The News On Food

Salicylates – what are they?

If you are suffering from food intolerance symptoms, leaky gut syndrome or food problems then you best sit up and take notice. This post is sure to provide you with some home truths about food intolerance symptoms, your own state of health and the impact of salicylates.

For starters, just let me say that it is no easy feat trying to get the ‘i’ and the ‘y’ in the right order when spelling salicylates. To pronounce salicylates,  you say “sal-iss-i-lates”. The word salicylic acid is derived from the word “salix” meaning Willow. Salicylic acid is a plant hormone that plays a major part, among other things, in the metabolism of plants.

Salicylates are naturally occurring chemicals in food. They are a part of the make up of fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, seeds, bark and flowers.  Salicylates are not added by a food manufacturer, they simply exist in nature in varying degrees.

Salicylates – reactions

According to Friendly Food written by experts at the RPA Allergy Unit in Sydney, the common food intolerance symptoms, or more directly, symptoms related to naturally occurring chemicals such as salicylates, MSG and amines are hives and swelling, chronic headaches, mouth ulcers, stomach pains, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), nausea, sinus problems and a general feeling of being unwell. Reactions to salicylates can be just as debilitating as an allergy even though they are not considered the same thing.

Depending on how sensitive you are to naturally occurring chemicals such as salicylates, mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) and amines, your reaction can vary. It can depend on your threshold, dose consumed of food high in salicylates and how regularly you have consumed food with moderate to high salicylates.

It might be comforting to know that as children get older their systems generally get better at handling naturally occurring chemicals such as salicylates and amines. As food intolerance symptoms are linked to an irritation of the nervous system, we generally tend to grow out of the food problems. For adults, it can be a gradual build up along with what food we have previously put in our body that can cause food intolerance symptoms linked to salicylates, amines and MSG.

Salicylates – what steps to take

If you would like to work out if you are suffering from food intolerance symptoms linked to salicylates then you will need to conduct a food elimination diet. This food challenge should be conducted over a two to three week time frame.

Food colors, food additives and preservatives are usually also a problem for those who are sensitive to naturally occurring chemicals in foods.

To reduce the impact of salicylates you best look at what is in your pantry as well as products you are using personally and around the home. Here are some steps to take:

• Eat fruit that is moderate to low in salicylates most of the time.
• Remember that you can be dose affected so be aware of those foods that are high to very high in salicylates.
• Eat fruit when it is ripe as unripened fruit is higher in salicylates.
• Stop using herbs and change your oil to safflower or sunflower oil, until you have finished your food elimination diet.
• Flavors easily go undetected. Avoid flavors such as spearmint and peppermint.
• Look at your laundry detergents as these can be scented. Same with air fresheners and cleaning goods.
• Stop wearing perfume, aftershave or deodorant that has scents that may irritate you.
• Be aware that some medications such as Asprin contain salicylates.
• Peel fruit and vegetables as salicylates can be higher just under the skin.
• Make a list of alternative products before you go shopping to make it easier to avoid things with salicylates.

Friendly Food is one of the most comprehensive books covering food intolerance symptoms and naturally occurring chemicals such as salicylates, amines, MSG and allergies. It will assist you with a food elimination diet along with The Failsafe Cookbook.

I’ll be talking more about naturally occurring chemicals, covering Amines and Mono-sodium Glutamate (MSG) in future posts. I’m interested to hear your story on food intolerance symptoms or feel free to add a comment if you would like me to reply directly.

Disclaimer:

I’m no medical expert and information contained on this blog is written through my own experience. Please consult an appropriate professional about your situation.

Food in my family

I came from a family that pretty much ate meat and three veggies and I never suffered any food problems or food intolerance symptoms as a child. Education on food nutrition and the reason for eating good food was not forthcoming. I don’t blame my parents for this, as they probably didn’t know much about food themselves aside from the basics they would have been taught. We were often told that fruit and vegetables are good for you and that meat contains a high iron content so should be consumed but that was about the extent of it. Mum was big on lamb’s fry because her doctor had recommended it but it was something I hated eating and I still do.

As a young child, my parents owned a general store for a short time and every Sunday after church we were given ten cents to go and buy something which was usually a bag of mixed lollies which were all one or two cents each at that time. Am I showing my age, ha ha? Then, every Sunday we had a roast with one bottle of soft drink to share for dinner. No more, no less.

Water was our main beverage and I loved water. I didn’t crave for cordial or soft drinks which is just as well as  these were not on offer at our place anyway.  Often as children, my younger brother and I would play outside contentedly until near dark only entering our home, puffing and panting looking for a big glass of water in between games. How lucky we were that drinking water was encouraged. Water has a huge positive impact on your health.

So, I grew up on a fairly healthy diet and chocolate was only something we ate occasionally as a family on the weekend, and only when we were older. I don’t know whether it was the fact that I was one of five children and that chocolate was only something we could afford on occasion or whether it was just that my Mum knew that it was only good in small quantities. I’ll have to ask her!

Food and I have not always been friends.

My food problems or food intolerance symptoms started some 14 years ago when I suffered severe stomach, ulcer-like symptoms. The doctors I consulted could not tell me what was wrong with me, not even after a gastroscopy. After  conducting my own food research,  I learned what not to eat to make the  food problems go away. I was still a bit baffled as to what was causing the food intolerance symptoms but the fact that I no longer experienced pain, was enough to keep me ignorant and happy for some time.

