There are times I feel a bit "off" when eating certain cuts of meats.  Usually, I am not sure what to attribute this dizzy, achy, off balance feeling to.  Could it be stress?  Did I over do it today?  I have read in past research that preservatives are abundant today in just about all our fare.  Sadly, our food packaging isn't required to list it all.  And who would think those freshly cut meats could contain such ill additives?  I can truly see why the grassroots movement of organics is mounting in our great nation as more information unfolds.

Auto  immune  diseases are on the rise, and it is no wonder one attribute may be our diet that has changed drastically in the last 50 years.  Furthermore, fibromyalgia was practically unheard of then.  Now fibro affects approximately 5,000,000 Americans today.  Something is definitely causing this mass epidemic.  I share with you an interesting article on preservatives in meat.  I try to buy natural or organic when possible.  But don't skip the meat!  You can be deficient in magnesium if you do.  Low magnesium mimics symptoms of fibro.

This article will get you thinking:

Preservatives prevent microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria from developing on foods, which then lead to spoilage. Preservatives are also used to maximize the amount of time poultry, fish, beef and other
meats  and foods can stay on supermarket shelves, as well as in your refrigerator.  Though preservatives help protect the food supply, many fear the negative  effects preservatives might cause to the body.

Deli Meats
To prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses such as botulism, meat manufacturers inject deli meats with preservatives such as nitrites. The preservatives also preserve the longevity of deli meats and gives the deli meat its fresh-looking color. Other preservatives found in deli meats might include butylated hydroxytoluene, citric acid, corn syrup and gelatin. Some deli meats -- such as sausages, bacon, salami and bologna -- might contain more nitrites than others. Check the nutritional label for "nitrites" or "nitrates" in the ingredients list. If so, purchase deli meats that advertise "no nitrites" on its label.

 Poultry
Chickens are known to live in filthy environments. Farmers and manufacturers use anti-microbial products on live chickens to help prevent the spread of diseases such as salmonella. After they have been slaughtered, chickens are then injected with preservatives, including sodium lactate and potassium lactate. Each of these preservatives helps lengthen the shelf life of the poultry, as well as fights off bacteria. Bromelain and ficin are often used to help tenderize the meat. Chicken might also contain hydrolyzed  protein, monosodium glutamate and papain. To avoid these added preservatives,  purchase USDA-certified organic poultry.

Beef
Dried meats, such as beef jerky, as well as ground beef, steaks, roasts and other forms of beef, are all injected with preservatives as well. Beef jerky contains butylated hydroxytoluene, which prevents the meat
from  quickly turning rancid. Ground beef might contain chemicals such as carrageenan  to help the beef bind together. Roast beef might be injected with an unspecified  water solution to make sure the meat is juicy. Other preservatives that might be  found in beef include phosphates and propyl gallate.

Preservative Side Effects
Though preservatives do protect the nation's food supply from bacteria and disease, they also might be harmful to health. Bromates are known to destroy nutrients and cause stomach problems such as diarrhea.
Sulfites  are known to cause joint pain and heart palpitations. Butylated hydroxytoluene  is known to cause cancer in rats. Sodium nitrate is said to cause stomach  cancer, and artificially produced citric acid is said to cause asthma and  allergic reactions. To avoid the dangerous chemical concoctions preservatives  might bring, preserve foods naturally using salt, sugar, onions or rosemary  extract.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/441942-do-all-meats-have-preservatives-in-them/

I once ran into an unexpected Fibro buddy.  Funny how when you have an illness you make an unforeseen connection with everyone else on the planet that experiences your same woes.  We immediately got to chattering about the do's and don'ts that can promote or devastate your well-being.  One thing is for certain, no two Fibros experience the same relief from the same plan.  The ticket is to broaden your horizons and be ready to implement changes when you see a fit.

On comment made rang true in my ears.  "I eat the same thing every day!  People at work make fun of me, but at least I know I can get there each day without unexpected reactions."  Oh, how true!  If you've been a victim to this illness for a number of years, you've naturally come to realize which foods can run havoc on a truly remarkable day.  And, you learn to avoid them at all cost in the future.

You may have also noticed foods that you haven't eaten in a while cause a rush of unexplained symptoms.  That is why I eat the same thing every day. My food reactions at this point are almost null.

One staple I enjoy every day is my mid morning snack of 1/4 raw almonds and a banana.  It never changes, and I can expect to feel great after ingesting it!

