Things I am Learning About Salicylate Levels in Foods

[mamafish9]

I post these in case it might be useful for anyone else - my very small attempt to give back to the wealth of knowledge in this forum!

Salicylates:

- tend to decrease as fruit gets riper
- tend to be higher in the raw food than when it is cooked
- drying fruit really increases concentrations - raisins have about 6x more salicylates than the same weight of grapes
- most lists just put things into high/med/low - I like this list a lot better
- that said, especially for fruits and veggies, there is a lot of variation based on the soil they grew in, etc
- processing (e.g. canning, freezing) increases salicylates in some foods, decreases in others
- fresh herbs are a mystery - the very small examples I can find suggest that while dried herbs/spices can have very high levels, the fresh form would probably be fine in moderation
- there is a huge lack of data on salicylate levels in a lot of foods
- salicylate levels in foods have increased as foods are picked unripe, transported longer distances, etc. I take this to mean buy local fruits and veggies as close to the vine/tree as possible
-salicylates are the "natural pesticides" of fruits/veggies - helps them fight off pests. Modern agriculture has selected for varieties that are most pest resistant, = higher salicylates. I take this to mean that buying/growing heirloom varieties might be a good thing
- most food charts are based on 100g of a food. NOT a serving size. So there's quite a few things on the moderate part of the scale where a small amount would be fine (and that gets a lot more variety into my diet!).
- pretty much everyone's salicylate level tables are from a 1985 study by Swain et. al. where they tested 300 foods or so. The problem is that apparently that data has been very hard to replicate, particularly for veggies and spices. So I hypothesize that people are maybe scared of a lot of things that they don't need to be?

So I think it's actually quite challenging to get a good idea of the salicylate levels in the foods YOU eat (where it was grown, how ripe, what variety, etc). It looks like trial and error, aiming towards local, picked ripe, fresh, and maybe heirloom varieties would be a good starting point.

[crunchy_mama]

That is interesting. When we did an intro to Feingold we noticed ds had some salicylate sensitivity or so I have thought. However, many things don't seem to bother him- (symptoms seem to be red checks and behavioral). Mostly I notice it with a lot of grapes and strawberries. I have had fresh strawberries from the garden lately and he seems to be tolerating them ok- although I am trying to limit them some.

[Chinese Pistache]

Very interesting, especially the bit about unripe, gassed fruit vs. heirloom varieties. Thanks.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

Very interesting, especially the bit about unripe, gassed fruit vs. heirloom varieties. Thanks.

Yeah, I thought that was pretty fascinating. Gives me hope - we have an awesome farmers market here with lots of very fresh heirloomy things, and I will try wild berry picking too.

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

That is interesting. When we did an intro to Feingold we noticed ds had some salicylate sensitivity or so I have thought. However, many things don't seem to bother him- (symptoms seem to be red checks and behavioral). Mostly I notice it with a lot of grapes and strawberries. I have had fresh strawberries from the garden lately and he seems to be tolerating them ok- although I am trying to limit them some.

That's really interesting on the strawberries. I can see my son reacting to grapes and blueberries too (both organic, but from Mexico/FL). I'm going to see how fresh local grapes and blueberries do this summer.

It might all be wishful thinking on my part though - I'm big time into local, fresh eating, hopefully I'm not just projecting .

[riomidwife]

Thanks for posting this Deb. I wish someone would make a user friendly list that desribes foods' sal content in actual serving sizes. I don't have time to sit down and do the translations every time, and there is no way I can retain the information, along with all the other random info floating around up there.

[AllyRae]

That is very interesting! Because I have a latex allergy that was recently discovered, I have to watch the salicylates (and primarily only eat in-season locally grown produce, or ones that are canned/frozen). Thanks for the list!

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by riomidwife

Thanks for posting this Deb. I wish someone would make a user friendly list that desribes foods' sal content in actual serving sizes. I don't have time to sit down and do the translations every time, and there is no way I can retain the information, along with all the other random info floating around up there.

I hear you! However, based on what I've read, the sals content can very so much that I'm not sure a list like that would be all that helpful either. I really wonder though, how much people are restricting their diets unnecessarily, because they assume a "serving" has really high sals content, instead of 100g, or whatever.

Originally Posted by AllyRae

That is very interesting! Because I have a latex allergy that was recently discovered, I have to watch the salicylates (and primarily only eat in-season locally grown produce, or ones that are canned/frozen). Thanks for the list!

Ally, did they tell you to eat that way, or is that just how you eat anyhow? I'm really curious if anyone with sals sensitivity reacts better to local, ripe stuff than stuff that has been trucked across the continent.

[WuWei]

"green" fruits and vegetables are high in salicylates
This is a fascinating article about the high salicylate issue in many fruits and vegetables. Apparently, vine ripened product allows the salicylates to breakdown naturally and are replaced by anti-oxidants! The salicylates in the produce inhibit the uptake of many vitamins and minerals making the produce significantly less nutritious. The conclusion is that "Green picked fruit has almost no vitamins and minerals."

This is significant for those with children reacting to salicylates with hyperactivity and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Buying vine-ripened, local produce will allow the benefits of the produce.

http://tinyurl.com/6358wc

More salicylate info:
This link has a bunch of references: http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.in...licylates2.htm

Here is another site of info: http://www.modernforager.com/blog/20...e-consumption/

This opens up many more food alternatives for us too!


