Which List to Pick - and Outdated Lists on Web

Details

So you're curious about going salicylate-free and found a list. Maybe you've started and are still having reactions when eating bowls full of Brussels sprouts. Or maybe you're in a few months and have had nothing but meat and cabbage because it's the only thing you think you can eat. Well, this is a post for you! One of the most challenging things when starting a low-salicylate diet is choosing a list to use and then "listening" to your body. Why is there so much variation?

You may be frustrated or confused, but I'm hoping the sleuthing I've done for you (and really for me) will help clear things up and put you back on the right track.

The first thing that I must say is if your doctor or health care practitioner gave you a list, use that. They know you and your history, and they know what you're trying to accomplish. Next, if you choose to pick a list to use, take it to your provider and have them agree that it's safe to use for your healthcare plan.

Youtube Video Part 1 - Why is there so much variation?

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YouTube link: https://youtu.be/YbuDn_2hYQM

Find on Low-sal-life references to:

How were lists made?

Original research

There are two very influential and important lists that measure the levels of salicylic acid (SA) in foods. The first was done in 1985 by researchers/practitioners Anne Swain, Stephen Dutton, and Stewart Truswell in Sydney, Australia. They tested 333 common foods and published their results in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association - view Swain article. This study was the first of its kind, and set the standard for the majority of lists you find on the internet. It was published 35 years ago.

The second study of similar nature was published in 2017 by another Australian team, Sreepurna Malakar, Peter Gibson, Jacqueline Barrett, and Jane Muir, for the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. This study also tested salicylic acid (both free and bound forms) in 112 foods, many of them overlapping with the Swain study from 1985. This study was published three years ago and many websites have not yet updated their lists to reflect the new changes, nor do they provide a date for when they published their information. View Malakar article.

There are quite a few smaller studies that test the levels of SA in food, though not as comprehensive. If I find a list, I will add it to the sources section of my Food/Products List page. Some of these include: Robertson & Kermode 1981, Venema et al. 1996, and Wood et al. 2011. Here's a tip when looking through the list - compare the units of measure. Swain used SAmg/100g, and Malakar used SAmg/kg.

Practitioners

Practitioners from all over the world have been working directly with patients and helping them heal. They are using the original research articles to make their lists to give to patients, and then also getting direct feedback from their patients if they're having issues. For example, if the 1985 article says lemon is low (1.8mg/kg) but your patients are reacting to it, you might move this item up the list on foods to avoid. Questionable foods like this are ultimately what spurs research to retest foods. Malakar et al. in 2017 found lemons to be much higher at 6.74mg/kg.

The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH)  in Australia is what I'd consider the gold standard treatment for salicylate sensitivity and food chemical diets. They cover both common allergies and chemical sensitivities. The Food Intolerance Network is ran by Sue Dengate, also in Australia, who provides a comprehensive plan to do elimination testing.

 

Why is there so much variation in lists?

Outdated information: The most obvious result of variation is outdated information in lists. We can control this by being educated and managing how we source information! Below, check out my reviews on many lists that show up in the top 20-30 search results and what I think about them when I compare them to original research.

Bad information: Some websites just provide bad or wrong information. Many of these sites do not provide resources or links where they got the information. Yes - believe it or not, there is some bad or fake information on the internet. Two of the worst sites for this is the melbentgroup.com.au and drugs.com. They both provide advice contradictory to what any research or practitioner supports, it almost seems like they got their columns wrong when setting everything up.

Different Countries: All the foods in the Swain and Malakar studies were done in Australia, about 30 years apart. There are two things to consider here. The first is that Australia makes food differently that the US or the UK. While testing whole foods like veggies will lead to less variation, the way they bottle juice or oil may be different. For example, oils can have certain preservatives added that may not be allowed in other countries. The second thing is that over 30-40 years, the food industry has changed. Certain processing chemicals used then may no longer be used now (or vice versa). Practitioners building lists for their patients may be observing these differences based on where they live. Besides this, places like the US barely recognizes salicylate sensitivity as a condition and provides no information for lists or how to manage the condition.