Did you know?

Bananas contain Tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps your brain produce the chemical serotonin, which produces stable moods and healthy sleep. For enhanced sleeping capabilities, the University of Maryland Medical Center recommends eating a light, tryptophan-rich  snack before bed. Bananas are rich sources of tryptophan and contain no fat and  a mere 110 calories per serving. In order for your body to
utilize tryptophan  efficiently, you must maintain sufficient levels of iron and vitamin B-6. One  banana provides 34 percent of adults' recommended dietary allowance of vitamin  B-6 and 2 percent of adults' RDA of iron. - livestrong.com

Raw almonds are a good source of magnesium, and World's Healthiest Foods states that 1/4 cup of 
almonds contains almost 25 percent of the daily recommended amount of magnesium.  It says the magnesium in almonds improves the flow of blood, nutrients and  oxygen through the body.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/245977-raw-almonds-nutrition-information/#ixzz2Oqdss6PF

Fibromyalgia is a rather mysterious chronic condition of unknown origin. The condition causes  pain in muscles, tendons and ligaments throughout the body, and results in  multiple tender, sore spots throughout the body. The precise cause of fibromyalgia remains unknown, although there is some evidence linking fibromyalgia to disruptions of the balance of magnesium and other minerals in the body, reports a study published in the December 1994 issue of the journal "Magnesium Research."
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/475550-kinds-of-magnesium-for -fibromyalgia/#ixzz2OqfJQTpg

Several emails have prompted me to take a closer look at the individual foods we ingest each day.  These emails spoke of woman who have single handedly set their fibro in semi-remission and recently found it rearing its ugly head again.  Most common factors this is occurring:

* stress
* illness
* diet

I can attest when my life is up in arms and things are just not running smoothly, pain will ensue.  Furthermore, if I catch even the simplest of bugs, my system goes into overdrive, and I am not only riddled by cold symptoms, but the various aches and pains of fibro as well.

What I didn't expect is to find is how much of my so called fresh diet could contribute to my agony.  At this point in time we are just on the cusp of seasonal fruits.  Many of our winter fruits are imported from local countries such as Chili.  Have you ever thought of what must be used to ensure their freshness on such a long journey?  This will give a whole new meaning to ensuring you buy food that is seasonal and local.   After all, how did our ancestors do it?  To be well, we must go back to our roots.

Recently I spotted some lovely grapes at a local supermarket.  These grapes are not in season, and were imported abroad.  I did, for a moment, contemplate what they must have been dusted with, or sprayed with, to enable them to stay at the peak of freshness weeks later.  But, I dismissed the thought thinking I was still creating a good food source for my table.

I began eating the grapes and noticed a pain change immediately.  Not severe, but enough to keep me posted on the foods I put in my mouth.  I didn't connect the grapes instantly, as they are fresh fruits.  As the days went by eating those grapes my fibro began to worsen.  Great, I thought, just as my readers have confirmed, I am now being propelled off my comfortable merry go round, and propped up in Coney Island's Hell Hole ride.  The pain compared to my beginning symptoms of the illness.

Once I connected the grapes, I noticed the package said, in VERY small print, "treated with sulfur dioxide". 

Why  sulfur dioxide being used:

BELTSVILLE, MD—Packaged fresh-cut grapes are becoming increasingly popular with consumers who like the convenience and health benefits of these ready-to-eat fruits. To keep table grapes fresh and increase shelf life, scientists are seeking advanced techniques that provide healthy, safe alternatives to conventional packing methods. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) have developed and tested an effective new technique that combines hot water treatment, rachis removal, and modified atmosphere packaging (MA) to extend the shelf life of table grapes.
 
Commercially packaged table grapes stored in clusters in perforated packaging have a short shelf life—typically 8 to 10 weeks—as a result of their exposure to the environment. Grape shelf life is often shortened by factors including fruit weight loss, stem browning, softening, shattering, and decay. Because of its
effectiveness in delaying stem browning and decay, sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) is currently the treatment of choice in many countries for prolonging shelf life of grapes. There are disadvantages to
sulfur dioxide use, however. The concentration of SO2 necessary to inhibit fungal growth may induce injuries in grape fruits and stems, and sulfite residues pose a health risk for some
individuals. Applications of SO2 have been restricted in many countries, making it essential to identify safe, alternative technologies that effectively control fungal growth and assure high-quality fruit. - ashs.org

Side Effects of Sulfur Dioxide:

