My hubby and I went out for dinner a few nights ago. I ordered a big salad which was primarily romaine lettuce.
The next morning when I woke up I felt like I got run over by a truck. My joints were achy and my head pounded. That headache lingered for a couple of days afterwards.
All I could think about was that big ‘ol salad. On the surface it seemed like a healthy choice right? Problem was the mainstream lettuce I ate was not organic.
Pesticides Found on Lettuce
Did you know that in the U.S. lettuce is one of the most heavily sprayed foods? 52 different pesticides were found during testing.
That’s 52:
- Known or Probable Carcinogens
- Suspected Hormone Disruptors
- Neurotoxins
- Developmental or Reproductive Toxins
Paints a clearer picture as to why my body screamed in the days to follow that big salad.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
The thing is, it’s not just lettuce that bothers me. Ever since I was a young girl I’ve been sensitive to multiple chemicals in the environment.
A fellow endo sister recently posted about a chronic condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). With MCS those who come in contact with chemical exposure from scented products, pesticides, plastics, synthetic fabrics, smoke, petroleum products and/or paint fumes experience a host of reactive symptoms such as:
- Nausea
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Skin and/or joint inflammation
- Sneezing, sore throat, etc.
This totally sounds like me. I am so sensitive to all of these chemicals: perfumes and cigarette smoke especially. I went into a store today where they were using conventional cleaning products and I immediately got dizzy and nauseous.
MCS & SOD2 Mutations
I know from reviewing my genetic results from 23andme.com that my body has a lot of genetic breakdowns in the areas of detoxification.
I got curious to see if there was a relationship between any of the breakdowns in my genes and MCS. I found a study in Japan that showed that people with MCS were more significantly associated with SOD2 polymorphisms.
What is SOD?
Turns out I have two homozygous mutations and one heterozygous mutation at SOD2.
Oxidative Stress & Endometriosis
Studies have shown that in the presence of oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species might increase growth and adhesion of endometrial cells in the peritoneal cavity, leading to endometriosis and infertility.
With breakdowns present at SOD2 my body is already at a disadvantage in its protection against oxidative stress.
Thus, it’s just that more important for me to be conscious of the chemicals my body comes in contact with.
And conventionally grown lettuce… is just too much. I felt that message loud and clear 🙂
What to do with SOD2 breakdowns?
For my breakdowns at SOD2 Nutrahacker recommends Manganese.
There are many food sources of manganese. The form that is most readily absorbed and digested comes from organic leafy greens.
While manganese is also found in beans, nuts and seeds, the phytic acid in these foods make it harder for your body to absorb manganese.
To avoid further toxic overload and oxidative stress in your body, it is important to pay attention to what goes in, on and around your body and do your best to reduce toxic load.
On the Positive Side?
To help with all the detoxification breakdowns in my body there are daily detox suggestions that can be implemented to support natural detoxification channels.
In the days to follow my pesticide salad I did a number of re-set activities that helped me to feel better: yoga, green juice, deep breathing, neti pot and supplemented everyday with manjistha.
The salad incident was a wake-up call to me. It’s worth it to buy organic and make a salad at home! Lol.
Do you notice that you are sensitive to multiple chemicals? Do you have SOD2 breakdowns? Have you found anything that helps? I’d love to hear from you.
Much Love,
Your post prompted me to look at my nutrahacker report. I have 2 homozygous SOD2 SNPs and 1 heterozygous. It also says there’s a greater chance of noise induced hearing loss. A bit late to find out about that…been to too many loud gigs!
On the chemical sensitivity front, I don’t have too many obvious problems day to day and in the past year and a half I’ve done a lot to clean up my life on all fronts. I now eat a lot of leafy (organic!) greens too. I always soak nuts to reduce the phytic acid. It’s a bit late in the summer to start but I intend to start growing a few organic veg and salad plants.
Thanks for the information. I now have good reasons for my choices. People often think I’m being fussy or paranoid. I’m just reacting intelligently to some clear evidence which would be foolish to ignore.
I noticed the hearing loss thing too… and too late for me too, LOL. It is good to be informed, at least for my own sanity. There is a reason behind all my sensitivities.
Hello again! Seems my body hasn’t caught up with itself since we last met at the March! Unfortunately, I can almost immediately feel the after-effects of eating pork just as you described and even more so after drinking a strong cup of tea. I also had a positive food allergy test for both. Seems odd since I grew up in the South and those two are staples! However, I can almost immediately reverse the effects with-you’ll never guess-a weak cup of tea! And to avoid the same triggers without eating, I avoid any cleaning product with orange in it. Sounds strange but I’m so glad you posted this! Glad to know I’m not alone! Thanks! Judy
Hi Judy – Good to “see” you 🙂
Are you drinking tea from tea bags? I wonder if your body is reacting to all the chemicals in those. I try and drink loose leaf tea when I can.
Pork is definitely a trigger, though I do love me some bacon, Lol. Think it could have to do with inflammatory prostaglandins: http://peacewithendo.com/2014/02/prostaglandins-role-in-endometriosis.html
Sending you love.
Thank goodness I’m not the only one. Pork is a major trigger for me as are any aerosol products. Paint and almost all cleaning products trigger as well. I have many food and other allergies. That’s not to mention all the drug allergies I have as well.
I feel ya Jamie, it can be a struggle sometimes to make it through all that impacts us. Sending LOVE.
Aubree, I also can react that way to salads served in restaurants, but in my case I don’t think it’s due to the pesticides that would be in non-organic produce.
My mother does not buy organic veggies (although she always buys whole vegetables, nothing pre-cut/bagged) and I sometimes eat salads that she makes at her house, and they have never given me the “restaurant salad” reaction.
I lived in Europe for many years and I never experienced this when eating out; it’s only in American restaurants since I’ve been back here for the past 4 years that I have had this chemical-sensitivity reaction to salads.
I have noticed that my reactions are stronger/weaker depending on the restaurant chain, so I don’t think it’s an across-the-board thing regarding non-organic greens that I am experiencing.
Instead, I think that my reaction is to the chemicals that are applied to salad leaves/salad mixes, either directly by the restaurant chain / restaurant kitchen or by their produce suppliers, to preserve their crunch, color, resistance to bacteria, etc. for far longer than they’d otherwise hold up.
I do not eat enough bagged/pre-cut salads that are sold in supermarkets to know if it’s the same as the preserving chemical mix (liquid or gas) that is applied to them by the processor to give them a longer shelf life, but it could be.
Interesting insights Dory. I didn’t know that restaurants added additional chemicals to greens. Oh boy. Makes sense why they mess me up 🙂