Q. Two questions have been bothering me for quite some time. More and more of my friends are increasing the raw food content in their diets by eating soaked raw grains, sometimes ground, sometimes left whole. What would the phytic acid problem be with such grains? I am especially interested in rolled oats since so many health clinics use it. Isn't there a rancidity problem with rolled oats?

The second question concerns the supposed anti-thyroid activity of vegetables in the cabbage family. Since this includes an enormous amount of vegetables - most of which I use - it has, unfortunately, ruined my enjoyment of these foods, since I am constantly thinking about this effect while I am eating them. - J.S., Pittsburgh, Penn.

A. Although the general rule of optimum nutrition is that we should eat as many foods in their natural, raw state as possible, there are many important exceptions to this rule. Grains must be cooked in order to break down the phytic acid bond with the minerals and trace elements so as to improve their availability and assimilation. The best way to eat grains is in the form of breads and cooked, hot cereals. Rolled oats, the quick-cooking kind, are already steamed, which means they are precooked. It is better to buy unrolled oats and cook your own cereal. This would prevent the possibility of rancidity which can be a problem with rolled oats.

In order to destroy the anti-thyroid activity in the vegetables of the cabbage family, the vegetables must be boiled or just steamed for a short time. Fermenting them, as in sauerkraut, also destroys this activity. Don't worry about having a certain percentage of your diet in a cooked form. There are plenty of foods left that can be eaten raw, such as all seeds and nuts, most other vegetables and all fruits. To avoid becoming a raw food faddist, think about people in Hunza and Vilcabamba, the healthiest people in the world. Their diet is up to 80% cooked. Grains are the basis of their diets, and they eat all their grains in a cooked form.

Q. My three-year-old son is diagnosed as having Down's Syndrome. Our doctor says that although there have been several kinds of drugs tried in the past, with dubious results, we should not nurture any hopes that our son will ever ben normal. I cannot accept that. I have read many of your books, and also those by others. Although in How to Get Well and Everywoman's Book you have nutritional and vitamin/mineral/herb regimens for practically every adult and childhood disease, you do not outline any such program for Down's Syndrome. With your vast experience and knowledge, you must be able to give me some hope. I strongly believe that nature, with its great laboratory of healing foods and herbs, must also have an answer to mental retardation. Please help. - K.B., Dayton, Ohio

A. Down's Syndrome or, as it was called in the past, mongolism is one condition that I will not attempt to help you with. Not because I am totally ignorant of it - I've studied, read and observed a fair amount on the subject over the years - but because there is a great man with such vast knowledge and experience in this field, that you and your son really deserve the benefit of his experience rather than mine. His name is Dr. Henry Turkel, a true medical pioneer and a genius. Dr. Turkel has dedicated practically all of his professional life to working with severely retarded children. He became convinced that mental retardation is a form of genetic defect, caused by metabolism and enzymatic malfunctions and abnormalities. These malfunctions lead to pathological accumulations of excessive gene products which interfere with the normal development and function of virtually all organs and systems of the body, including the brain.

But, the genius of Dr. Turkel lies in the fact that he has succeeded in developing a metabolic and nutritional therapy - his "U" Series of carefully formulated vitamin/mineral/enzyme supplements - which has proven to be remarkably effective in the treatment of mental retardation. Dr. Turkel's supplement, which is individually formulated, is given at each meal. In a series of scientific papers and lectures, Dr. Turkel has described significant physical and mental improvement in 80-90% of over 600 children he has treated. The reported changes include remarkable gains in IQ, reduction in edema in the extremities, accelerated bone growth and noticeable improvement in the function of all affected organs. And, although Dr. Turkel's method has now been successfully employed in many countries, including Russia and Japan, the FDA refuses to allow the interstate sale of his supplement on the grounds that it is "unproven." In Japan, the Turkel method has been successfully used since 1964 in the treatment of more than 5,000 Downs Syndrome patients at 80 university or national hospitals following the favorable outcome of a trial conducted by the Japanese National institute of Mental Health.

Q. I have had allergies and asthma since I was fourteen or fifteen. I am now 33. I have tried the raw foods, wheat grass diet, the lacto-vegetarian diet and many kinds of herbs and vitamins. I am now experimenting with the macrobiotic diet. I am particularly allergic to ragweed, dogs, cats, and dust. Do you think that diet can really help me, or will I always react to these particular allergens? Is there such a thing as a natural immunization program to help reduce the severity of my reactions? I will be grateful for any suggestions you might have. - D.S., West Grove, Penn.

A. Now that you have tried a long line of different diets, perhaps you are ready to try the Airola Diet. Your asthma is closely tied to your allergies. Yes, your condition can be corrected. Your body can develop a greater tolerance to allergens, and the severity of your reaction can be reduced. My book, How to Get Well, outlines an effective biological program and dietary considerations, with special vitamin supplements and herbs that can help to accomplish this. Let me just mention here a few specific treatments and substances that can increase your body's resistance and tolerance against all allergens.

The most important biological treatment for asthma and allergies is a 14-day or longer juice fast under a doctor's supervision.

The specific vitamins for your condition are (daily doses): manganese (5 mg); vitamin C (5,000-8,000 mg); vitamin E (600 IU): bee pollen (10 tablets or 2 teaspoons of crude pollen); vitamin B6 (100 mg); garlic, raw or odorless garlic products like Kyolic (4-6 tablets).

Q. I have read that cooking vegetable oils turns them into cancer-causing substances. If this is true, how was this discovered? I would like to know if you have any information on this. - T.A., San Diego, California

A. Heating vegetable oils to very high temperatures, as happens in frying, basking or cooking, renders them carcinogenic. In animal studies, four different fats were fed to mice: raw butter, heated butter, raw vegetable oil and heated vegetable oil. In repeated experiments, the animals that were fed heated vegetable oils developed malignant tumors, while the other fats did not have such an effect.