This is news?

Post #26,806 by Ashton 2/1/02 2:50:46 AM Reply	This is news? I've thought for (longer than I know the source of the info) that something similar was the case. Most every traveler to Mexico, say - understood that the problem with salads in towns sans municipal water treatment (most small ones) - was not just that it had been washed in e-coli-containing water. Possibly I got the original info wrong, and they meant the 'wash water' was the culprit (?) If so, then others shared this mis?information.. now information. ?? Ashton
Post #26,811 by imric 2/1/02 6:00:50 AM Reply	Well I never thought that Mexican vegtables were contaminated through-and-through. Does this mean that Mexican produce (well, lettuce) wouldn't be fit for export? Imric's Tips for Living Paranoia Is a Survival Trait Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised... Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
Post #27,850 by tseliot 2/8/02 4:28:02 PM Reply	In many cases, yes, it means not fit for export It's not all economics. Most travelers are encouraged to stay away from exactly those types of food which are quite "wet"--lettuce, tomatoes, fruit. Basically: the drier the better, the more well-cooked the better, and the more acidic the better (part of the appeal of fresh ceviche is that the lime juice kills several nasty things--"cooking" it chemically). --------------------------------- A stupid despot may constrain his slaves with iron chains; but a true politician binds them even more strongly by the chain of their own ideas;...despair and time eat away the bonds of iron and steel, but they are powerless against the habitual union of ideas, they can only tighten it still more; and on the soft fibres of the brain is founded the unshakable base of the soundest of Empires." Jacques Servan, 1767
Post #26,833 by SpiceWare 2/1/02 9:27:28 AM Reply	Interesting Wonder if that's why my mom got so sick even though they've been real careful about washing all the produce while they've been living in Mexico. They even use a "special cleaner" that can be picked up at the store. Mom loves her salads. I forwarded the article link to them as an FYI. Darrell Spice, Jr. [link\|http://home.houston.rr.com/spiceware/\|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
Post #26,993 by tablizer 2/2/02 2:37:25 PM Reply	Hard to tell what the cause is >> Wonder if that's why my mom got so sick even though they've been real careful about washing all the produce while they've been living in Mexico. << Traveling to any different place may make one sick simply because the bacteria are different from what one's tummy is used to. That does not necessarily mean more bacteria. Our stumachs expect bacteria and even depend on it. However, too much of one kind or something that it is not used to can make tummy go buzzerk. Traveling and diarreha generally go hand-in-hand. Just like desk jobs, the human body is not optimized for the Jet Age. ________________ oop.ismad.com
Post #27,040 by SpiceWare 2/2/02 11:40:41 PM Reply	How long does it take to get "bacterialized"? They've been down there 1 1/2 years when she got sick. Darrell Spice, Jr. [link\|http://home.houston.rr.com/spiceware/\|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
Post #27,465 by Ric Locke 2/5/02 11:11:02 PM Reply	It depends. I'm a slob. I go to Mexico and eat from the pushcarts in Mexico City, and I don't get sick. I eat at roadhouses and truck stops. I drink the water if the natives do; there's a reason bottled water is so popular there. Once in a while I'll have twenty-four hours of discomfort, easily controlled with Immodium AD(TM). My boss is a clean&neat person, like most Americans. She gets tetchy eating at the hotel restaurants. Once she had to go home early and go to the doctor. Our friend is right for once; it's all down to intestinal flora populations. If you're a typical American, you probably have very few strains, because you keep yourself clean and sanitary. When strangers show up, war ensues. Death to the invaders! Conquest for King and country! All bets are off when it comes to amoebae. Amoebic dysentery is a real problem. Gratifying to realize I'm a genuine internationalist, right down in the gut :-) Regards, Ric
Post #27,481 by wharris2 2/6/02 3:20:52 AM Reply	Interesting theory A local talk show host has the theory that people are getting sick more often because they're being more protected. If we were less careful about the molecules of E-Coli and trying to say "cook well done", we might be healthier. "Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it." -- Donald Knuth
Post #27,498 by a6l6e6x 2/6/02 10:10:02 AM Reply	Not to mention the "sanitizing" liquid soaps... over time selecting for dominance the hardier strains of "bugs" for our bodies to deal with. Alex "Of course, you realize this means war." -B. Bunny
Post #27,600 by Ric Locke 2/6/02 10:51:44 PM Reply	Yep. As we get cleaner and cleaner our bodies develop less and less resistance. If your immune system has never seen a particular bug, it won't build any antibodies to it -- by definition, right? Then the bug comes along, and finds a clear field. All living things are opportunistic [including human beings (-;], so given plenty of food and no guardians, the bug starts reproducing rapidly. Sort of a social version of AIDS; the virus doesn't kill you, its the opportunistic infections caused by not having a healthy immune system. Hyperclean people have healthy immune systems, but they're "couch potatoes" that seldom get exercise. And strictly a speculation: I think that's why we see more autoimmune diseases (lupus, RA, etc.) nowadays. People's immune systems are so underused that they get bored and start running wild, like pampered teenagers at their first college dorm party. Moral of this story: cleaning up your house is bad for you :-) and dirt is your friend... Regards, Ric (who is about three-quarters serious about that last)
Post #27,619 by wharris2 2/7/02 5:39:56 AM Reply	Re: Yep. As we get cleaner and cleaner Moral of this story: cleaning up your house is bad for you :-) and dirt is your friend... If I only had that argument when I was a teenager. Now, I only have to rationalize that when my parents visit my home. :+*( Most of the work of government does not need to be done.
Post #26,904 by marlowe 2/1/02 4:10:45 PM Reply	It's America's fault! Rapacious Yankees came in and stole Mexico's water treatment plants! We smuggled them out in our suitcases! But Montezuma will have his revenge! [link\|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html\|http://www.angelfir...e/index.html] Sometimes "tolerance" is just a word for not dealing with things.

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