[colebear]

Yes on the tomatos, and now that the news about salsa, peppers and cilantro has come out, I can say that I won't stop eating those things either.

[Megan1982]

Yes to tomatoes, but I'm eating them all from my garden right now anyway. I've got quite an abundance.

I had to share this funny story: during a pre-cut salad greens scare (I don't remember if this was during the spinach or a different one - it was a bit over a year ago) I had already bought several bags of mixed baby lettuce. Though a little bit wary, they are expensive and I was going to eat it anyway and take my chances. I pulled the bag out to make salad to go with our dinner, joked to my boyfriend about the salad scare (I don't remember what I said), and he proceeded to grab the bag, rip it open, and dump the entire thing off the deck into the empty lot next door. I was SO mad! I really love my salad. He said he did it b/c he didn't want me to get sick. I know he did it out of concern/love for me, but man was I upset! Now it's pretty funny.

[yoyonomoreinvegas]

Originally Posted by kaplods

Also, the more you're exposed to them, the more resistant you become to these infections (have you ever wondered why Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern on the travel channel don't get sick from all of the stuff they eat on their shows - well they do get sick, and even talk about it on their show - but they've built up a great deal of tolerance as a result. They will tell you they get sick much less frequently and much less severely than they did when they first started eating in foreign countries).

I've always had a very similar attitude. It always concerns me a little that, with all our constant disinfecting, we aren't allowing ourselves to be exposed enough to develop a resistance and might be setting ourselves up to be overly susceptible to microbes that shouldn't really be a threat. Please don't get me wrong, absolutely there are places that should be sterile (medical offices etc.) but not necessarily the kitchen counter - clean of course, but maybe we shouldn't freak if it's not completely sterile (hmm, maybe I'll use "building up resistance to microbes" as an excuse to put off scouring out the refrigerator for another couple of days )

So, in answer to the original question - eat 'em almost every day.

[PhotoChick]

I've always had a very similar attitude. It always concerns me a little that, with all our constant disinfecting, we aren't allowing ourselves to be exposed enough to develop a resistance and might be setting ourselves up to be overly susceptible to microbes that shouldn't really be a threat.

This is a big hot button of mine. There have been studies upon studies upon studies upon studies that have shown that by being so obsessed with "anti-bacterial" everything, that we're actually (a) lowering our resistance to normal every day bacteria that help to create antibodies, (b) killing off good bacteria that we *should* be exposed to, and possibly most frightening of all (c) creating "super bacteria" that are highly resistant to antibiotics and anti-bacterial cleaners.

I refuse to have anything "anti bacterial" in my house, except in my medicine chest. I clean with soap and water, vinegar, and baking soda. The *only* time I use bleach to clean in the kitchen is when I've repackaged a big mess of chicken and I want to make sure all the "juice" is off the counters and my FoodSaver. Otherwise, hot water and vinegar is the limit of what I use.

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