1. Introduction
2. General Information
3. Help Section
4. Tip Chart

Introduction

This web page is dedicated to the BaseLine program which takes a text file of your foods and symptoms and produces a printout of your environmental frustration level for each food compared to each symptom. Everyone using the program is expected to send a loose change tip of about $2.00 if they like the program, excluded from any tip are, for their own personal use, practising doctors or youth under 19 years old.

This is not a new form of alternative medicine. It is only a very simple method of data collection with a unique style of presentation. I hope that it is useful.

The environmental frustration levels are calculated by rating all foods eaten within three days of any symptom. These ratings are then normalised and presented in sorted order. A low frustration level means the food was not often eaten before a symptom. A high frustration level means the food was often eaten before a symptom.

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General Information

Remember that the program needs you to record your data for a full three months for it to be even slightly relevant. If your Doctor thinks your symptoms are around for a while and does not mind if you record your foods eaten and symptoms, then give BaseLine a try.

For most people, the foods they have eaten or their environment have no effect on their symptoms, but for some people, some foods may aggravate their symptoms. Since it is difficult to prove symptom aggravation, the BaseLine program simply determines food frustration levels. A high frustration level means the food was often eaten within 3 days of a symptom. A high frustration level is a loose estimate of a food that may aggravate one of your symptoms. This is not a science so be careful and always consult your Doctor.

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Help Section

What does the environmental record file look like? may 3, saturday, egg, bread, butter, coffee, $, apple, salad, hot dog, water, $, beef, vegetables, milk, headache, #, may 4, sunday, juice, pancake, syrup, $, chicken, rice, vegetable, coffee, $, apple, tea, $, beef, vegetable, salad, salad dressing, water, peach,#, -------------------------------------------------------------------- What is the # and $ sign for? The # sign must be at the end of each day, the $ sign is placed at the end of each meal. Note that a comma must become after everything. -------------------------------------------------------------------- What about Mac, DOS, Win3.1 or UNIX users? Since the most important part of Environmental Art is the Environmental Record text file, you can use your Mac or DOS machine to write the text file, The only thing you will need is a friend with Windows95 and a DOS compatible disk. The hard job is writing your text file, the easy job is running the BaseLine program which often takes under one minute. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Is it only for food? You can enter anything in your environmental record file, smog, long car ride, hotel room, at work, stressful day, dehydrated or whatever might have something to do with your symptoms. -------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the output look like? HEADACHE (one of 20 possible symptoms) 7 (number of times having the symptom) 0002 grapefruit 3 times (low relative frustration of 2 and ate grapefruit 3 times) 0005 water 14 times 0014 bacon 6 times 0030 milk 9 times (very high relative frustration of 30 and drank milk 9 times) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why is this the easiest form of food data collection? All you have to be concerned about is: comma after every entry, # sign after every day, consistent spelling. It does not matter what LANGUAGE you use, whether you can spell or not, or if you know anything about weights, volumes, etc. All it is based on is the FACT that you ate a food and had a symptom. The strength of the program comes from the long duration of data collection. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Is it hard work to make the Environmental Record file? Yes. Stick with it. It seems to be easier if you carry a sheet of paper with you for writing down your meals. For people who work at the computer they can have a text file ready on their desktop to be updated after each meal. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why is it called BaseLine? The main idea is to make an Environmental Art printout why you feel good. Then later you can make another printout and compare the two sets of readings. Your first printout would be your Baseline. -------------------------------------------------------------------- What is the most common mistake? The computer can not think, so if you enter a food with a slightly different spelling the program will process it as two different food items and the results will be less interesting. You can use the built in spreadsheet to check your food entries. Watch out for the "s" on the end of words. Example: grape, grapes -------------------------------------------------------------------- Are the frustration levels confusing? Yes a little, your Doctor may find it more relevant. Make sure you compare the different frustration levels within different symptoms. The foods eaten for one symptom, such as headaches, may have frustration levels much higher than the foods for another symptom. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why is BaseLine not a Science? Computers are very reliant on data. "If you put garbage in, you get garbage out". On top of that problem, the BaseLine program rates foods eaten within three days of a symptom. You may randomly happen to always eat turnips within three days of having a headache, turnips would then get a very high Environmental frustration level which does not mean that turnips caused your headache. Be very careful with your results. Always show them to your doctor. -------------------------------------------------------------------- How do you make a text file? The easiest way is to use the windows 95 Notepad program, but you can also use your favorite wordprocessor. When you save your program choose File - Save As... and type your file name. Then look for - Save as Type - that has a pull down menu. Choose the option "TEXT FILE" and click "SAVE" --------------------------------------------------------------------

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Tip Chart

TIP Amount	Condition
$2.00 or less	You have finished recording one week of your food/symptom text file, you like the BaseLine program so far and you are determined to continue for 3 months
$2.00 --> $10.00	Send this tip each time you show your Doctor the BaseLine printout (Only If you or your Doctor like some part of it)
$20.00	Instead of the above, if you often use and enjoy the BaseLine program, send this all inclusive once a year tip
Greater than $20.00	It is the anniversary of when you began using BaseLine (Your Environmental Record Anniversary date). You did not need to use it this year and you are still very impressed with the BaseLine program and have told several people about it.
$1.00 each file since last December	You collect peoples Environmental Record text files for your own research or pleasure.
0.2% --> 2.0% of Sales. Send each February for the previous year	You are a programmer and make programs that use the BaseLine style Environmental Record Text files

Disclaimer: This web page is dedicated to data collection and presentation and in no way suggests any medical techniques, medical ideas or suggestions. Always ask your doctor. Top Of Page

Last updated June 14, 1998
Copyright © JEr June 1998