We don't know which types were tested: Another thing that is not mentioned for all the foods in the studies is what was the variety of food that was tested. In many cases, they listed the brand of food if it was packaged. For iceberg lettuce, cabbage, mangoes, and lemons, the varieties are not listed (and they wouldn't be listed at the store anyway when you buy them!). A meyer lemon compared to a citron lemon may be wildly different! Reading the published articles

Different practitioners: Different practitioners focus on different foods and may include foods for healing and particular results. For example, Karen Fisher, author of The Eczema Diet and nutritionist in Canada, recommends flax seed which is good to treat eczema and good for the skin. I wasn't able to find any original research what the flaxseed SA levels, but Joliee skincare (now skinfriend.com) is owned by Karen Fisher and lists them as medium. A different doctor, focused on respiratory health, may not recommend eating flaxseed because it is a medium sal food.

Why is there so much variation in foods?

Varieties within a species -There is just no better way to say this, but there is going to be variation in cultivated fruits and veggies. Look at a head of "normal" cabbage, Brassica oleracea var. capitata: at first glance we have purple(red) and green cabbage. Pretty simple, right? Well, this is a cultivated food which means humans have been developing it for many centuries. Now try looking for seeds to plant some. The Gardener's Path is a website that lists their top 9 favorite varieties (implying there are more): Brunswick, Charleston Wakefield, Earliana, Golden Acre, January King, Late Flat Dutch, Mammoth Red Rock, Red Acre, and Savoy Perfection. Do you think their SA levels are all going to be equally negligible to low? The Swain, Wood, and Robertson & Kermode studies all tested green cabbage at zero or almost zero. In 2017 Malakar tested cabbage at 2.55mg/kg, which on most lists is classified as a medium SA food! We don't know which varieties they tested, and there's always going to be variation within a species.

Variation within a species - This may seem like a duplicate, but I promise it's not. Varieties aside, if you just have a plain species (without cultivars, varieties, sub-species, and hybrids), that species is going to have variation in their genes. We can easily see variation in human genes (phenotype) with hair color or texture. Try applying that idea to how much chemical amounts can vary in plants. When we say a category now tests high, it could be that a good portion of bananas test low most of the time -  but we have to be aware that sometimes they can test much higher.

Pesticides vs organic - Salicylates are made by plants for their immune system and part of their defense system. It has been found (I'm still looking for a source) that organic plants may produce more salicylates to ward off pests since they are not being sprayed with conventional pesticides to do some of the work for them. Like the varieties listed above, plants are selected by the gardener for certain traits. Those that are more disease resistant or pest resistant are bred the next year. Those that are more disease or pest resistant likely have higher amounts of salicylates.

Plant respond to pressure - this one is hard for people to wrap their heads around, because we don't come close to thinking that plants move, think, or are even close to being sentient. Unlike animals, we don't anthropomorphize them (basically turn them into cute cartoons and give them names and feelings). Plants are very sensitive and respond quickly to pressures like animals eating them, they build communities, and support their offspring to grow and have a competitive advantage over others. A plant could have low levels of chemicals or toxins in their leaves under normal situations. After an animal comes and chews on them, they may produce chemicals in their leaves to prevent that from happening again. It might be possible that this happens with salicylates.

Foods processed differently - The SA levels in food are reported by mass SAmg/kg (number of salicylates in milligrams per kilograms). A fresh fruit, like a fig, has a substantial amount of water in it, so by mass it has a lower amount of SA in it - Swain records it as low at 1.8mg/kg. In the same study, a dried fig, however, is in the high category at 6.4mg/kg. Why are they so drastically different!? I don't think it's a result of the food changing during processing that increases the level. It's more like one fresh fig weighs the same as three dried figs.  If you can handle three fresh figs a day, you might be able to handle one dried fig a day instead.  Juices are a bit similar. Modern juices are highly concentrated and usually use the peels when making it. Conventional pear juice is high with the peels whereas a homemade pear juice made with peeled pears can be quite low.

Variation in the ripeness - I've seen arguments that the less ripe a fruit is, the more salicylates there will be (bananas). I've also seen that the less mature it is, the fewer sals there will be (argument for fresh vs frozen spinach). I haven't seen any research showing that, but I don't doubt it. If I find information on these, I'll update my comment here.

