Starbucks

@bayarea58
I have a lot of congestion in sinuses and bronchial area if I eat a lot of dairy. I had read this can be a allergen that causes mucus and for me it was. I have not eliminated all dairy as I do eat yogurt. My biggest change was going of dairy cheese to non-dairy cheese. This really helps as I was eating cheese at every meal and snacks.

I am glad you posted with enough detail....for all of us...
Glad you found your way to making that change for yourself and finding that it helped.
So my two cents worth: As we have heard time and time again. We are all different and each of us found/find ourselves doing things differently than others, living a different daily life different than others, and in a different enviornment and then let alone eating differnt things in a way that affects us. Therefore it is why we have to realize we do not not know what each of us do FULLY on a daily bases to cause us to have different results with possibly thinking we are doing the same thing as that person in our BE therapy......so why aren't I getting the same results as this person or that person.
Wishing us that we all find our way to do what works for us and what changes we have to make to accomplish that which we set out to do for ourselves....feel better/live better.
Barbara

I asked Dr Falkinham this exact question and he felt that the hot drinks from Starbucks (and other coffee shops were safe but not the iced drinks. The reason being that the machines keep the water they use hot enough for long enough periods.

@thorne I knew I could not be the first one with the specific Starbucks question! Thank you! Does Dr. Falkinham have any resources on food prep, cooking, etc. I have read no ice cubes, unless made with sterile water at home in scrubbed trays. That’s a bit of a hit for me as I confess when I am running errands I use to have the guilty pleasure of picking up a big fountain Diet Coke — no more (though probably for the best). I guess even the fountain machinery itself it a source. But what about everything else? Yesterday my husband asked me about the sweet potatoes he was making. How should he wash the dirt off, did it matter, does the cooking kill everything? I had no (real) idea. And what about fresh foods like salads, etc., things that are not cooked. How should these be prepared to reduce NTM exposure, all washed with sterile water? Again, I can’t be the first with these questions; I am assuming there must be a resource on it somewhere. If anyone can point me in the right direction, please let me know. Thanks everyone!

@jc76 I am vegan (long time, way before lung issues) so don’t eat diary. Glad you feel better, it can be challenging figuring out which foods work for us and which don’t. Add the BE/NTM and it is a whole other level of confusing!

I have the same question about pre-washed spinach, etc. I still wash mine anyway with my water from the LifeWater pitcher. When spinach, etc. is cooked directly from the bag I wonder if the heat is enough to kill the bacteria?

If we think about it........ do we really know if the plumbing lines used to clean produce at the food processors are free of bacteria.....that has been my thought of late. Cold water, cold water plumbing lines, are suppose to be, to a great degree, free(er) from bacteria.
So when they say "fully washed and ready to eat".....can we really be sure that it is free of bacteria. Personally I don't think so...but who knows for sure.????? So we find ourselves doing what is comfortable for ourselves and what we feel is a best practice for ourselves to keep ourselves strong and healthy. So I guess, as an example, one rinses and shreds ones own cabbage, carrots etc. to make cole slaw..... I know I find myself peeling just about everything that I can peel thinking the outside of certain foods would have a greater chance of having the "bad stuff" on it and peeling eliminates it..and before peeling I rinse the outside and then cold water rinse the utensil that I used to cut or peel it before I use to cut the item further. One almost has to be obssessive compulsive with our wanting to be careful. Who knows for sure???? If not peeled I sure rinse it and hope that is good enough. I haven't done the vinegar/water wash AS YET.
Again, in all that we must do for ourselves it is and it can be very time consuming. Probably each of us decides what we will or won't do and then in some respects cross our fingers. HA!
Barbara

I could be wrong but it seems logically to me that the way one could "get" some form of NTM from food/drink would be through reflux/GERD. So if one practices good gastro hygiene I would think one could reduce risk associated with getting NTM through food/drink. Good gastrointestinal hygiene might include avoiding GERD triggers (for me that's chocolate), eat small meals instead of large ones, stop all eating and drinking at least 3 hours before sleep, sleeping on an upright angle at night, to name a few.

That said I do scrub my potatoes, sweet and white, rinse the "triple washed" prepackaged salads in cold tap water, soak other veggies mainly to get the dirt off to lower the risk of food poisoning.

Regarding ice, my brain's telling me someone somewhere said/wrote that commercial bagged ice was ok but I am not sure where I read that. So far I've made my own with boiled water. I skip Starbucks sweet drinks as the added sugar, I've noticed, causes my lungs to feel gunkier than usual.

Yes, I assume that those most concerned with ingesting NTM are those with GERD. Though I have read everyone aspirates a little, so it would seem there is some risk generally. I also assume anyone with GERD is making a choice to follow best practices (or not) such as you describe. What I don’t have a sense of however is why I am only reading concerns about drinking water and ice cubes, but nothing on safe practices re food prep.

Hi Scoop- Yes .....and thanks for mentioning the GERD factor. I also do as you do on both counts....So far no need for ice but would do as you do if making ice.
Here is hoping that all we do does the trick in keeping out and away that which we want to avoid.
Barbara