Life Stinks

Last week we bought a new sectional.  We were thrilled to find what we were looking for in our price range in town.  Thrilled…until we unpacked it and the off-gassing began.

This wouldn’t be such a problem if we could have our windows open 24/7, but we all know what kind of spring we’ve been having this year.  So I cracked the windows as much as I dared to offer some fresh air to counter the smell of chemicals.

When I asked the clerk how long it took their merchandise to stop off-gassing, he looked bewildered and suggested I spray it with a “freshening” product.  Sure, just what I need – to add more chemicals to the mix.

I once thought my acute sense of smell was a blessing to help offset my hearing loss.  Now, I’m not so sure.  I can’t stand the smell of so many things!

Like smoke.  No more campfires for me.  And here I was waiting for my baby to get a little older so we could really start camping.  It’s disappointing.

On the other hand, I’m surprised at how many people can’t smell things I can smell strongly.  We live in a world where tons of products which are not healthy to breathe are used regularly:  cleaning chemicals, fuel, pesticides, cigarettes, air fresheners, candles…

Even if you can’t smell it, you might want to think twice before you light up or spray.  Harmful chemicals and carcinogenic pollutants – many, ironically, in the name of beauty, cleanliness, or “health” – permeate our air unchecked.  And it stinks.

The Corn Invasion

Don’t worry about aliens or foreigners.  The real invaders are already here.  Corn products.  They’re everywhere!  Hiding, maybe even hurting.

I didn’t realize this until a few months ago when I ate two yummy cobs of corn.  Almost immediately the roof of my mouth felt bumpy and my tongue hurt.  After an hour or two it went away, but it left me wondering if I was allergic to corn.  Sure enough, a consultation with a Naturopath revealed that I was highly intolerant to corn (as well as a few other things).

It was easy to avoid corn on the cob, cornflakes, and cornbread, but when I started paying closer attention to the ingredients in packaged items, I realized it was a lot harder than that.  Corn is in everything!  Well, not quite everything, but a lot.

There’s corn flour, corn starch, modified corn starch, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, and dextrose (which is sugar usually made from corn) to name a few.  It’s in canned soup, taco seasoning, and breakfast cereal (including oat and rice varieties).  I even checked the ingredients on a bag of sticky rice the other day:  rice, corn syrup.  I couldn’t believe it!

When we use too much of something (even good things) we can develop intolerances to it.  I wonder if we’re headed that way with corn products.

Lots of people are out to make the big bucks.  This often means sacrificing quality for quantity.  Why not use cheap fillers, like corn, especially when they can be passed off as natural foods? 

It’s one more reason to try harder to do what we should be doing anyway:  eating a variety of foods as close to their natural state as possible.  Good for the waistline, good for the wallet.