 

YouTube Video - Part 2 - Reviewing lists

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Popular lists - and my thoughts

These are from the first two pages of Google search results while searching for "salicylate diet".

  • https://www.drugs.com/cg/low-salicylate-diet.html 
    Accessed May 3, 2020. This article says it is medically reviewed, yet doesn't provide sources. When I first accessed it, it showed it was updated Feb 3, 2020 which means they would have had access to Malakar et al. 2017 research. This is the #1 Google Return. This clearly followed the Swain study as the premise, although some of the foods even contradicted that. My first review was done on May 3. I didn't make a copy for you to view - It was pretty bad. It is much better now, and shows it was updated Feb 19 (although, I think it was updated in May, this can manually be done for any date on the backend). I have a feeling they may have found my review and addressed the issues - because it corrects every wrong remark I had made in my published draft. I dislike that they've made the list binary - just yes or no. This is a terrible way to manage salicylate intolerance and people need to know there are varying levels in foods.
    • Original review on May 3
      • It said that grapefruit was ok - this has never been the case. Swain tested it as a high food in 1985.
      • Corn was listed as ok which is wrong - first, it doesn't specify which product. Cornmeal and corn flours were tested high by Swain et al. 1985. Fresh corn was also reclassified into a high category after Malakar tested it.
      • These foods were listed as low on the website (following Swain et al. 1985) but have now been moved to a high list (Malakar et al. 2017)
        • Lemons, Rhubarb, Cashews, Mangoes, Asparagus, Mushrooms (doesn't specify fresh or canned), Squash (doesn't specify what type, but most are high), peas, green beans, and fresh corn.
      • Listed "Greens" as ok to eat, and "lettuce spinach, and other greens" - this was just bad advice because it is vague and the majority of greens are extremely high in sals.
      • Vinegar type was not specified and recommends it's ok. This is not the case. White vinegar is very high (Swain et al. 1985), as is red wine and apple cider vinegar. Malt vinegar is zero (Swain et al.), and I've heard that rice vinegar may also be ok.
      • It says to avoid sparkling water, gin, vodka, and whisky - this is wrong, these are all very low in salicylates, and water has no salicylates.
      • It says to avoid potatoes - this is also wrong. While there are a lot of potato varieties, and peeling them reduces sals, they should inform people that a peeled white potato should be ok. As I mentioned they may vary a bit.
    • New review on May 21
      • Grapefruit, mushrooms, mangoes, corn, sparkling water, squash, and greens were removed
      • Green beans, Brussels sprouts, and bananas should be considered for moving into to the avoid/high category (Malakar et al. 2017).
      • Cabbage and celery have all retested higher (low end of medium) and should be addressed.
      • Now specify vinegar type
      • Moved gin, vodka, and whisky to the low sal column
      • Specified white peeled potatoes as ok
    • New review on May 25
      • pages reverted back to the Feb 3rd edit. I'm guessing this is from caching, but that doesn't matter. It's still wrong and confusing.
  • https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/salicylate-sensitivity
    • #2 Google Return
    • This is a well written article and provides resources to original research and medical practitioners/organizations. It doesn't provide a comprehensive list, but the foods listed to avoid are correct and supported by all the research I've listed.

  • https://www.samterssociety.org/low-salicylate-diet
    • #3 Google Return
    • Doesn't provide list, doesn't recommend a low-sal diet for AERD.

  • http://www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk/salicylate-in-food.html
    • #4 Google Return
    • This website was written by Sharla Race who also wrote The Salicylate Handbook. She is a very thorough researcher. Her information was monumental when I was starting out. Most of her lists are supported by the Swain research, but she also provides information on what she reacts to and how she copes.
      • Lists banana, lime, cabbage, celery, cashews, brussels sprouts, garlic, green peas, lemons, rhubarb, asparagus, and green beans as negligible or low (supported by Swain et al. 1985) but these have all been moved up to medium or high categories (Malakar et al. 2017). If she doesn't react to them, she could make an update on her website indicating there is variation in the testing. The rest of her list is solid, as is her research.

