Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum
Raw Paleo Diet Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: jessica on November 20, 2012, 12:26:35 pm
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not really sure how i feel about this :(
http://grist.org/news/ticks-are-turning-victims-into-vegetarians/ (http://grist.org/news/ticks-are-turning-victims-into-vegetarians/)
There is now scientific confirmation of the tick-borne meat allergies we first told you about in August. From ABC News:
A bite from the lone star tick, so-called for the white spot on its back, looks innocent enough. But researchers say saliva that sneaks into the wound might trigger a reaction to meat agonizing enough to convert lifelong carnivores into wary vegetarians.
“People will eat beef and then anywhere from three to six hours later start having a reaction; anything from hives to full-blown anaphylactic shock,” said Dr. Scott Commins, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Lone star ticks are an “aggressive” species, but scientists are having a hard time proving a causal relationship between the tick bites and the meat allergies. What they do know: “blood levels of antibodies for alpha-gal, a sugar found in beef, lamb and pork, rise after a single bite from the lone star tick.”
The mammal meat allergies are striking those in southern and central parts of the country. From The Huffington Post:
Rates of the allergy to alpha-gal (short for galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose, which is a sugar carbohydrate in red meat) are 32 percent higher in these parts of the U.S., where there is also a higher prevalence of lone-star ticks.
Ticks are now more common in more parts of the country — and year-round. “This year’s mild winter and early spring were a bonanza for tick populations in the eastern United States,” the National Science Foundation reported in September. “Reports of tick-borne disease rose fast.” Moreover, “Identifying health risks in the face of changing climates will be critical in coming years.” Especially as disease-ridden ticks are active and reproducing year-round above 38 degrees. Basically, ticks love our warming planet.
So don’t forget to tuck those pants into your hiking boots this weekend! And forever after!
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An occpational hazard for a nature bum ;) 27 and counting so far this year! None from ticks with white backs though.
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Hmmm.. one more reason to stay cold..lol
Ticks never liked me, I never got bit, not once AFAIK. And I never cared to be careful but always run barefoot in grass and lied down in the forest to rest. When I lived in Germany too where were lots of ticks. Maybe I am just happy.. or they don't like how I smell and taste because of what I eat? Who knows.. I am sure there must be something to it.. might be ticks do not like carnivores..?
I do not want to get bit for sure (a family friend in his 40ies died last year from borrelia :( ), so I am happy they seem not to like me..
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I think I had problems swelling with cooked meat since I was a baby. And I don't mean fried or spicy. I don't think I came in contact with a tick though.