Hypochondriacs?

[Chic Rustler]

what's the deal? It seems everyone has food allergies these days. One lady was telling me she and her daughter's get sick if they eat bread. Then she was telling me she gets sick if they eat non organic beans because of pesticides etc.


Why is it so trendy to be so weak today? What's with all these new ailments?


When I was a kid we had one Dr in town. He was 80. He delivered me and took care of me until we moved. When you got sick you went to his house and everyone got the same thing, whether it was a cold or cancer. A shot of penicillin and it worked! We all ate what was on our plate or we went to bed hungry. There wasn't any such thing as gluten free or organic vegetables or all the other new stuff on tv.


Is it all bs? Or is humanity getting weak?

 

[sumi]

It's funny you say this now, yesterday I think it was, I was thinking HOW did we survive our childhoods? Walking barefoot, drinking from the tap, riding on the back of pick-up trucks, eating whatever we found that was edible without a thought of pesticides and/or allergies, or any of the stuff people worry about nowadays… We do seem to be getting weaker, or less healthy. Could it be because we are so far removed from natural foods and the lifestyle?

 

[Chic Rustler]

Sounds like you grew up in Texas

 

[sumi]

Sounds like you grew up in Texas

South Africa in the 80's

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Could it be because we are so far removed from natural foods and the lifestyle?

Could be. A lot of folks with those sensitivities and allergies seem to find improvement when they remove the hazards from their life.

 

[Chic Rustler]

when I was a small child, maybe 3, I was allergic to strawberries. My family loved them. One day dad brought home a whole flat from the farmers stand on the side of the road. I ate half of it!
I broke out in hives but I've never had a reaction since and I eat them regularly.

We played in the woods on a daily basis. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I realized I have never had poison ivy so I must not be allergic. Now I rip it out when I see it growing at friends houses.


Guess I always been like that. Just push threw it and go on.

 

[sumi]

Often exposing yourself to "bad" things can turn out to be a good thing. I remember a lady I knew years ago telling me about someone she knew who pampered her kids something awful. They never got dirty, etc, they were not exposed to germs, didn't get to build up their immune systems, therefor they got sick easily. One day someone told her to let the kids hang out with their dogs, steal food from the dogs' bowls etc. Mom about had a fit, but you know what? Those kids grew stronger and healthier for it. They went and ate from the dogs' bowls and it was good for them! Gross, yes, but it was good. My DS, I can't tell you how many times I had to go pull him out of our dog's kennel when he was a baby, just crawling and then walking. I can tell you though that I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times that child got sick and he's 11 now.

 

[tortoise]

I believe that some of the cultural trends have caused a lot. There's strong evidence that antibiotics and antibacterial-everything overuse (reduce microbial exposure) results in increased sickness, increased asthma, rash, allergies, and autoimmune disease. (Celiac is an autoimmune disease).

I have a chronic illness so in finding answers for my health, I see a lot of other people with the same and many autoimmune comorbities. Oh my! There's a whole world, and yes, "who can be the sickest" is definitely happening. It's crazy. People who claim they cannot tolerate any medications (research demonstrates that people who claim this are especially susceptible to nocebo effect and benefit from therapy). People who eliminate everything and anything from their diets and grow increasingly less able to eat a variety of food.

Which brings me to the other. New research (like 2015) says that food allergies should be treated with exposure - especially before 18 months of age. What advice have new parents been given for years? Don't give any potential food allergens until after 1 year, or after 2 years if there is food allergies in the family. Uh. i think we have a reason for increases in food allergies?

Then there's that whole separate issue of "non-food" ingredients in the food that the masses consume. Perhaps.... it's not about the organic label and more about reducing the "chemical" food additives. But placebo/nocebo effect is strong and once someone believes it's the "pesticides" or whatever... good luck convincing them otherwise.

My dad has undiagnosed digestive problems that improve by eliminating gluten. My mom went gluten free too. She started talking about how much better she felt too. Uhh... maybe she felt better because they had stopped eating lunch at McDonald's everyday? My dad's GI troubles didn't end by going gluten free - they only changed. I suspect he has IBS and needs a low-FODMAPS diet. The reason I expect this is because the carbohydrate portion of wheat (fructans) can be an irritant when consumed in large quantities, but they're also in other foods that are hard to eliminate like onion and garlic.

We (as a population) eat a huge quantity of potential-irritant foods and non-foods, all driven by mass agriculture and the constraints of modern society. I wonder how it all plays out. i don't see many happy endings in the next hundred years, unless the back to nature movement becomes huge... or the population declines. IDK. It's unsettling. I try to stop myself from worrying and grow my own food and not buy into all the chronic illness BS.

Not that chronic illnesses are BSy. The one I have is not life threatening or life shortening, but so many people with it are running to the ER over "normal" symptoms that are not an emergency - just uncomfortable. Dare I say "get used to it" "Learn to deal with it" "it could be a heck of a lot worse". "What do we really have to whine about" ???

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I think early exposure to the environment- the right kinds of exposure- goes a long ways in creating healthier children. Who hopefully grow into healthier adults. Inoculating against the bacteria and germs that will overpower us if, as children, we are kept sterile. Nothing in life is sterile.
I was the sick little kid of 3 daughters, when I was born. I think my mom got pregnant with me too soon after the last baby. Sister and I are 13 months apart.
Anyway, I was sick, had no appetite, and couldn't handle any of the formula on the market back then. 1962. I know I would have benefited from breast milk. But mom didn't nurse. Again-1962. It was discouraged.
So, after I made it through infancy...I turned into the tomboy. I played outside, in mud, with whatever critters I coud catch. I was horrid. But I ended up the stronger health wise of us 3 girls.
So, my vote is for "yes, expose us to the germs"....and it may just make a difference.

 

[tortoise]

Norovirus was passed around at my extended family's xmas party. DH got it worst. He always seems to get stomach bugs the worst. He was on IV fluids for 20 hours. I got it 12 hours after him. Mine has been very mild - haven't even puked. I feel terrible because I haven't been able to take my meds for my normal-sick chronic illness. But things like this definitely have me *noticing* how I am affected differently. And I'm pretty sure it's from microbial exposure. I'm not a particularly healthy person by any other measure.