Doom

14 5 10

by joyceholt

by joyceholt

In the squeaky-clean golden era of the 1950s and 60s, produce brought to market far outshone the products of earlier times, thanks to great scientific strides in the development of pesticides. The sophisticates of this enlightened age, like the gods on MountOlympus, blasted to oblivion every pest of the field and dined on perfect, unblemished fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately, they brought doom on themselves as well. Having too many pesticides in the diet causes a certain problem in the small intestines of humans: "leaky gut."

A healthy gut has a semipermeable lining which allows nutrients from our meals, in very tiny form, to cross over to the blood stream for distribution throughout the body. A leaky gut, however, allows larger elements to slip into circulation as well, undesirables like bacteria and gluten proteins.

The body's immune system recognizes the undesirables and mounts a defense. From the initial discomfort of food intolerances to greater life disruptions like chronic migraines, celiac disease, and arthritis, the unseen battle rages on, taking a heavy toll on a person's overall health.

One of the casualties of this war? The body's ability to properly absorb some vital nutrients even though they're provided in the diet. Have you been drinking vitamin-D fortified milk at every meal of your life? Too bad. Here you go, whether you like it or not: a case of early onset osteoporosis.

Pesticides in the diet also bring on other problems. Some nasty aftereffects of DDT, for instance, include a fast-track to obesity in spite of all reasonable efforts to control weight, and a higher risk of breast cancer, not only for someone born in that "golden age" but also genetically passed on to a woman's daughters and granddaughters.

Ah, the squeaky-clean, hyper-sanitized glory days of the mid-twentieth century! Those -- like me -- born into that false utopia may need to reject the nickname "boomer" and take on "doomer" instead.

Written after a particularly grueling day battling several of the above-mentioned afflictions. (Not cancer though. Thank goodness for small miracles.) (prompt: "clean")