From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2001-05-10 23:28:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Another opinion on herbs
>
>It all may be suspect-- BUT you have to realize that 40-50 years ago we
>were NOT consuming chemicals, artificial flavors, colors, preservatives etc
>lie we and our pets do today-- so I think there is some room for tolerance
>here.
>
>We humans here - eat natural fresh & frozen foods in this house-- still the
>groceries are sprayed etc., but try to eliminate exposure to as many
>chemicals as possible ( my Dr referred to it as a cancer diet for immuno
>suppressed folks) -- one reason we encourage a quality ferret kibble with
>vitamin preservatives for our pets! in addition for fresh meats--
But, Alicia, EVERYTHING is made of chemicals! We are, our ferrets
are, the herbs I have on our balcony and in the house are, the house
is! Chemicals are a level of the normal building blocks of
everything. Yes, chemical names may seem intimidating, but you know
the chemical breakdowns of the components of everyday organic foods
would sound just as intimidating, given in that form. When you get
down to it we folks are carbon, water, and a pile of other chemical
things. Heck, go back far enough and we've all got some stardust in
us.
It also can't be assumed that all additives are bad. I recall
reading several years ago of one that on testing turned out to have
protective effects -- which then led to some other studies.
The history of some food colorings is very old, for example betal
nuts for red, and there are Medieval recipes that call for bright
colorations for foods used in celebrations. Foods have changed in
human history to now, yes, esp. in terms of things like types of
fertilization, reduction in variety, increase in saturated fats,
decrease in some nutrients in certain horticultural varieties,
increase in salt, and increase in sugars. Some aesthetic things that
we don't off-hand expect to have been around for centuries have,
though, like some food colorings.