But it's only..........!!!!!

The phrase, "But it's only_____ (fill in the blank with the name of a seemingly harmless food/drink item)", drives me nuts (and THAT'S a short drive), more quickly than anything!  I don't blame people who say it (except my husband, who does it just to get a rise out of me), but it just reflects how we no longer REALLY know what is in or on our food  or water.  We have intentionally been kept in the dark by food mfrs. who know that we "CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH".  Or better yet, they can't handle us knowing it!  Take water for example.  I've mentioned to people before, that we can't drink tap water.  "But it's only water", they say.  No, not ONLY water.  It is filled with chemicals to "purify" it and has fluoride which is poison.  Did you know that fluoride is an industrial byproduct of aluminum & fertilizer manufacturing?  (Google aluminum & breast cancer).  Did you know that when ingested, fluoride weakens bones & can cause fluorosis?  Did you know that fluoride only works topically, not by ingesting/digesting?  Did you know that if not added to our water, fluoride would have to be disposed of as a TOXIC WASTE by the aluminum & fertilizer companies, at great expense, but instead, they get paid by taxpayers??!!  Google "dangers of fluoride" for more info.  Don't even get me started about the chlorine that is added to the water!  Chlorine blocks iodine absorption, so there is no wonder that there are so many thyroid disorders.  Don't think that you are getting your iodine because you use iodized table salt.  The chloride in the table salt blocks the iodine absorption, so it's pointless.  Not to mention that the iodine is bound to the salt with something called dextrose, which is essentially corn syrup.  So, some water is not just water & some salt is not entirely salt.

Let's talk about chicken.  But it's only chicken!  Again, not so much!  Even if you buy a whole chicken in the store, you have to check to see if "broth" or "solution" is added, which is most always hidden MSG & who knows what else.  You also have to consider the antibiotics they are given & in many cases the antibiotics used still contain arsenic.  ARSENIC??!!  YES, ARSENIC!!  It kills parasites & increases the appetite of the chickens so that they get fat faster.  It has been a practice for many years & only some growers have recently stopped.  My kids' bodies react very harshly to regular chicken, so that tells me there is a problem with it.  Some people might think they are allergic to chicken, but it's probably all the other junk in it.  I buy ONLY hormone/antibiotic FREE chicken, which is not necessarily "organic", but my boys do well with it.  I buy organic chicken when I can find it.  Eggs are another thing that are subject to "junk".  The feed fed to regular laying hens is genetically modified & chemical laden.  My son will actually get Tourette's from eating regular or even "all Natural" or "vegetarian" (which means nothing) eggs.  His head will whip to one side every few seconds, like an old timey typewriter.  This will last for 2 weeks!  I can only imagine how many people who suffer with Tourette's Syndrome are actually reacting to something they are eating.  My kids can ONLY tolerate "ORGANIC" eggs.  That means the hens are hormone/antibiotic free & are fed a chemical free organic diet.  That way, no chemicals get passed to the eggs.

But it's ONLY milk!!  Nope, not even milk is sacred!!  Any milk that has vitamins added, has preservatives.  Now, they can be natural or artificial.  It just depends on the dairy.  Organic Valley & Publix uses a vitamin mix that is preserved with natural corn based preservatives where as Mayfield, last time I checked, used a vitamin mix with an artificial petroleum based preservative called BHT .  Organic Valley makes a whole milk with NO vitamins added & that is what we use, because even the natural corn based preservative would bother us.  NOTE:  Because the preservatives are added to the vitamin mix by the supplier of the vitamin mix, it does not have to be listed on the label, because the milk mfr. did not add it to the milk per se!  Nice labeling loophole we have here in the U.S.!

Of course there are SO MANY MORE examples that I could show you, but hopefully this will make you think about what you eat.  Knowledge is power & the more you know, the better off you'll be.  I learned so much of what I know from being a member of The Feingold Assn. of the U.S..  They research foods & trace all ingredients back to all suppliers to insure no artificial dyes, preservatives or flavors are in the foods listed in our food list.  My family is healthier because of the support I've received from this wonderful organization.  Thank You Feingold!!  www.Feingold.org

What OTHER seemingly benign substance could I possibly be sensitive to??!!!

So, I'm allergic to water, we know that already.  Just when I thought I had most of my sensitivities figured out (we'll get to all the others some other time), I find a new one, or rather, it found me. This one sounds almost as ridiculous as being allergic to water...........(drum roll please)...........I'm allergic to SALT!  Again, not all salt, but something specific about certain salts.  I already knew that I couldn't tolerate iodized table or sea salt because when the iodine is added to the salt, it is bound to the salt with something called dextrose, which is another name for corn syrup.  I LOATHE CORN SYRUP because it makes me depressed & causes me pain!!  I've used regular Alessi (non-iodized) sea salt for years with no problems.  Recently I read about all of the benefits & vital nutrients in Pink Himalayan Sea Salt.  I truly believe that this is a superior salt, I just wish my body agreed.  I started using it about mid march.  After a couple of weeks, I noticed that my heel was really hurting badly & my feet & legs started swelling with water retention.   After 3-4 days of it worsening, I had to look at anything new that I had added to my diet & that pink salt was the only thing.  I immediately switched to Celtic Sea Salt, another salt that has many more nutrients than regular sea salt.  My fluid retention improved a little, and for a couple of days, the pain was a little better.  But by the 3rd day, I could hardly walk on my heel.  The pain was so acute, that I would yell upon standing.  Again, I knew it was the salt.  I had to suffer though a couple more days until I could get my old salt at the store.  A couple of days after starting back using my old faithful brand of sea salt,  the water retention went away and the pain had improved by about 70%.  It took a few more for it to go all the way away.  Unfortunately, I didn't remember that I used the Celtic sea salt in the frozen chicken broth that I used for dinner a couple of nights ago & started the whole thing over again.  The pain in my heel is starting to go away again & now to find someone to give that last quart of chicken broth to.  I hate to waste it, but I'm NOT going to go through this AGAIN!!!

As my friend Marilyn told me, I'm starring in my own version of "The Princess and the Pea"!!

Edited to add:  The reaction to these salts also included my hair falling out in much larger amounts than is normal. That also stopped when I stopped the salts.