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Dr Bob the Health Builder

Bad Pancakes

The following 'Dear Abby' has been floating around the internet and my first question was if it was a real story and if this really occurred. This can not be 100% verified but it is probably true as there is a confirmed story that I will relate at the end of this letter.

Dear Abby

I recently made a batch of pancakes for my healthy 14-year-old son, using a mix that was in our pantry. He said they tasted "funny," but ate them anyway. About 10 minutes later, he began having difficulty breathing and his lips began turning purple. I gave him his allergy pill, had him sit on the sofa and told him to relax. He was wheezing while inhaling and exhaling. My husband, a volunteer firefighter and EMT, heated up some water, and we had my son lean over the water so the steam could clear his chest and sinuses.

Soon, his breathing became more regular and his lips returned to a more normal color. We checked the date on the box of pancake mix and, to my dismay, found it was very outdated.

After doing some research, I discovered an article the next day that mentioned a 19-year-old male DYING after eating outdated pancake mix. Apparently, the mold that forms in old pancake mix can be toxic! When we told our friends about my son's close call, we were surprised at the number of people who mentioned that they should check their own pancake mix since they don't use it often, or they had purchased it some time ago.

I hope your readers will take the time to check the expiration

date on their boxes. Also, beware of outdated cake, brownie and cookie mixes.

DEAR SUE: Thank you for the warning. I certainly was not aware that pancake mix could turn moldy and cause an allergic reaction in someone with an allergy to mold.

Another story:

Two pathologists practicing in Charleston, South Carolina, reported a 19-year-old who also died under similar circumstances. A young man with a history of allergies (including mold), polished off two pancakes made from a packaged mix that had sat open in a kitchen cabinet for two years. After eating, the young man experienced shortness of breath. He was taken to a clinic not far from home and became cyanotic. Once inside the clinic, he collapsed in cardiopulmonary arrest and died. The cause of his death was determined to be anaphylaxis due to an allergic reaction to molds.

There is nothing inherently toxic about pancake mix that has passed its freshness date, the product's getting old does not transform it into a poison, nor does the growth of mold within opened boxes of flapjack powder turn it into something that will fell all who ingest it. Only those who have allergies to mold are at risk.

For mold to gain access to a food product, the foodstuff has to be exposed to its spores. Pancake mix cocooned in an unbleached wax paper, plastic, or a foil pouch within its outer packaging wouldn't have this contact and should still be safe no matter how old it gets. However, mix sold unpouched in cardboard boxes or paper sacks would likely be at risk even if the box or sack hadn't previously been opened, because such packaging would not necessarily keep dampness out, and mold thrives in damp environments.

Eat fresh. The closer it is grown to your home the better.

Pass the 'Butter' Please!

Special report

Dr Bob the Health Builder

I am not sure if the part about feeding turkeys is true but all other information regarding this article is factual. It is true that farmers will not feed trans fatty acids to pigs as the trans fatty acids will cause the pigs to die. Margarine is a trans fatty acid.

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted their money back, so they all got together to determine the next step to achieve this. The product was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and retailed it to people to use in place of butter. Over the years, manufacturers have developed clever new flavorings.

The only thing natural about margarine is the yellow coloring. The Federal Government passed a law (enacted by the butter people) the yellow coloring had to be a natural substance, not a toxic chemical.

DO YOU KNOW...the difference between margarine and butter?

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

Margarine is...

Very high in trans fatty acids.

Triple risk of coronary heart disease.

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

The most disturbing fact....

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC..

This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:

' It doesn't rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value, it is a dead substance nothing will grow on it. Why? Because it is nearly plastic. Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast? Flies are not even attracted.

' Margarine/vegetable oil/shortening all have hexane used in the manufacturing process.

Hydrogenated vegetable oil/margarine/shortening were discovered in the 1920's. Corporations & investors made a deal with various doctors to declare the vegetable 'stuff' was healthier than butter with saturated fats. Hence, medicine began research to prove that red meat & dairy was unhealthy.

The first reported case of Myocardial infarctions ' heart attack - was recorded in 1921. By 1960 the number had risen to over 600,000 per year.

As the consumption of meat and dairy declined (remember in 1920 beef cows and dairy cows were fed on grass with out grains, and had no chemicals, antibiotics, steroids, or hormones. The grass did not have toxic fertilizers or herbicides and pesticides used on it), hydrogenated vegetables accelerated, cancer and heart attacks increased and are continuing at an alarming rate.

Go to www.aaem.com, www.westonaprice.org, and www.ppnf.org

Dr Bob the Health Builder
Robert D Bard, OD, FAAO
www.drbobthehealthbuilder.com
www.wealthyhealthywise.net