  •  https://melbentgroup.com.au/low-salicylate-diet-part-2/ 
    • #5 Google Return
    • This is probably one of the most inaccurate lists I've found, and it has such a high search result! First of all, it provides no date for when it was updated last, and second, no resources to back up the claims. It actually looks like maybe they got their columns messed up in some parts, putting high in low areas.
    •  Items in the low category that just shouldn't be:
      • herbal teas & coffee are OK (they should specify that reg coffee is not low sal, and most herbal teas aren't), Allspice, Caraway seeds, cardamom, Chilli (tested lower for Malakar et al, but is still in the high group), Cinnamon, Cloves, Fresh herbs, ginger root, marmite, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla, vegemite, vanilla ice cream, chili peppers, coconut, vague "all other nuts" - not the case, chestnut, pinenuts, pistachios are all high,
    • Items that are in the low/no category that should be moved to up to a medium range (Malakar et al. 2017)
      • pawpaw
    • Items that are in the low/no category that moved to up to a high range (Malakar et al. 2017)
      • banana, garlic, mango, lemon, passionfruit, rhubarb, mushrooms (fresh)

  • http://www.eatrightstore.org/~/media/eatrightstore%20documents/books%20and%20publications/faisalicylatesensitivity.ashx
    • #4 Google Return
    • I like that it recommends general guidelines, and includes a phrase that says "vegetables show a wide range of salicylate levels". They also say that testing if very challenging and that everyone is a bit different.
    • This document hasn't been updated since 2013, which means it leaves out Malakar's 2017.
    • Many of the fruits, veggies, and spices in the low level columns follow Swain's 1985 recommendation. Many of the foods should be taken of the low levels, or specify varieties and provide more info.

  • https://www.sjhc.london.on.ca/sites/default/files/salicylate_free_diet_food_guide.pdf
    • Good list, easy to read - needs to be updated
    • Does not include amounts for food
    • References on last page reference the salicylatesensitivity.com website. This website hasn't been updated since 2011, which lists Swain's 1985 study at the primary source.
    • I don't like that they include sooo many hair care products that are low in sals. I've had reactions with a few of them, and most have fragrance. At the least, it should be titled low-salicylate hair product guide, not salicylate-free. I think they got this list from the fibromylgiatreatment.com website (no longer exists) - which has a little bit different need for how they manage their salicylates levels compared to salicylate intolerance.
  • https://atpscience.com/salicylate-foods-sensitivity-intolerances-and-food-list/
    • Good list, but outdated - it uses Swain's 1985 study only. It was updated in 2015, and as we all know by now, something came out in 2017!
    • Bonus points for including units. They are showing the amounts per Swain's SAmg/100mg, which is why their amounts don't match up with mine. My lists are per kg (that's how Malakar and other studies display it). Per unit is really important to include, and they do include a note at the top of the text (I missed it the first time around).
    • I used this study when I first started out.
  • https://www.dietvsdisease.org/salicylate-intolerance/
    • Website was updated in 2019
    • Great infographics, but only uses Swain 1985 lists - they didn't update the infographics with Malakar's information.
    • Charts don't include a per unit and should (like is it SAmg/100mg or 1000mg?)
    • They get bonus points for including sources!

  • http://www.pkdiet.com/pdf/oxalate%20lists.pdf
    • Good list, but uses Swain's list only. Needs to move some foods up the list and include Malakar's study.
    • Doesn't include sources or a date.

  •  https://www.fwdfuel.com/low-salicylate-diet/
    • Not necessarily a list, but it was the last article I was looking at before finishing up.
    • Outdated food lists based on Swain only.
    • First, the picture of Brussels sprouts and cashews is enough to make me sick for a few days. Both of these have been moved up to higher categories.
    • I do appreciate they are writing about, bringing awareness to salicylate sensitivity!
    • Personal peeve: No science ever PROVES anything. It is very important if you see an article with "prove" in it, you find another article. Science builds up a body of evidence that SUPPORTS a theory. Even with gravity, we can't say a falling object proves gravity is real. It supports the theory, but could never prove it.

