North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Kieran or Donna" <redherring@tnaccess.com>]

And other weird slightly fruit related subjects....
    When my friend got out the salt shaker, she said she put salt on
practially all the fruit she ate.  I thought, that's right, some people salt
cantalope, watermelon, grapefruit, and of course tomatoes.  I thought, she
is medicating herself, because the acid in the fruit would drop her blood
pressure, but the salt will keep it up.  I realized it was one more peice of
evidence that she has celiac disease, same as me.  She's coming around to
the idea of testing the gluten free diet, if only to get rid of her back
pain and leg cramps.   Some 10% of the population is carrying a gene for
gluten intolerance, with celiac disease is the end result: malabsorption due
to intestinal damage from gluten.  Well, actually the end result is things
like osteoporosis and esophagal cancer, but I hope to avoid all that.
Celiacs seem to lose a lot of salt in their urine, probably from their
adrenals having to deal with the fact there's wheat in practically all
factory made foods. Carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene, 4% of the
population, also need lots of salt, especially in hot weather as they lose
it in their sweat.  If any of you who have been prone to feeling weak
working outdoors lately, or if you feel washed out afterwards, or tend to
gray out if you stand up too suddenly, you'd probably feel better with more
salt. My husband just read an article on preventing heat stroke which
annoyed him because the word salt was not in it.  Salt is nearly as
important as water in preventing heat stroke, just ask anyone who has worked
in the oilfields or in a steel mill.  My husband is probably a CF carrier,
and when he gets tired and weak outside, he'll take a half teaspoon of salt
and feel better.  I have given it to a someone after a day working
construction, and he said it tasted better than sugar.
    Some people will dislike acids, even small amounts, because they are
short on calcium.  (Actually most of those also have celiac disease) We have
all heard one person complain about how sour some fruit dish is, when it
tastes just fine to everyone else.
    And here is the really weird one.  I have a health book that says that
in long winters, the kidney begins converting the short supplies of vitamin
D to a very potent form.  The kidney decides that it must be winter when the
potassium intake drops low and stays that way for 4 days or longer.  It made
me wonder if the ready availability of fresh fruit and produce in northern
groceries was actually contributing to osteoporosis. Perhaps the Vitamin D
added to milk will counteract that problem.
    And last of all, I had about decided I'd gone wrong being in NAFEX all
these years because my guts had gotten so bad that I simply couldn't eat
fruit anymore.  I am happy to say that now I've been off wheat for 10
months, I'm having no trouble eating fruit.  Thank goodness!!  Now if I can
just buy some of that Surround stuff, I have plenty of peach trees who'd
love to make a bumper crop.  Donna


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