Log Cabin Living Begins

I am excited about beginning a new week-end series 


called 


Log Cabin Living.



In my heart of hearts, pre-Ruby, I longed to move to a remote area {with the 
desert weather!} where we could enjoy Log Cabin Living {like the one pictured above}
as a sweet family.  It would be nestled in an area “a hundred miles” from civilization…
{see, I really am an introvert}.   
I am so grateful that I had the privilege of living in our little log home before we lost it in a fire. 

No doubt, with Ruby’s fragile health, there is not even an albeit brief possibility of 
entertaining such a wild and crazy idea {unless God totally heals her – 
which is, of course, totally possible!}.  

 In the meantime, we embrace our beautiful home in the city of Phoenix, with close 
proximity to Phoenix Children’s Hospital while we enjoy to the fullest the spectacularly gorgeous Phoenix weather and all the perks of big city living!!

The series will be an on-going and I will share our version of large family living, 
on a very limited budget while practicing Simplicity.  We invite to share this journey 
with us.  As always, there are plenty of ways to do life.  We humbly welcome you in
to our home.  Please be nice.    

*******
While Dw was in Uganda the kids and I laid pretty low.
We had gazillions of doctor appointments, 
therapy visits,
 and 
thankfully there were also several wonderful Hope Kid events. 
Other than that, we didn’t do a lot of running.
We decided that each Sunday, after church, we would
Sabbath with Simplicity. 
As we planned our sweet Sabbaths with Simplicity
we decided to just do easy, simple cold food.
One day, while running through the grocery store in
 preparation for our upcoming
Sabbath with Simplicity
 the thought crossed my mind that it would be nice to have a
 special salad dressing
to kind of liven up our Sabbath salad.
Usually I eat my salad without any dressing,
however, while at the grocery store I happened
 to notice that the salad dressing 
{that is kept in the refrigerator section}
was having a mega-deep sale!
I thought to myself, 
“Oh some extra yummy dressing would be fun and
it’s such a stinkin’ awesome price!”
Mind you, I hadn’t purchased this brand of salad dressing
in many, many years.  But the sale intrigued me 
and so I moved over to look at the flavor options.
I found one that sounded very yummy to me.
So as I reached to pick it up, the Lord whispered to me:
“Look at the ingredients.”
I have basically always looked at ingredients and
being Gluten Free has only emphasized the need.

Not to mention:

I hate chemicals.

I hate fake ingredients.

And I really hate things that I can’t even pronounce!
Imagine my surprise as I read the ingredients:

What in the heck was the weird word:
“Natamycin”??
 I sounded the word out slowly to myself:
Nat – a – my – cin
Natamycin?
I was definitely intrigued, but not in a good way.
I took out my smart phone and standing beside the 
refrigerator case I searched out the definition of Natamycin.
Oh me.
Don’t you worry dear friend – 
What is Natamycin?
It’s just a prescription drug.

Here’s the web’s quick definition:   
  1. Natamycin
    Prescription drug
    Consult a doctor if you have a medical concern.
  2. Treats eye infections that are caused by fungus.
  3. Brand name: Natacyn
  4. Molar mass: 665.725 g/mol
  5. CAS ID: 7681-93-8
  6. Pregnancy risk: Category C (Risk cannot be ruled out)

Oh. 

 Okay.  

No problem.

And the side effects of Natamycin?
     Natamycin can cause vomiting, nausea and diarrhea. 
There are no other records of adverse effects found. 
Use with caution during lactation.


In fact if you notice, the Natamycin is not part of 
the “less than 2%” ingredients…
meaning there is a substantial amount in the dressing.
I was dumbfounded.
Just think…a prescription drug being put in our food that we ingest and 
readily allow our children to pile on without even thinking.
Seriously?
Of course I didn’t buy the stuff, but opted to make my 
own dressing {again} out of oil and balsamic vinegar
for that sweet little salad for the family.

So last week I happened into our local market again 

and this time I was looking at the bulk cheese bag.

Who would think that the bulk cheese bag would have anything suspect in it, right?

After all, it should just have CHEESE,
cause it’s bulk and it’s CHEESE.

And there it was again:

Natamycin
Does this freak anyone else out or is it just me??