The reason I provide the reviews, is because I want the owners to update and maintain them. People are finding them and having mixed results. People who present information online have a responsibility to maintain it and remove it once it's no longer relevant.

I hope you've found this information useful. If you have a list (especially original research) please send it to me through the contact page. I'd love to review it.

 

Video Part 1 Transcript

00:00
this video is for you if you have hesitations
00:04
about which list to choose if you're wondering why there's so many
00:07
contradictions we're gonna figure it out
00:16
hi my name is sarah and welcome to low-sal-life today we're talking about
00:20
which list to choose when when you get started on a low
00:24
salicylate diet for me i picked a list off of the
00:28
internet and it will be on one of the top lists
00:33
that google returns and we'll talk about that later
00:37
which includes some foods like brussels sprouts which is
00:41
a little bit on the controversial side i kept having reactions for several months
00:48
and it wasn't until i realized that maybe
00:50
brussels sprouts really aren't low and maybe i should check my lists
00:56
before i realized that i i shouldn't eat brussels sprouts and
01:00
that included using vanilla and lemon and lime
01:03
and all sorts of other fruits and garlic um maybe you're
01:11
three months in and you've been eating nothing but
01:14
cabbage and meat and you want to find out if there's other foods you can uh
01:20
eat but you've seen contradictions in the lists
01:23
i've also done that i went mostly carnivore for about three or four months
01:27
which was great but i wanted to eat other foods and so
01:30
um i had to do a little bit of research to figure out what i
01:34
was able to eat if you go to my website low-sal-life.com
01:38
there's a tab called food and product list and
01:42
on there i ended up going through two really important
01:47
articles and i've also added other articles too
01:51
but these two articles right here you can
01:54
tell that i've marked them up and thoroughly examined
01:57
them there are lots of different types of research
02:01
i mentioned this in my former video but these are original research which
02:05
means that people actually did science experiments
02:08
they took food they processed it a certain way and then
02:12
they tested the salicylic acid in each food the first study is Swain et
02:18
al it's Ann Swain there in Australia it was done in 1985 and they tested 333
02:25
foods the second study that i'm going to talk
02:27
about is Malakar et al in 2017 and they tested
02:32
112 foods they are also in Australia but between the two
02:37
Malakar retested quite a few of Swain's fruits and vegetables
02:41
and it is really revealing to us either food has changed over 35 years or
02:47
so or there's a lot of variation in foods
02:51
and so today we're going to talk a little bit about the variation
02:54
and why and why it's so frustrating for us to have a sensitivity to a
03:00
chemical want to eat these foods and
03:04
to have so much variation so we're going to talk a little bit about it
03:07
i don't know if i mentioned but i have a degree in biology
03:11
and i mostly focus in botany so i am a total plant nerd
03:15
and i realize that there is quite a bit of irony to being
03:19
very allergic to plants and wanting to study them but it works out
03:25
works out for you guys in this channel because i'm willing to dive in
03:28
uh pretty deep when it comes to plants so let's get started
03:32
if you go to my website low-sal-life.com and click on the food and products list
03:38
what i've done is taken every single food listed in
03:41
these research articles and broken them down with the actual
03:46
quantifiable amounts that these two studies came up with and
03:51
included their dates so you can make your own educated decision
03:54
and decide whether or not the risk is enough for you to want to try the foods
04:00
for example chayote has .10 milligrams
04:04
of salicylates per kilogram and that was tested in 1985
04:09
by Swain et al what i don't know is if this food has ever been tested again out
04:13
of the four or five research articles i've looked at
04:16
i haven't seen any other new articles so that would be something that
04:20
if you know of another article i have a contact page
04:24
and let me know so here's one Swain et al. where we have a white peeled potato
04:29
and it says that there's zero salicylates per kilogram the reason i
04:34
put these little notes in is because here we have a white
04:38
unpeeled potato and swain tested it at quite low 1.2 milligrams
04:45
but when malakar retested it they tested at 4.64 but the reason why
04:52
this matters is because malakar doesn't specify if it's peeled or not
04:58
and that there's at least some variation if not
05:01
the varieties have changed over 35 years another type of research that is very
05:07
valuable is clinical practice or practitioner
05:11
practice and i have a book here the
05:16
RPAH elimination diet handbook there's another one
05:19
karen fisher she is a nutritionist in canada who works with
05:24
skin disorders like eczema these doctors nutritionists practitioners are working
05:29
directly with patients they say hey try this low salicylate list
05:34
they might have one published for their clinic they might
05:37
have a pamphlet they say try this and then the patient
05:40
might come back and say you know i reacted to the lemon and lime that was
05:44
on the low list and so what they might do is remove and update
05:49
their lists take the lemon and lime out if they get
05:51
so many patients reacting to it all the time
05:54
move it off move it up to a higher category and say maybe you shouldn't a
05:57
lot of people react to that and they modify their lists that way
06:01
another way that information is compiled and lists are
06:04
made is by researchers now i'm a researcher i
06:09
like going through finding the research article saying
06:13
you know we talk about this but do we really have any scientific
06:18
evidence to support that there are a couple of really great
06:21
researchers sharla race who wrote the salicylate handbook
06:26
she is a great researcher i love looking through her
06:31
um her reference lists on every single chapter
