Posted by Racer on July 3, 2004, at 17:22:47
In reply to Re: Lettuce Allergy? » Wildflower, posted by Larry Hoover on July 3, 2004, at 11:46:34
LoL! You know, it is pretty easy to get scared of foods when you know too much -- not to say meds -- isn't it?
My solution to the e. coli in lettuce cells issue is pretty simple: e. coli has been around for a long time, most of us have some in our guts anyway, and it's really only in the past century that we've really known how much of a risk many bacteria can pose. People ate lettuce before they discovered the dangers of e. coli, and one (or at least I) would think that there may have been bacteria in the environment and food of our long ago ancestors throughout most of evolution. I kinda figure, if you eat the healthiest foods you can, and you're in otherwise good health, your immune system can probably handle a little extra bacteria in your salad. Of course, we're not talking billions of new bugs being added to your gut, just the general background radiation style low bacterial load that a lot of our foods have. (And, I also tend to say things to myself like, "Well, I know there are risks involved, but I've also got to live in the environment I live in, so if I get sick from it... well, it's what's available to me in my current environment." I also avoid prepackaged salad greens, though, and wash the lettuce from the supermarket pretty carefully to minimize the risks. And I am married to a man who is not so careful about these things, and does often scare me with how cavalier he can be with our food.)
And I'd guess the pre-packaged salad greens are causing this problem because of the processing, but other than a very vague guess -- the sulphating process -- I can't begin to guess what specific compound is involved.
poster:Racer
thread:362615
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20040523/msgs/362849.html