2 celiacs 1 cup

[JoAnn]

Thanks all of you for your great insights. I have long felt and known that the food supply has caused my problems. I bought into the big soy push to help women through menopausal issues and I believe I did a lot of damage to myself. We are lucky to have an acre and our own flock of chickens. I'm sensitive to eggs, but it makes me wonder if I might be OK eating eggs from my own flock. I don't think I want to try it for awhile because I don't want to undo any of my progress. We are buying some bison meat that is grass fed in the next few weeks. We grow a garden, but our growing season is quite short. I'm hoping when I retire I'll be able to devote more time to this effort. BTW, I'm sure you all know this, but there is no comparison to a store bought tomato and a garden tomato. I'm always sad when the tomatoes are done.

Tony, I think I heard the author of the book you mentioned on NPR. One thing I remember he said is that you shouldn't buy any food that your grandmother wouldn't recognize. It was a great interview regarding our how our food supply has become so corrupted.

Joe, we might be related somewhere back in time. My maiden name was Bannon (they dropped the O somewhere along the way). I know they came west (possibly with the railroad) and worked as miners and ranchers, turned into cowboys and settled in Arizona. I know they were from Ireland.

Thanks for the great thread.
JoAnn

[Joefnh]

JoAnn I love the line "you shouldn't buy any food that your grandmother wouldn't recognize" that's a good one.

My grandfather is from Antrim in county Antrim in northern Ireland. Most of his immediate family came over in the mid 1920's

I have to agree the food chain is certainly a issue and not getting any better. Here in NH we have quite a bit of farming and each weekend in most towns there is a farmers market during the growing season which for the most part is pretty good for produce.

--Joe

[Bifcus16]

Whilst really good quality local food is ideal, I think it is important to not let that become a source of stress in itself. Trying to grow my own? Too much like hard work.

I go to the farmers market weekly. Some of the stuff is organic/biodynamic. The rest is small local growers who are willing to have a chat about how they produce their food - and many minimise their use of chemicals. I could tell you most of my suppliers names (and in one case, the names of their cows).

I get as much stuff as I can that is 'clean'. Then, I have no hesitation in buying whatever I missed out on from the fruit and veg shop or butcher. I also have no hesitation in using the supermarket or health food store for emergencies (when I run short), for packaged goods, a bit of junk food, or for when I want more variety or am just plain lazy. I figure getting the base of my diet from healthy sources, means it is not too big a drama to add some 'conventional' food on top.

My attitude is important to me. If I try and be too 'good' I only stress out about not meeting the high objectives I set myself. Then it all gets too hard and I want to give up. Aiming for the balance with a core of healthy stuff is what works for me at the moment.


Lyn

[mbeezie]

Lyn,

Did you know there is an eating disorder based on what you eluded to called orthorexia? It's not an official mental health diagnosis (at least not yet) but it is very problematic. It often starts out from a desire to get healthy from a chronic illness and people try to purify their diets by avoiding fats, meats, preservatives etc. It can cause dramatic weight loss but weight loss isn't the goal. It can be as dangerous as the weight loss from anorexia nervosa. I actually have a family member who I believe has this. It completely takes the joy out of eating, well really the joy out of living is a better way to put it. I do think one must be flexible and reasonable, especially since the cost of organic foods is prohibitive for some. And I have to admit, I have taken my son to Mickey Ds since getting sick and have stolen some of his fries and lived to tell about it.

Mary Beth

[Rosie]

As another example, our government requires that all eggs must be sprayed with an oil, (to preserve their shelf life). Guess what kind of oil is approved by the government, and used by virtually all commercial egg producers. Yep - soy bean oil. Does any of it soak through the shell? Probably, because the reason it is used, is to minimize the porosity of egg shells, so that bacteria cannot enter. (Of course, government scientists tell us that absorption of the oil, is a minimal problem). The only eggs that can be bought without that treatment, are eggs that are bought from a local producer, (IOW, eggs that do not have to meet the legal requirements of eggs sold in the supermarkets).

Tex, since I'm soy intolerant I was alarmed by your comments and did some more research (you know me........). It's a bit more complicated. First of all, commercial eggs are coated with oil because they are required to sanitize the eggs with some sort of bleach, which removes the natural "bloom" on the eggs that keep them fresh. Most large commercial companies now appear to use food grade mineral oil, not vegetable oil. It's the commercial organic eggs that are the most problematic. They still have to sanitize the eggs to sell commercially, but in order to be certified organic, they can't use mineral oil, and use some sort of vegetable oil instead. So the best solution is to buy from a non-commercial source, or raise your own chickens!