06:34
she lists her sources i do go through and read all of these i'm also trying to
06:41
update my website research page so that you guys
06:46
can easily find research articles sharla is a woman who lives in england i
06:52
believe and she also has salicylate sensitivity
06:55
she has it very severely this book is basically her story about
07:00
how she found out about it how she ends up managing it and she also
07:05
includes lists she does have situations where she might
07:10
say you know i've heard lavender is a
07:13
high lavender essential oil is a high salicylate
07:17
but i don't react to it and so she puts her information on here like she can
07:20
have handle a little tiny bit of lime without an issue
07:23
the last type of list and this is just culmination and it just
07:27
happens because some lists are easier than others to read
07:31
of course i'm going to say it google results we're going to look at some
07:37
lists and analyze and critique them -nicely
07:41
sometimes you will find variation in lists because the information is just
07:45
flat out wrong the information is wrong like maybe
07:50
somebody who isn't very intimately knowledgeable about the
07:54
subject decided to make a website and
07:57
accidentally put
08:00
essential oils in the low category because they didn't understand
08:04
that those are actually very high i like to think
08:07
that people didn't do it maliciously and that it was
08:11
probably an accident and it just happens sometimes there's bad information or
08:17
fake information and we have to be diligent
08:22
and vigilant to find good and correct information
08:26
when on the internet the second thing that happens on the internet is that
08:32
there's outdated information now i build websites all the time i
08:37
i don't do websites full-time for a living but it is incorporated into my
08:41
paid real job and i also do substantial work
08:46
for a non-profit native plant society
08:50
there it is with the plants again i work on their website and
08:54
that is a really big task now there's something about owning websites and
08:57
producing information whether it's in print or on
09:02
websites and it is that you should have updated
09:05
information if you're not willing to go back to or
09:08
update it or manage it you should at least put a date on it so
09:13
that people know how old that resource is another
09:17
source of variation is that we are connecting globally online
09:23
and countries handle illness and medical issues and research
09:29
differently and that's just something that we have
09:32
to get used to so most of the research for salicylate
09:36
sensitivity comes out of australia and other countries like the uk norway
09:43
germany
09:45
canada do support it to some extent and in other countries
09:52
like the one i'm in people look at you like you have four
09:56
eyes and that you're making things up and so it is
10:00
really challenging depending on which country you live in
10:03
um you know how illness is treated so
10:11
yeah i thought about moving countries so that i'd have some medical support but
10:16
it's just not feasible i decided to move out to the country instead
10:20
just get away from people and and fragrances and
10:24
try and grow my own food and find my own you know sources of meat and dairy and
10:29
things like that so that i can be the healthiest i can be
10:32
more reasons for variation is that these lists
10:36
especially these two research articles right one was done in 1985
10:40
and one was done in 2017. now i haven't thoroughly looked at and i
10:46
will and someday when i really wrap my head
10:50
around how these were processed i will compare the process
10:54
the processes of how they extracted the salicylic acid
10:58
but there's just a huge time gap right um i think the earliest study was
11:04
done in the late 70s and there are like i said several other
11:08
studies on my food list i have
11:13
these other studies here uh robertson and kermode 1981
11:19
it was an important study Venema et al. 1996
11:22
and Wood et al. 2011 those are also really important articles
11:27
on the tested spices and different foods and also
11:30
either a lot of them do support swain et al.'s 1985
11:35
studies so just think about that there's a large amount
11:39
of time that's passed between these studies and possibly
11:42
the methods that they used were also changed or may have varied so now we've
11:48
talked about the variation in the lists and how those were compiled
11:53
but let's talk about variation in food which is really important and really
11:57
what we care about the reason we want to know which list we
12:00
can eat is because we want to know which foods we can eat like
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it'd be so nice to add another food to our diet wouldn't that be great
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and not you know completely kill our weekend
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if we test on friday you know we we want to feel better and so this is
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the reason why we really care one thing that we don't know um in these
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studies is which variety was tested some of these items
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let's see some of them like plums were in swain they tested like six different
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plums right and so it was helpful that they
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included the varieties white potato i'm gonna guess that's russet because
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that's what i have in my neighborhood so i've seen lists where it says lettuce
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and you're like well it should be iceberg lettuce
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but did you know that there's a whole bunch of different varieties of iceberg
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lettuce like which variety did they test the
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next thing is you're going to put your botany hats
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on is that there's variation within a