Being a sales representative at the time, I was always chewing gum or had a mint to keep my breath fresh. I was very social and enjoyed dining and drinking. This along with my diet was contributing to my food problems.

When I stopped consuming food and beverages high in amine; a naturally occurring chemical, such as chewing gum, eating anything with mint, bananas and cut back on wine and chocolate, I found I could function normally. I only experienced occasional food intolerance symptoms such as stomach pains from the food problems stated earlier. Eventually, because of the occasional food problems I was still experiencing, I was interested to find out how I could stop this stomach problem altogether.  I eventually came across a book called Friendly Food written by the people at The Royal Alfred Allergy Unit in Sydney, Australia. You can read my review of The Friendly Food cookbook by clicking here. This was the beginning of an amazing journey with much to discover about food.

Food problems run in the family, Mum.

Further food problems were encountered when I had my second child, a beautiful boy. By 2 & 1/2 years of age, he had severe tantrums that were interfering with functioning on a daily basis and he also had very runny stools. My intuition told me that something was not quite right and what we were experiencing was not normal for the age. Some of the food intolerance symptoms included sloppy stools, tantrums about putting clothes on, putting socks on, putting shoes on, having to stop playtime, having to go to bed and too many more to mention. Sometimes tantrums would be violent and last for 1 hour each time. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting and I found myself walking on egg shells around him, afraid of the next tantrum or outburst.

Using humor was out of the question because any joke was considered NOT funny and would result in a tantrum. He would not settle to bed at night but when he did, he needed more sleep than a child of that age. He had dark circles under his eyes related to food problems and he would often fidget, jump around like a monkey and make silly noises for no reason at all.  All of this behavior was encountered even though we were additive and preservative free. Remember, I’m talking about beyond the usual silly behavior for the age group. He simply could not sit still and he was not at peace within himself. I just knew that what my son was experiencing was a result of food problems.

So, our first stop was with a dietitian to do a food  elimination diet to work out what was causing the food problems. I was already familiar with how to do a food elimination diet but because of my son’s age, I wanted to make sure he was getting the proper nutrition. For those wishing to do a food elimination diet, you need to keep a food diary. With each food trial, you can link the food intolerance symptoms to the food based on behavior and bodily functions. I was also very aware of the impact of naturally occurring chemicals in food. Amines and salicylates do impact a body that needs repair and this is common for those suffering from Leaky Gut Syndrome.

What we did about those food problems

One of the initial steps I took was to watch a DVD by Australian author Sue Dengate called “Fed Up With Children’s Behaviour“. You must show this to your family and friends so they can understand what you are going through. The reason I say this is because it is not uncommon to be criticized for your approach to food problems and food intolerance symptoms. Keep in mind that you know your child and you are the person who can best help your child or yourself. Others show care through ridicule but they will not have the education you have relating to food intolerance symptoms.  It is like trading the stock market. Some people call it gambling because for those people, without an education in the stock market, it is. For those educated on a chosen subject, you are taking steps to minimize risk and therefore have more knowledge to proceed with care. Treating food problems and food intolerance symptoms is the same.

After completing the food elimination diet we modified the diet of the whole family and were seeing some great results. The only issue was that my son was not getting the nutrients he needed because the diet was so restrictive. After a few more conversations with a few more people, we consulted a naturopath who supplemented us to the max. After doing further research, I don’t believe in supplementation but we can only learn from our mistakes and move on. What was beneficial from this process was the tests that were conducted. We were able to identify that the food problems were a result of leaky gut syndrome. After going through a process of two vitamin shakes every day and finally being fed up with the process, we stopped.

We then saw a number of people such as a kinesiologist, osteopathist, we did some bio-resonance also called bio-com, a chiropractor and others. These may have all had some impact on my son’s food problems or food intolerance symptoms but to what extent, it is hard to know. I believe the biggest impact came as a result of reading somewhere that food is not the problem, the body is! So, the best thing I could do was to look at healing the leaky gut naturally, through the use of food which had, to date, been the number one enemy. I also removed red meat from our diet which seemed to also have a positive effect on the bowel.

After further searching, I consulted a man who I believe to be an absolute food and healing guru and I purchased his FDR (Farmacist Desk Reference). I came to know that to heal the leaky gut, I needed to put him on fermented products. We now have him eating nearly every fruit and vegetable that he is prepared to eat. (yes, I did say “prepared” to eat and we all know how fickle kids can be sometimes). We do not use supplements and we are moving toward a diet that encompasses higher raw food content. We have started incorporating raw food by introducing dehydrated food along with the usual fresh fruit, which he has been able to eat as a result of introducing fermented foods. I also have my children taste, or drink  green smoothies.

All the food problems we had were masking the fact that we had a very compassionate, sensitive, very bright boy who was already reading at the age of 5 (had not started school yet), was comprehending grade 1  mathematics and is naturally talented at sport. It has been a very trying journey to get to this point but if I can offer one pertinent word of advice that was offered to me, it is this. Your child, or your body if it is you, is teaching you about food through food problems or food intolerance symptoms. He or she is showing you a way to a healthier lifestyle and I have to thank my son for showing me the light and teaching me through some very hard lessons.

I hope my story helps you understand your own situation with food problems or food intolerance symptoms a little better and gives you some tools to work with so you too can move toward healing your body. There is a cure for food problems, you just have to  apply foods to help in that healing process so that you can return to a normal, healthy diet.

Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer:

I’m no medical expert and information contained on this blog is written through my own experience. Please consult an appropriate professional about your situation.