Interesting to hear of a recent report in Diabetes Care that found a strong relationship between Type II diabetes and pollutants in the body. Some may now argue that because of the use of contaminants in conventional commercial vegetable and fruit growing operations, that people with diminished pancreatic function should stick to organically grown food.
I’ve got to admit I haven’t been able to find a copy of the actual study but the article I read mentioned six particular pollutants as being of concern, including:
- hexachlorobiphenyl
- 2 dioxins: heptadioxin and OCDdioxin
- 2 pesticides: oxychlordane and trans-nonachlor, and
- a pesticide metabolite: DDE, a metabolite of DDT
It seems the study found that these chemicals were found in more than 80 percent of the study participants and this group had almost 38 times greater likelihood of developing diabetes as those with the lowest level of exposure.
As we say in the book ‘Cooking Hints and Recipes for Pancreatitis’ one shouldn’t want any chemical additives to the food one eats. Our preference would be to go organic, but we realize that’s not always possible for everyone because of price, availability and assurance that you are in fact getting organic. (One thing you find when you start looking in to this area of food processing is that there is a ‘range’ in determining whether or not something is organic).
Nevertheless, the evidence seems to be mounting that chemicals used in the growing of food can and do have an impact upon the ultimate consumer of that produce. I can’t vouch for this, but the article I read said that the average American takes in nearly a gallon of pesticides per year by eating conventionally grown fruits and vegetables! For the pancreatitis sufferer, it means continued vigilance in controlling what food one consumes, not only because of the potential poisoning but also because of the greater risk of further impairment to the pancreas and the potential for increasing the potential on-set of diabetes.
Until next time.
Bill
info@pancreatitis-advice.com
www.pancreatitis-diet.com
