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I wasn't aware of this until just now. Those of you stocking up on canned fruits might want to slow down.
Did you know the longer they sit in cans the more methane they build up? Listen to this Dr Mercola explanation. I might stop buying all processed canned or bottled fruits and fruit juices now and dump out the ones in my fridge. I had no idea this was a potential problem until tonight.Begin listening around the 6 min mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BIc5MRdNqo
Dietary methanol exists in all pectin-bearing fruits and vegetables. Cooking and canning can increase the concentration. The concern with dietary methanol is that our bodies metabolize it into formaldehyde, and subsequently formic acid and formate salts, which have been linked to several diseases (MS, Alzheimer's, etc) in high doses/concentrations. Keep in mind that our body creates and breaks formaldehyde, formic acid, and formate salts as part of normal biological function, and that methanol is a commonly (and naturally) occuring substance in nearly all dietary products... fresh, frozen, canned or dried.
Methanol ("wood alcohol") is an unstable molecule which easily breaks downs into the environment, and there are several ways to reduce any high concentrations that may exist in canned or smoked foods. 1) Leave the food uncovered for a few hours to off-gas. 2) Cook the food for a few hours in a vented pan to off-gas. 3) Consume the food with a small amount of ethanol ("drinking alcohol"), or consume a small amount daily, to prevent the metabolism of dietary methanol into formaldehyde. This is one reason why "a glass of wine a day" is reported to have health benefits, and Mediterranean citizens (who often slow cook their canned foods and/or consume wine with meals) have lower incidences of formaldehyde-related illnesses than the British and Americans.
So, there is no reason to abandon stocking canned veg, fruit, juices, or smoked foods. Just remember to eat them in moderation and take the proper precautions. Assuming you do not already have ample access to a large variety of 100% fresh foods 365 days a year, it is far preferable to take a little effort in safely preparing these foods than to suffer malnutrition due to a lack of essential vitamins, minerals and macronutrients because you don't have any at all in your food stores.
Last edited by MissingAll4Seasons; 10-01-2012 at 01:48 PM..
Reason: fixing spelling & grammar error
And what are the dangers of NOT eating canned fruit when fresh fruit is not available?
(this might be a question better asked to a person from 150 years ago, because frankly, we're spoiled--like most everything else in our Rube Goldberg society, we assume it can never falter. Fresh produce will a l w a y s be available, right? Even if I live on the South Pole)
Malnutrition and/or vitamin deficiency is the danger of NOT eating preserved/stored produce when fresh produce is not available.
Even way back before the canning process was discovered, before refrigerators and freezers were invented and electricity harnessed, people preserved their fresh produce via fermentation and dehydration, and used natural cold storage methods to extend their storage length. You either ate or preserved your highly-perishable produce when it was in season, and you stocked your cellar and icehouse with "keepers" when they came in season; and then you ate your preserves and cellared keepers when they were out of season.
And, yes, despite all that, folks would start to exhibit some vitamin deficiencies toward the end of winter, but much less than we would doing that nowadays because we don't preserve the same things the same ways (i.e. fermented cabbage for Vit C rather than canned pineapple) and we don't tend to eat our livestock snout-to-tail (lots of vitamins and minerals in the "icky bits"). All those local traditional cuisines, holiday meals, and various specialty foods came about for a reason... they were all based on what was available locally, when they were available, and the best way to preserve them given the local climate and conditions.
America has no food tradition like this... we started out "modern". The only people we can rely on for local food knowledge would be the Native Americans, but we don't eat the same foods that they did; we brought a whole bunch of foods from the homeland, and the traditions may not have worked or may have simply been forgotten. So, those of us who care end up puzzling out a weird amalgam of many traditional methods and relying on the most appropriate modern methods given our circumstances.
I wasn't aware of this until just now. Those of you stocking up on canned fruits might want to slow down.
Did you know the longer they sit in cans the more methane they build up? Listen to this Dr Mercola explanation. I might stop buying all processed canned or bottled fruits and fruit juices now and dump out the ones in my fridge. I had no idea this was a potential problem until tonight.Begin listening around the 6 min mark. Dr. Mercola on The Raw Life #337 - YouTube
What do you think?
Just my .02: I used to suscribe to Mercola's e-news letters but bored with the "cry wolf" titles of the articles. While the basis of his philosophy I agree with, the practice of his lifestyle could be very difficult for the average person.
