So What’s With GMOs?
Where Do You Place Your Bets?
As with all things in virtually all spheres, there are pros and cons, positives and negatives, good and bad. Depending upon our experience and our knowledge, we often will place our bets on the side of the one we have more experience or knowledge with, rather than the one with which we’re unfamiliar.
A topic that has been in the forefront of much of our thinking, when it comes to food, is the effect of GMOs on our bodies and our lives. Most of us have just a little knowledge about GMOs – in fact it is doubtful that most of us really know what GMO stands for – but we do have an opinion about it.
What’s GMO Anyway?
GMO, genetically modified organisms, are created when there is transference of a gene that appears in one species, to another, thereby creating something that would not be found in nature. Now, it is fair to say here that nature and farmers have done that very thing for centuries under the rules of cross-pollination. Our food supply has been enhanced by this practice as cross-breeding of different types of plants or animals have come up with new and better products with better taste, yield and ability to flourish in difficult growing conditions. The end result has been the feeding of billions of people with a multi-thousand fold supply of crops. These practices were reserved for the combining of traits of same-species plants and animals. GMOs don’t necessarily qualify under these parameters.
Today, through the wonder of biotechnology, a gene from a fish that lives in cold water can be transferred into a tomato, thus enabling it to live and flourish in cold weather (not normal for tomatoes). While this new technology does, indeed, have the potential to entirely change the way we produce and feed growing populations, there is a huge cost that must eventually be paid. And, that’s the issue at hand.
Are GMOs Really That Bad?
A new French study indicates that even though the intentions of GMOs may have been for the good of under-developed and under-fed populations (as well as supposedly reducing the cost of food to the Western world), the net results may prove to be very disastrous to the health and well-being of these very people. There just isn’t enough research to support the idea that GMO foods are truly good for human consumption. In fact, the European Union, Australia, Japan and the UK as well as at least 24 other countries – including Russia – have either banned or limited the use of GMO products to the general population because of lack of significant proof that they aren’t dangerous.
What We Know About GMO
There are a few things we do know about GMOs that are worthy of consideration, especially when dealing with specific health issues, like fibromyalgia. We know that food has a profound effect upon our health and the way we feel. This is very important for FMS sufferers, since we now know that FMS is affected by our lifestyle and eating habits. These are some of the things we know about GMOs that make them potentially unsafe for consumption if FMS is an issue:
– We don’t know the health consequences of eating genetically modified organisms. There is not sufficient research to prove they really are safe to consume – for any population.
– The few studies that have been done on GMO foods have not produced good results.
– Foods containing GMOs are not required to be labeled in the US. Because you don’t know for sure what you are consuming, you could be doing more harm than good by buying certain foods.
– GMOs require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides – all of which are extremely poisonous and should not be eaten or allowed to run off into the water supply. Yet, they are … and they affect life and health – both yours and your children’s. There are many other reasons available for examination should a person desire to investigate. However, these will suffice for our purpose here and now.
GMOs and Fibromyalgia
When a person deals with FMS, they have to give great consideration to the foods they eat and the way those foods will affect their state of health and sense of well-being. We know it is best to obtain our vitamins and minerals from the foods we eat. They are better utilized and absorbed when they come from food sources rather than supplemental sources. So, eating foods that are truly good and unaffected is very important – especially when managing a chronic ailment like fibromyalgia syndrome.
By limiting the diet to gluten-free, corn-free, food to which one does not react (this is a trial and error elimination process that can best be handled with a food diary); eating organic
meats, fruits and vegetables (non-GMO); and learning which foods cause a reaction in the body, it is possible to significantly reduce the symptoms of FMS and enhance health.