OMG GMO!

 Happy Saturday, everyone!

I’ve been a little quiet lately, so I just wanted to give a quick update. In addition to writing, researching, and finishing up a few other big projects that I will unveil before the year is up, I have had some strange health issues.  

After numerous and visits to some of the best specialists in the world (to which I am grateful to have access), I have found that I have a number of severe food allergies and intolerances, as well as multiple autoimmune disorders. Basically, my immune system is in hyperdrive, so much so that it can attack itself. I have a treatment plan to put me into remission, part of which requires me to be drastically limited in what I can eat. I can no longer have wheat, oats, corn, gluten, soy, nuts, eggs, legumes, dairy, fish, shellfish, nightshades, fungi, yeast, sesame, cassava, a variety of specific proteins, and bananas. Yes. Bananas. Basically, I try to focus on what I can eat since that list is easier to swallow (pun intended). I will spare you all of the technical aspects of all of this but let me just note one thing:

Many people argue over the safety of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). I have always been a "health nut" and have generally tried to avoid GMOs. However, I was not well-versed on the science behind them and not quite positive that they were particularly unsafe. I was on the fence about the science since throughout history man has genetically modified food through practices like plant grafting. I really didn’t give it a lot of thought, otherwise and of course growing up, things like GMO or organic were not in my family's lexicon. As a child of single mother in the 80s/90s, I grew up eating my fair share of Hot Pockets, Lunchables, and soda. That's probably why I became so health conscious as an adult. 

In my freshman year in college, I had a biology class called Ecology, Environment, and Evolution. The professor was a real polemicist when it came to the topic of GMOs. He would pick fights with me for fun because he somehow assumed I was anti-GMO (probably because I was vegan). He also liked to put me down for majoring in what he loved to remind me was a “soft science,” like anthropology, as opposed to a hard science like biology. He used to drone on and on about how safe GMOs were and how anyone worried about them were “complete morons.”

Fast forward nearly 15 years, and here I am, a soft scientist, sitting in the Cleveland Clinic as multiple specialist “hard scientists” are explaining to me that they believe my condition and its growing prevalence in Western society is due to GMOs. So there you have it. Just something to consider.
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Rest assured that while my diet may be limited, my passion and energy for uncovering the truth behind ancient mysteries is not. Nothing changes on that front. Well, except for maybe white chocolate while writing. One of my favorite indulgences is white chocolate, especially if I am up late researching or writing. So, if anyone knows of a white chocolate out there that is vegan, GMO, and soy-free, with nothing artificial, please let me know!