Here is a disturbing look at engineering food to rein in ripening...http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/85/8544cover.html


Pat

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by WuWei

This is significant for those with children reacting to salicylates with hyperactivity and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Buying vine-ripened, local produce will allow the benefits of the produce.

http://tinyurl.com/6358wc

More salicylate info:
This link has a bunch of references: http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.in...licylates2.htm

Here is another site of info: http://www.modernforager.com/blog/20...e-consumption/
Pat

Thank you so much - I hadn't found anything nearly this informative, just a drip of info here and there that I was putting together.

This makes so much more sense to me than "your child has an inability to process fruits and veggies". Much better that he has an inability to process fruits and veggies in the insane way we produce them in the modern food chain! I will be experimenting with lots of local, fresh, heirloomy stuff, for sure.

[AllyRae]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Ally, did they tell you to eat that way, or is that just how you eat anyhow? I'm really curious if anyone with sals sensitivity reacts better to local, ripe stuff than stuff that has been trucked across the continent.

The doctor told me to eat that way. It was just last week, and he also cut out dairy and gluten for me at the same time (the dairy cut was primarily for my little one who is nursing and has a dairy allergy). So in a few weeks I should be able to tell you if I can tell any difference. The one thing I can tell is that food tastes better when you don't eat stuff that's been carted around everywhere. :

I miss my tropical fruit though--I loved the Asian fruits a lot. Apparently I will just have to go back in order to have it safely. :

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by AllyRae

The doctor told me to eat that way. It was just last week, and he also cut out dairy and gluten for me at the same time (the dairy cut was primarily for my little one who is nursing and has a dairy allergy). So in a few weeks I should be able to tell you if I can tell any difference. The one thing I can tell is that food tastes better when you don't eat stuff that's been carted around everywhere. :

I miss my tropical fruit though--I loved the Asian fruits a lot. Apparently I will just have to go back in order to have it safely. :

Or get yourself a really big greenhouse . We've been working towards eating locally a lot more in the last couple of years (it's pretty easy where we live, in the Willamette Valley), and the only produce we get that is consistently non-local are avocados and bananas. I just can't eat store produce any more, it just doesn't taste! (Or eggs, for that matter).

[WuWei]

Are you familiar with the vegetannual from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver?

"Here’s how it goes. First come the leaves: spinach, kale, lettuce, and chard (at my latitude, this occurs in April and May). Then more mature heads of leaves and flower heads: cabbage, romaine, broccoli, and cauliflower (May - June). Then tender young fruit-set: snow peas, baby squash, cucumbers (June), followed by green beans, green peppers, and small tomatoes (July). Then more mature, colorfully ripened fruits: beefsteak tomatoes, eggplants, red and yellow peppers (late July - August). Then the large, hard-shelled fruits with developed seeds inside: cantaloupes, honeydews, watermelons, pumpkins, winter squash (August - September). Last come the root crops, and so ends the produce parade."
http://evaanddaniel.blogspot.com/200...at-glance.html

http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.p...s/article/239/

The goal being a locavore--The “locavore” movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets or even to grow or pick their own food, arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. "Locavore" was coined in 2005 by a group of four women in San Francisco who proposed that local residents should try to eat only food grown or produced within a 100-mile radius. Apparently, The food on most American plates travels an average of 1500 miles to get there, days and days from when it was picked unripe.


Pat

[mamafish9]

Yes, Eugene (where I live) has an enormous "eat local" culture - huge farmer's markets, lots of small organic/sustainable farms. I can get local fresh produce about 9 months of the year easily, and even Jan-Mar there is some if you look. I love the seasonality of it. We are also gardening this year, for the first time in years (we finally have land to do it).

And today at the market, there were ..... fresh strawberries :. I only ate two, I surely hope this "ripened on the vine" stuff works for salicylates . We got our no-fenol today too, so I guess I gave it a good test!

[riomidwife]

Informative page about Phenols on an ASD site
http://www.danasview.net/phenol.htm

[monkeymommy]

More good info here...I found this site especially helpful in dealing with DS1's sensitivities.

http://salicylatesensitivity.com/food-guide/

[Thing1Thing2]

Heres a little info I found about salicylates in supplements

http://www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com...alicylate.html


3. Vitamins
How do I find vitamins that do not contain salicylates?
" Herbal supplements and "natural" vitamins have plant ingredients in them that are thousands of times stronger than you would get in a normal food amount. That's why you can't use them in vitamins. To find OK vitamins, avoid the word "Natural" on the label and look for plant extracts, oils, or gels on the list of ingredients. One pesky source of salicylate in supplements goes by several names. It's called bioflavonoids, but it includes rutin, hesperidin, and quercitin. So if you see any of those on a vitamin or supplement label, you can't use them."

Here is a vitamin caution:
A. No bioflavinoids, rose hips, flavonoids, rutin, quercetin.
B. No plant oils, gels or extracts (such as ginseng, kava kava, alfalfa)
Ingredients such as the ones following are fine.
Vitamin A, Vitamin C***, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Zinc.

***In choosing your Vitamin C buy one WITHOUT *Rose Hips* as this is a salicylate


Also: Why Cysteine May Assist in Salicylate Detoxification

http://www.zipworld.com.au/~ataraxy/