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species so what that means is that we'll look at
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humans because we're you know we'll pull it away from plants
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which can be very complicated sometimes but basically
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there is a gene pool where all the humans have variety there is variation
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in hair color we have all the way from uh
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you know blonde to reds and browns and blacks and hair color
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texture and everything right we can see that that makes sense to
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us a human being has a lot of different shapes and colors and textures so if you
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can imagine that when we're talking about a plant that
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there might be some plants in the species that produce
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a little bit of salicylic acid and some plants in the species that
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produce a lot of it uh that that's not hard for us to to
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grasp one of the things we don't talk about
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with plants is that uh we don't really anthropomorphize them
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meaning that we don't animate them or give them feelings or
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make them feel like they're human right they're
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spongebob but he was a sponge and you know there's
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larry the cucumber and his tomato friend right we do
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sometimes but for the most part we make cartoons out of animals and we
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say that animals feel sad and the reason why i bring this up is
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because plants what we don't think about is that plants are very
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responsive to stimulus in the case of herbivory which means
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that a plant gets chewed on it will respond to it i haven't found
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any articles specifically related to salicylates but
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as far as plant chemicals go an animal will come up to a plant and
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let's say the plant has a low level of chemicals it'll get nibbled on
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and then the plant will respond and produce more defense chemicals
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and so when that animal comes back maybe the next day
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or his friends come back for a snack that plant will have produced more
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defensive chemicals to say hey don't don't eat me it's not
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unusual or weird to think that salicylates
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could potentially change also for a plant
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within a day or you know a couple of hours one of the other
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things to consider is the ripeness so how fresh
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is a food when does the salicylates peak
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RPAH handbook has a really cool little diagram that basically says
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the less ripe a food is the higher the
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salicylates and the more ripe they are the fewer salicylates are in them
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so i think i'm gonna pause there we've talked about
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why is there so much variation in lists and i don't want this video to be like
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the last one which was way too long of course that was my story so i can
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make it as long as i want but i do want these to be reasonable
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little snippets for you part two of this list
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question will be me analyzing other people's lists that they've
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provided online and what i think about that and why you
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shouldn't just believe everything that you find online and so
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we're just gonna review them you can check out my article that i
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wrote is low-sal-life.com and there will be article there and you
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can get a sneak peek before i publish the second part
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uh anyway let me know what you think and if you have any questions leave them
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in the comments if you yourself have tried foods on the
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low list and have reacted to them and have wondered why and you just had
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your aha moment today uh please let me know there's a reason
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why i'm doing this i want people to be happy and healthy
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and to have the best resources available i think that's all for
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right now we'll see you in part two where we roast
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some websites have a great day bye