This is a wonderful and helpful book for me, and I have used Mrs. Boutenko's green smoothies for many months. Because the pollen season is upon us in Alaska, though, I find I must give up raw foods, for the most part.
I have celiac disease, and so the grass-pollinating season presents a difficulty for me. Celiacs have problems with all plants in the grass (Poaceae) family, which includes wheat, rye, oats, corn, barley, sorghum, triticale, kamut, wild rice, etc. While we can get away with eating a little corn or sorghum once in a blue moon if grass isn't pollinating outdoors, that is not the case when those little pollens are airborne! The symptoms not only include allergic reactions in the sinuses, asthma, and sore throats; but with some cereal grains, it also includes rheumatoid pains in the joints, high blood pressure, and other autoimmune diseases.
Not only celiacs, but also allergy sufferers cannot "go raw" during the seasons when certain plants are pollinating (unless they enjoy being sick). For celiacs, that means grass-pollinating season; and for others, that means the pollinating season for trees like birch or alder, or weeds like mugwort and ragweed. There are many cross-reactions during those seasons that make it almost impossible to eat a raw diet, and not even all cooked fruits and vegetables are free from causing symptoms of oral allergy syndrome (sometimes called pollen-food allergy syndrome). Added to that are the cross-reactions of people who are allergic to latex, which put avocado, apricot, papaya, pineapple, melon, grapes, mangos, peaches, bananas, kiwi, celery, spinach, tomato, and sunflower seeds on the potential reaction list -- especially when eaten raw. Nuts can also cause allergic symptoms. During certain times of the year, though, I can eat raw foods -- after freeze-up and before the spring thaw in Alaska. (Use a search engine to find oral allergy syndrome or pollen-food allergy) What a delight it is to be able to go raw when I am able!
It would be good if Mrs. Boutenko could include information on oral food allergies in her presentations so that her audience is reassured they can probably return to the much-enjoyed raw food (that tastes better than anything cooked!)in the seasons of the year when they are not bothered by cross-reactions to certain fruits, vegetables, and spices. There are charts, by the way, of which plants are affected by specific pollens for folks with OAS. I understand a significant percentage of allergy-sufferers have this cross-reactive problem.
Good health!
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Top reviews from other countries
rugina
very good explanations, great recipes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 9, 2013P. Mclean-thorne
Simple intro to creating delicious, healthy smoothies
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 26, 2013Amazon Customer
Good information!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 21, 2013