Sulphur dioxide is still being used as a food preservative in many common snack foods despite being one of the top two air pollutants in urban areas, a corrosive gas, a primary cause of haze and acid rain, and a cause of respiration problems, lung disease, early death (due to a thiamine deficiency), documented water and plant damage, cardiovascular disease, blood toxication, developmetal toxication, gastro-intestinal and liver disease, neurological disturbances, irritable bowel syndrom, behavior disturbances, skin rashes, asthma, folic acid deficiency, as well as a nose and ear irritant. During the 1970's and 1980's over one hundred deaths were attributed to the addition of sulphur dioxide in foods including meat with twelve deaths occurring as a result of restaurants spraying salad bars with this poisonous gas. Since 1959 there has been a ban on
preserving meat with sulphur dioxide and since these restaurant deaths there is a ban on spraying salad bars as well. - http://welikeitraw.ning.com/forum/topics/toxic-food-preservatives

The only way to ensure your health, from other  preserving methods with imported fruits, is to buy local and buy seasonal.  We don't need such a diversity each day.  Our biological clocks are set to accept what our indigenous area foods offer us seasonally.  PICK FRUIT IN SEASON!

There are days you can be doing everything right-  following the diet plan, exercising, getting enough sleep, and trying to stay stress free.  Then all of a sudden you are slammed with Murphy's Law.  Hysteria comes out of nowhere grasping fiercely to clench its wretched claws into you unannounced.  There's nothing you can do to change the moment, but there are things you can do to quiet your mind.  At this point, Choose YOU First.  You are of no good to anyone in this condition.

If you plan to read, One Thousand White Woman by Jim Fergus is a wonderful novel that will allow you to slip away, unannounced, until your pains subside.  Getting lost in Mary Dodd's adventures reminds you to peacefully slither away into the reprieve of your bedroom to rejuvenate your soul.  It's amazing how doing something that relaxes you or makes you happy is better than many pain killers for this illness.  The key is to find something you can lose yourself in.  That is why I only post books that I've personally read myself.  Being an educator, I have a bit of advantage when it comes to the literature line.  Grab Fergus' book today for a new adventure in peace this week.

Description

One Thousand White Women begins with May Dodd's journey west into the unknown. A government program, in which women are brought west as brides for the Cheyenne, is her vehicle. What 
follows is the story of May's adventures: her marriage to Little Wolf, chief of the Cheyenne nation, and her conflict of being caught between two worlds, loving  two men, living two lives. Jim Fergus has so vividly depicted the American West  that it is as if these diaries are a capsule in time.

"Jim Fergus so skillfully envelopes us in the heart and mind and skin oh his main character…that we weep when she mourns…and our hearts pound when she is in danger."
-Colorado Springs Gazette

If you suffer from adverse reactions to foods and other allergic stimuli, you may want to scour your local storefront for some indigenous honey.  Raw honey is honey that has not been heated, pasteurized or processed in any  way. The differences between raw and pasteurized honey are substantial. Raw 
honey is an alkaline-forming food that contains natural vitamins, enzymes,  powerful antioxidants and other important natural nutrients.

Raw honey has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. It  promotes body and digestive health, is a powerful antioxidant, strengthens the  immune system, eliminates allergies, and is an excellent remedy for skin wounds  and all types of infections. Raw honey's benefits don't stop there. Raw honey  can also stabilize blood pressure, balance sugar levels, relieve pain, calm  nerves, and it has been used to treat ulcers. Raw honey is also an expectorant  and anti-inflammatory and has been known to effectively treat respiratory  conditions such as bronchitis and asthma.

Take note of the bold faced wording.  Does it not sound akin to symptoms of fibromyalgia?  I began using a local honey in my morning and evening tea.  I immediately noted a calming effect on my frazzled nerves and a sharp resistance to pain inviting symptoms.  I wondered if it would aid the next allergic reaction I had to food or other environmental stimulus.  Usually allergic reactions last approximately 20 minutes if I ingest a substance that is foreign to my natural diet or if my nerves are going over the deep end.  Taking some common sense into account, I placed a teaspoon of raw honey onto my tongue and noticed immediate improvement.   I continued the process every 5 minutes until symptoms subsided and I regained control of my sense I now never run out of this precious substance.  It is utilized in all my teas and for quick relief when fibromyalgia symptoms arise. 

Do be sure to purchase your own local honey to ensure of minimal processing.