Now Serving: Listeria

With September now here and Labor Day just past, kids everywhere are kicking off their sandals and lacing up their sneakers, tossing out their sports mags and throwing books into their school bags.

Yep, it’s back to school time, one of the more dreaded times of year for the average kid.

Heading back to the classroom is not just a drag for kids, though; it can be a drag for parents as well.  Sure, it’ll be quieter on the home front, but most parents would probably trade in their few hours of quiet if it meant they could avoid the homework questions and the ever present “What are you packing for my lunch tomorrow?” questions.

Ah, yes, the lunch.  Every school year starts out with “good lunch” intentions, as parents convince themselves that this year they’ll commit to make healthy lunches, and this year they won’t cave in to their child’s junk food demands.

These good lunch intentions eventually go by the wayside, though, as parents would rather have their son or daughter eat something than have them throw out their lunch once they reach the cafeteria.  So, they cave, and buy their son or daughter that Little Debbie snack cake or that Oscar Mayer deli meat.

And why not?  It’s not like a ham and cheese sandwich will kill them, right?

Well, according to multiple health organizations, you’re taking a risk, because the typical ham and cheese sandwich could render them severely ill at best, dead at worst.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the USDA and the FDA, deli ham is considered to be the most likely of foods to carry a deadly food borne illness called L. monocytogenes.  Not undercooked beef.  Not sushi.  Not even raw eggs beat out deli ham for risk of contracting this food-borne illness.

L.monocytogenes is a type of listeria, which is a food borne illness that beats salmonella and clostridium botulinum in mortality rates annually (approximately 500 people in the United States die from listeria poisoning annually; nearly 3,000 rendered severely ill).

Though L. monocytogenes most commonly propagates in raw and undercooked beef products, it thrives in cool conditions, making refrigerated deli meat the ideal place for the pathogen to multiply.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway:  I’m opposed to every deli meat that’s on the market today.  That’s because the majority of them are loaded with fillers and killer chemicals, like sodium nitrite, which are documented carcinogens.  Besides the risk it poses to pregnant mothers and their babies, Mike Adams of Natural News has documented how it can increase the chances of contracting leukemia by an astonishing 74 percent!

So, with sandwich meats out, where does that leave you for sandwich selections?  Look no further than the old standby: Peanut butter and jelly.

For a truly healthy PB&J, though, you want to go for a brand of peanut butter that’s natural.  Thankfully, natural peanut butter is not hard to come by.  Natural selections should be in the same section as Jiffy and Skippy peanut butters, but the natural peanut butter will have no artificial preservatives – just 100 percent roasted peanuts!

For bread, exchange bland, nutritionless white bread for 100 percent whole wheat bread.  Or, if your son or daughter is up for an especially tasty treat, try some Ezekiel bread made by Food For Life.  It’s 100 percent whole grain bread, flourless, and filled with sprouted grains and lentils.  What’s more, it’s a complete protein!  Find out more about Ezekiel bread by visiting Food For Life’s Web site.

Finally, any old jelly won’t due.  Go for an organic jelly.  As with the peanut butter, the fewer the ingredients listed, the better its quality and overall purity.

Sources
encarta.msn.com
en.wikipedia.org