by Nerium on Fri Oct 15, 2010 9:39 am
This is a very interesting discussion,
I'm not sure how much I trust our mass-produced food. There was a time when I thought that it was the only way to go because those companies knew what they are doing and they wouldn't want to risk a lawsuit by making us sick, right?! Then I kept hearing about various food recalls because of botulism (bottle carrot juice), e.coli (alfalfa sprouts) and listeriosis (lunch meat) and it has made me second guess the trust that I had in these companies.
As a germaphobe, it has taken me time to get used to the idea that bacteria can actually be beneficial to us. A few years ago, everything in my environment had to be sterile. I poured a capful of bleach into my sink when I washed my dishes--every day! I cleaned everything in my house with bleach. I was washing my hands until they would crack. There wierd thing is, I was still getting sick. I was still getting colds and flus and touches of food poisoning just like everyone else.
It's only been the last 7 months that I am noticing that I haven't been sick yet. I am around people with colds and stomach 'bugs' and I am always thinking that I am going to catch it, but I don't. It could be because I've been following a vegan diet, could be from consuming fermented products, could be because I gave up using bleach, could be a combination of the three--I'm not sure.
After reading Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions and Sandor's book Wild Fermentation, I am learning that there is a delicate balance in life, and eradicating all of the bacteria, just to avoid coming in contact with the 'bad' ones isn't a healthy way of living. If people with weakened immune systems, such as those living with HIV, can benefit from naturally fermented foods, than surely everyone can. I think both of these authors would be in serious trouble if they published advice that could be harmful to our health.
That being said, Chewy, if you are a microbiologist and have some new information to share with us, please enlighten us!