Herb7734, I think you and I would get along great. I try really hard to be healthy and serve healthy meals to my family but the second we are out all day running errands or on a long trip, i am the first one to suggest a bacon cheese burger at Sonic. Ugh, sometimes I wish Rome would fall, so I can relocate my cute little waistline under this spare tire...

Our family has always eaten a lot of processed foods, mostly because the hubby and I were working. But we have drastically changed our diets since I quit my job to start the farm. It took us a while to get our gut bacteria back on track, but our Dr suggested Florijen and we've all been much better since. And its not a constant prescription, it is over the counter and contains more different types of bacteria so it is one of the better probiotics to use. Its been a gut saver around here, it is amazing how much a sick tummy can ruin your state of mind.

Greetings LaMuse,
+1 more for your profile. Keep that soapbox handy. :)
Respectfully,
O.A.

Sad. Can you maybe hope for a few high-quality outliers?

Jan

Here goes - hoping to add another point to my profile. I was suspicious when reading this, as I always am when reading studies conducted on mice that vilify food additives, especially mice that already have a genetic predisposition to immune disorders. Perhaps that fact in and of itself contributed to the results obtained. Cause and effect has not been proven at all. Once I got to the part about "Big Bad Monsanto", my suspicions were confirmed. Really, the people who are getting fat, developing diabetes, having stomach problems, etc. are getting that way because of the food additives, not the junk food itself? If you eat a box of twinkles every day, are you going to blame the additives for the weight gain and not the calories? One more thing - I hate it when articles try to tie one thing, in this case inflammation, to every malady - especially cancer! Cancer is complex and not caused by one thing. If it were, we would figure it out and stop doing that one thing. Ok - off of soapbox.

my response is simple. considering the deterioration of our educational system there will not be archeologists in future years. human civilization is rapidly going primative.

'Roman lead' is shorthand for the problem faced by the Empire due to the use of lead in the water lines (for connections and corners - the main part was ceramic). Lead is a slow poison, which is cumulative over generations. Of course, the patricians were more likely to have lead-supplimented pipes providing indoor plumbing for them, so it was the ruling class that was increasingly subject to mental and physical deformities due to lead toxicity.

It is my conceit that all civilizations have their own version of 'Roman lead'. There is a long list of contenders for what substance future archeologists will identify as the equivalent of 'Roman lead' for Western Civilization of the 20th C.

My adherence to this conceit is because I think it is a corollary of Murphy's Law. We are so complex a civilization that we are swimming in unintended consequences.

Jan, would be happy to be proved wrong

I've seen the ones for sale you feed to your lizard. I'm not sure what the standard is between lizard cricket and human cricket.

Interesting experiment, and looks well done (the accounted for cage placement and showed actual Histo sections of the gut). I don't subscribe to Nature, so I could not read the full article. The emulsifiers apparently did not change the mucosal lining of the wild type mice, but evidently just altering the intestinal flora was sufficient to produce irritable bowel syndrome. I have sent the link to the abstract on to a number of people - thanks for posting this UncommonSense.

Jan

I confess that I do not know what roman lead is if it is different than other lead.

You can find them online - I believe both canned and dried. I looked up the site once, but did not actually order any of the exotic offerings. Maybe you should send a recommendation to Consumers Digest that they do an article comparing edible cricket sources. :S

Jan (I hope I did that sarcastic emoticon right.)

Thank you, wiggys. Mental game: What is the equivalent of 'Roman lead' in modern time? There are a lot of candidates!

Jan, chomp-chomp on nutesups

Ha! Yes - it is the rhetorical emulsifiers that turn actual data into mental grey goo that are the real danger.

Thanks for the morning-coffee-chuckle.

Jan

I don't know about producers of crickets, but when I was in grad school, a foreign student from Peru brought some fried crickets and ants to try. Not bad, would go very well with home brew ale.

Sorry guys, I was raised on deliciousness. So far, I have been forced (yes, Forced is the right word) to give up alcohol, caffeine, sugar and other stuff I like. A certain doctor wants me to give up sex because of my heart. (I spit in his coffee when he wasn't looking). I know that foods fried in fat are campfire fodder, but screw it. Can you picture me on my deathbed saying "I sure wish I had that last chili dog?" I'm too old for self denial. Besides, the "healthiest guy I know (make that knew) kicked it last year and he was a year younger than me.

I'm with you, Susanne. And except for wondering if they're made with GMO corn, I consume them (Scoops) in reasonable quantities. Great with bean dip (also only safe ingredients). I'm a compulsive label reader.

I am sure it is the political additives we are fed daily that contributes so much to not only our discomfort, but the constant spewing of crap from politicians.

I'm looking at a bag of the little jewels on my desk as I type this - made of "corn, corn oil, and salt" (and no emulsifiers), just a little greasy, a healthy dose of saturated fat, plenty of sodium - and they still taste just as good as they did when I was a kid.

I'm surprised (and very glad) the dotgov hasn't regulated them out of business...

Just think all of these additives approved by the fda are causing harm to us humans, but it takes awhile for the additives to build up in our system to cause damage. now if you are of my generation you probably haven't consumed so mouch to cause damage until you are old. BUT if you are of the younger generation you will be consuming these additives for a long time to have a damaging effect so you will not have a chance to get old even if you take ANTI AGING PILLS, The above was rwritten for the benefit of Jan.

The last sentence has a link to an anti-inflammatory diet which by sheer will and clumsiness is the way I eat. Thanks for the post.

Fritos are good for starting fires, you should keep a bag in you BOB, just in case.

I believe I've gotten all the processed food out of my life. I have some canned soup to burn through.
I ordered an All American Pressure Canner the other day which will be delivered today, so I'll be making my own "Convenience foods".
The money I save goes to buying real organic food and I can honestly say, my monthly food purchaser are not any higher and I'm eating much better.

Let the sheep eat soylent green.

Has anyone tried crickets? I'm very curious about them and would like to try them if anyone has a suggestion as to a safe producer.

So the food hoarders store to last a long time after the predicted socioeconomic collapse will get terminal tummy aches.
We're all gonna die!

Home-cooked is the way to go, people. I'm lucky in that my wife makes outstanding lasagna and chicken pot pie - just to name a few.

wow. haven't had a frito in ages. I kinda miss them