I'm just getting paranoid about commercial foods. I recently bought a red pepper (not organic), and it appeared to be coated with some sort of greasy film, no doubt to preserve it and keep it looking shiny and attractive. I threw it out, because I was suspicious of what it might be. I'll only buy organic peppers from now on.

Rosie

[IDontGiveA]

@lyn - you make a very good point, attitude is very important and its easy to go overboard with this stuff. It sounds like you have a very balanced approach. My buying habits were much the same as yours before I left the US, and if it werent for meeting my wife I would probably still be doing the same. My main concern with all this is still the bacteria idea, and Im convinced that its something in (or missing) from our diets that is at least part of the cause of so much illness. On that note, I asked my wife about the fecal implant, and she was having none of it. I told her the article also mentioned using enemas, she still wouldnt go for it. Then I had a thought. Why not just make a specially implanted yogurt? Again, no dice.(':lol:') She did however then mention something of interest. Apparently some months ago here in Brazil the Activia yogurt product came under fire for making claims of curing intestinal disorders with their product. According to Brazilian law, only doctors can make such claims. Under scrutiny, it came out that they miss or under label their ingredients and that in fact, some of the bacterial cultures in the yogurt are sourced from, you guessed it - human excrement. I could find nothing in english confirming or denying this information, if anyone has heard of something like this or has any input, I would really like to confirm the validity of this information. Great story if nothing else. Think Ill be buying some more yogurt though either way.

Tony

[Gabes-Apg]

Lyn

i agree entirely, as much as i would love to be able to go to the organic farmers markets and get 'non chemical products' the timing and the location with my current routine, the excursion would end up being a stress more than a benefit.

shopping and food wise what i am doing now is meeting requirements

[Gloria]

I'm a big believer in growing your own vegetables and fruit, whenever possible. I try to can or freeze my produce.

My garden has turnips, yellow squash, zucchini, onions, green beans, acorn squash, green peppers, lettuce, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, raspberries, rhubarb, blueberries, grapes, tomatoes, cherries, strawberries and beets. The only thing I've been able to eat is the asparagus and rhubarb (in muffins). The Brussel sprouts are still growing. I had high hopes when I planted the produce. If you're in Illinois this summer, you can help yourself!

Gloria

[Matthew]

I really enjoy eating all the local produce and meeting those that grow it.

On the way back from Utah a couple of weeks ago I stopped and bought some peaches from a customer of mine that has an orchard over on the western slope. Really nice guy and produces the best peach I have ever eaten. Small, like many western slope fruits like apples plums, pears and apples but unbelievably good. Had to take it slow not to finish them to fast.

I plant a small garden every year. I have loved growing a vegetable garden since I was in grade school.Their is nothing like planting a few simple vegatables and tending to them over the summer, makeing compost and simply watching them grow to feel that great connection to our earth.

I keep it pretty simple with just two four by four foot beds. Laid out in one foot squares I plant tomatoes and winter squash vertically. Carrots, onions, radishes and several kinds of lettuce . Makes a great salad garden even though I cant always eat all of the things I plant. In fact for several years I have given away all the tomatoes since I can’t eat them but It is so much fun to grow them and give them away that I can not resist growing them.

If you are interested in a small easy fun garden google “Square Foot Gardening”. Growing a few things is a great joy and does not need to be enormous amount of prep or endless hours in the hot sun weeding.

Matthew

I was going to include a picture but it will not accept my format. OHhhhhh well!

[Bifcus16]

Mary Beth,

I can readily see how people could go overboard with this stuff. Like anorexia, it is all about trying to take control when we feel our world is out of control.

Gloria,

The garden sounds wonderful. What a shame you can't eat it. Hopefully you can get some pleasure from other folk enjoying the fruits of your labours. How you going, BTW? Spending less time in the bathroom?

Tony,

I wonder about the claims about that brand of yoghurt. It sounds an awful lot like the sort of rumour a rival company would 'quietly encourage'. Not realising that some of us would think it a reason to eat more yoghurt.

Lyn

[Gabes-Apg]

Matt
i had been growing my own tomatos (and herbs etc) for 4 years, in my transition to life with MC, it was upsetting me to see my tomato plants and fruit and not be able to eat them, so i ripped them all out and planted flowers.

I am keen to grown foods that i can eat.