but still have this fatigue and weakness... How do I get rid of it?? It's almost like Vertigo, but not quite... Maybe Hypoglycemia.... Help!"

11/14/2011: Kitty from Melbourne, Australia replies: "Why on earth would you take 200 grams of anything? That's just crazy! I hope you got proper medical assistance for this?

Sometimes humans tend to think "well if a little is good, then I'll take a lot and that will be better" - well this is just not the case! Just because something is natural, doesn't mean it can't have serious side effects."

11/20/2011: Anita1 from Central, Usa replies: "To Joyce from Dallas, Tx - if you want to lower your blood sugar - there are several natural ways you can do this without getting too much and hurting yourself. One way is cinnamon. They sell tablets of 1000 mg. now and you can take one with each meal to lower your blood sugar. I would not take more than that unless you were eating a large amount of carbs.

The second way is to use an herb called gymnemma. It is a great herb in that it helps restore your pancreas. You can also take two to three a day safely.

The Last way you can lower your sugar naturally - besides exercise - is to eat a low carb - moderate protein diet.

BUT - the CAUTION is: Don't Over-do on the supplements. (You'll make yourself sicker) ~ AND - IF you are using Insulin - you Must keep tabs on your blood sugar - because these supplements will really bring your sugar DOWN pretty rapidly.

As for what you have now - you can drink hot lemonade two to three times a day for a couple of days and see if it will re-balance your body. It ususally works to clear you of anything that is upsetting your body. Do Not use Honey to sweeten it as it might cause you diarrhea. Good luck!"

08/16/2012: Jdparkusa from Santa Clara, California replies: "Gymnema has tendency to raise blood pressure, So those with HBP should take caution. JdparkUSA"

09/10/2012: Jovana Cvetkovska-bliznakovska from Skopje, Macedonia: "Hello! :) I have a problem , so that I would like you to help with The vinegar-cure stuff.

I soaked my hand fingers in vinegar once a day. For 3 days I repeated the action. Today my fingers ached so heavy that is even unbearable, and even there is a swelling that terrifys me.

Please, I would be very grateful if you could help me and tell me what to do in order to solve my problem.

Thank you in advance. Regards, Jovana "

09/11/2012: Mmsg from Somewhere, Europe replies: "Jovana, what IS your problem that you are doing the soaks for?"