Dietary methanol exists in all pectin-bearing fruits and vegetables. Cooking and canning can increase the concentration. The concern with dietary methanol is that our bodies metabolize it into formaldehyde, and subsequently formic acid and formate salts, which have been linked to several diseases (MS, Alzheimer's, etc) in high doses/concentrations. Keep in mind that our body creates and breaks formaldehyde, formic acid, and formate salts as part of normal biological function, and that methanol is a commonly (and naturally) occuring substance in nearly all dietary products... fresh, frozen, canned or dried.
Methanol ("wood alcohol") is an unstable molecule which easily breaks downs into the environment, and there are several ways to reduce any high concentrations that may exist in canned or smoked foods. 1) Leave the food uncovered for a few hours to off-gas. 2) Cook the food for a few hours in a vented pan to off-gas. 3) Consume the food with a small amount of ethanol ("drinking alcohol"), or consume a small amount daily, to prevent the metabolism of dietary methanol into formaldehyde. This is one reason why "a glass of wine a day" is reported to have health benefits, and Mediterranean citizens (who often slow cook their canned foods and/or consume wine with meals) have lower incidences of formaldehyde-related illnesses than the British and Americans.
So, there is no reason to abandon stocking canned veg, fruit, juices, or smoked foods. Just remember to eat them in moderation and take the proper precautions. Assuming you do not already have ample access to a large variety of 100% fresh foods 365 days a year, it is far preferable to take a little effort in safely preparing these foods than to suffer malnutrition due to a lack of essential vitamins, minerals and macronutrients because you don't have any at all in your food stores.
If you listened to his explanation. He said in fresh (and maybe frozen) fruits, the methane binds to the pectin which it apparently, due I guess to the pasturization process, does NOT do in canned and refrigerated fruits and juices and the longer it sits, the worse (more methane accumulates) it gets. So for me anyway, it is fresh fruit and fruit juices from now on. I have a good juicer so I can make much fresher juice than they sell bottled in the best markets anyway. I'm not wasting any more money on food with little if any food value.... especially considering the added dangers of the methane build up.
Malnutrition and/or vitamin deficiency is the danger of NOT eating preserved/stored produce when fresh produce is not available.
Even way back before the canning process was discovered, before refrigerators and freezers were invented and electricity harnessed, people preserved their fresh produce via fermentation and dehydration, and used natural cold storage methods to extend their storage length. You either ate or preserved your highly-perishable produce when it was in season, and you stocked your cellar and icehouse with "keepers" when they came in season; and then you ate your preserves and cellared keepers when they were out of season.
And, yes, despite all that, folks would start to exhibit some vitamin deficiencies toward the end of winter, but much less than we would doing that nowadays because we don't preserve the same things the same ways (i.e. fermented cabbage for Vit C rather than canned pineapple) and we don't tend to eat our livestock snout-to-tail (lots of vitamins and minerals in the "icky bits"). All those local traditional cuisines, holiday meals, and various specialty foods came about for a reason... they were all based on what was available locally, when they were available, and the best way to preserve them given the local climate and conditions.
America has no food tradition like this... we started out "modern". The only people we can rely on for local food knowledge would be the Native Americans, but we don't eat the same foods that they did; we brought a whole bunch of foods from the homeland, and the traditions may not have worked or may have simply been forgotten. So, those of us who care end up puzzling out a weird amalgam of many traditional methods and relying on the most appropriate modern methods given our circumstances.
LOL! We started out "modern"? I don't think so. What do you think they had before 1700? I think they ate mostly fresh and whatever was in season and some dried stuff. Here's something about what's been recorded about what people ate. Some of it dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe. I also think they knew a heck of a lot more than we do about which wild growing plants were edible. https://www.antiquesjournal.com/Page...5/cooking.html
I even found an old medical journal from the early 1900's at one point (while researching the history of vaccinations) and even back then they had figured out that the preservatives in canning was linked to the increased rate of the onset of certain diseases.
So for me, fresh, dried and frozen seem the best options.
LOL! We started out "modern"? I don't think so. What do you think they had before 1700? I think they ate mostly fresh and whatever was in season and some dried stuff. Here's something about what's been recorded about what people ate. Some of it dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe. I also think they knew a heck of a lot more than we do about which wild growing plants were edible. https://www.antiquesjournal.com/Page...5/cooking.html
But in most of the US, plants (wild or not) do not grow during the winter. Nothing is in season during the winter other than perhaps some pine needle tea. Then what?
I've been studying wild edible plants for several years. But it ain't happenin' during the winter.
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