It causes diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Use with caution during lactation?

Are there longterm side effects not yet known?
Could there be?

How about the commercials over the years that begin with, 
“Have you or your loved one been exposed to….”?
I’m more passionate than ever to read the labels…

Cause, for our family –  
Log Cabin Living =/= Natamycin in our food

13 thoughts on “Log Cabin Living Begins

  1. http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/1412.htm

    A study from Europe about Natamycin.

    http://inrfood.com/ingredients/1911

    The website I use to help me identify food ingredients. Please note that they have flagged Natamycin for cause issues for those with gluten allergy or intolerance!

    http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v48je06.htm
    WHO's study on Natamycin.

    Anyway, I've started making my own cheese because I couldn't figure out how milk, salt, citric acid, and a rennet tablet could turn into 25 ingredients. I have two go-to dressing recipes. One is some orange juice with honey, grated ginger, pepper, salt, and olive oil. The other is pomegranate juice, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Both of these are healthy, and I know what's in them!

  2. It is scary isn't it! We tried to find a salad dressing without a dozen or more ingredients and struggled to do so! We make a dressing for Joel made from yogurt, mustard and honey that he loves! I make one for me with yogurt, olive oil, and apricot fruit juice sweetened jelly. It's good! It is amazing what is allowed in our food. Ugh. Thanks for making us aware, friend.

  3. Holy moly! I have to be honest that I am not great about reading the ingredient list. I don't buy many prepared foods but when I do, guilty of not reading party of one over here! That completely freaks me out though. I'm going to make a point to read the list this week to see just what is going into me. I'm guessing my beloved Diet Coke is going to be a total Debbie Downer….

    BUT…I do often make my own cheese in the summer. Mozzarella and ricotta are super easy to make and you can totally control the flavor and texture when you make them at home. So in review…I make my own cheese and grow my own organic tomatoes but I drink Diet Coke. They balance out…right??

    KK @ Preppy Pink Crocodile

  4. Thank you for posting this. My daughter keeps complaining cheese is giving her diarrhea. Perhaps this crazy stuff is why. I'll be checking my fridge. I, too, was thinking: "Cheese. That's healthy." I'm a label-checker too, but I missed that one.

  5. Natamycin is an antifungal, so I guess it's there to stop the food going mouldy… is that terrible? I'm sure there are regulations on the amount used that mean it won't cause those side effects. They would be if you're using it in a medical way at a high dose to treat thrush, fungal pneumonias etc. But I appreciate it does sound scary when you read it like that!

  6. Natamycin is a prescription anti-fungal medication. It is used in (supposedly small quantities) dairy products, including milk based dressing, to deter fungal bacteria from growing. This of course does not negate the concern one might have for ingesting it, but considering what else the FDA allows into our food I am not surprised by this. We, the public, have to be very very careful what we choose to consume and allow our children to consume these days because nearly everything bottled, bagged or boxed is literally swimming in chemicals and preservatives. ((ugh))

  7. Oh yeah check your labels. It is amazing what they put in these foods. It all boils down to shelf life and it sounds so good to say mold inhibitor. Right??? So you think thanks for the protection, yet the ingredient to prevent this is poisoning people. Watch the natural organic stuff as well. The ingredient Carrageenan, promoted as natural and seaweed based. It is in many foods to again prolong shelf life, mold and it is been linked to cancer and other things. It is in some brands of almond milk and many other things. Love this series…love you lady. Email me your address. Lori

  8. I refuse to buy cheese products with natamycin. As a culture we need to stop our overuse and abuse of antibiotics by all means possible. For me, it is making prudent choices in the supermarket cheese aisle. Microorganisms are developing resistance and causing life threatening disease in immunocompromised people. I have noticed this anti-fungal additive in many grated cheeses and some whole cheeses. Trader Joe’s stocks several cheeses containing natamycin. I am troubled and angry when this chemical is identified as being natural. Now I buy chunks of cheese and grate what I need before use. However, I still buy take-out pizza for convenience sake. I suspect that the real dangers of natamycin will emerge soon in the public eye. Hopefully, new signage will emerge at fast food restaurants and pizza makers promoting natamycin-free menu items.

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