Death Peanuts on the March

Being at least as interested in peanut butter and hysteria as I am in legal matters, I naturally perked right up from an afternoon headache to pay attention to this BMJ column by Nicholas A. Christakis (via Well).

It suggests that the current social concern with peanut allergies may be an example of mass psychogenic illness (called "epidemic hysteria" in the olden days), which is "a social network phenomenon involving otherwise healthy people in a cascade of anxiety."

So should we all get off Facebook? Now now now?!

Ha, not really. I do know the difference between one use of the term 'social network' and another.

But it is interesting to think of ourselves as being in the midst of an epidemic hysteria, isn't it?

The idea is based on the author's interpretation of measures taken to protect allergic children as being wildly excessive given the risk (which is real for some, but small population-wide in comparison to the danger posed by things like swimming pools, automobiles, and sports, which kill way more children than food allergies do).

It increases my determination to continue eating peanut butter at every opportunity. Fight hysteria! With excited exclamation points!

Ahhhhhhh! Peanuts!

More Bad Nut News

I've just learned of the recent recall of pistachios by Kroger. As with the recent peanut alarm, the concern is salmonella contamination.

Kroger is not a store that's found in my neck of the woods, so the effect on my own nut-consumption is limited (presumably other pistachios, not having been recalled, are still safe), but my heart goes out to anyone who has delicious, delicious pistachios on hand but cannot eat them.

A Non-Problem I Didn't Have

I was not familiar with diverticulosis, nor with the fact that long-standing treatment advice discouraged the eating of nuts by those who had it, but as one who is very fond of nutty goodness, the idea of such a thing sent a chill through my blood as soon as I heard of its existence.

However, it turns out that this forbidden-nut problem I don't have is not a problem even for people who do have the condition, since the NutritionData blog reports that a recent other report (not linked, but I suspect its abstract is here in JAMA) suggests that nuts are in no way to blame for "diverticular bleeding or uncomplicated diverticulosis."

Whew. How are those long sentences working out for you? 

Apparently diverticulosis is quite common, involving small pouches that form in the lining of the intestine, and the traditional thinking has been that nuts and seeds might get stuck in the pouches and aggravate the condition.

To which I say, "ew." But since that worry appears to be unfounded, I will feel free to eat nuts and seeds with my usual abandon. Especially those chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. 

[Formerly semi-articulate post deteriorates into drooling.]