I couldn't believe that getting rid of gallstones could be as easy as you suggest (WDDTY, vol 8 no 1) and couldn't understand why doctors insisted on putting people through painful operations if flushing were so safe and simple.

However, the apple juice and oil flush you wrote about as a cure for gallstones bears similarities to an account of "Mayr's Wonderful Stomach Remedy" I came across in the book the World's Worst Medical Mistakes. Mr Mayr's cure consisted of a bottle of oil and two powders, which would, he claimed, cause patients to expel their gallstones along with other "poisonous secretions".

In fact, the first powder was Rochelle salts and the bottle was pure olive oil. Together these formed sodium salt in the intestine. The second powder was a laxative. The "gallstones" were merely lumps of soap formed by the action of alkali on the large amount of oil consumed.

I now feel your "cure" to be a similar con. What do you think?

While I am about it, I gave my friend all the issues of WDDTY so that she could try some of the vitamins, etc for schizophrenia, and that didn't work either! MH, Roughton, Norwich.......

. . . or flushed with success

Another success for the gallstone elimination diet from the Dulwich Health Society you published recently.

A patient of mine was diagnosed by his GP as having gallstones.

The pain was severe and he had the prospect of a three and a half week wait for an ultrasound scan to confirm diagnosis before any treatment could be given.

I was about to go on holiday and I was unable to treat him. I showed him WDDTY and he decided to follow your instructions for the apple juice and oil flush. Right on cue, he started passing the stones. This was virtually pain free.

When he had his ultrasound scan, no stones were found. This surprised the medical staff, who were given a copy of the recipe. Steve Reynolds, Acupuncturist, Ashton, Northampton........