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!
* 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!
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