Theoretically, pollutants inflame me. In fact, it occurs to me that the environment itself is tired of being polluted, and it is fighting back. That's one way to look at global warming.
Dirty water inflames me. It's an allergy; I suppose I'm allergic to pollution, or more specifically pollutants. Not just hexavalent chromium, and not just theoretically either. Allergies inflame us all; it's their "job" to rub us the wrong way; and it's no wonder that we're allergic to allergens. No, really, it's what they do. Allergens are substances in the environment which cause some kind of hypersensitive reaction in us. And allergies are what I wanted to talk about, since Spring is allergy season. For centuries nature has been afflicting human sinuses with all the pollen in the air, but it's only since the industrial revolution (I think) that we've been polluting ourselves.
When we were a primitive species living close to the land, the only allergens we had to worry about were natural biologics like pollen and the common food allergens (proteins in cow's milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish and tree nuts.) When we lived off the land, we knew what went into the food. Maybe there wasn't that much of it because this was before fertilizers and pesticides--and maybe the produce from those primitive farms was kind of spindly and bug-bitten-but at least we knew that the primary ingredient of our food was...well...food.
Things have changed some. Now there are so many additives in products, even when it is raw produce, that we have to double rinse off the pesticides with a special solution, or scrub off the wax. And some things don't wash off. Especially if the food we eat may be some weird Franken-fruit or crossbred nouveau veggie hatched in a Monsanto lab by a money-mad scientist. Who knows what the consequences might be to eating this stuff? And then the additives in packaged foods--Disodium EDTA, Nitrates, Formaldehyde, Glutaraldehyde, Ethanol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone . . . just their names are enough to give me hives. Not that I am advocating bacteria infested food. But really, we should be aware of the preservatives lurking in what we consume, and do our best to keep them at a minimum.
The fresher and closer to the earth food is, and the less processing it requires, the healthier it tends to be. I'm sure grocers and canners, and commercial food people would appreciate the benefit in all of our food being as non-perishable as Twinkies. I'm sure it would seem a veritable miracle for a lettuce to last as long in the refrigerator as a preserved cup cake or an Egyptian mummy. But personally speaking as a grocery shopper myself, I'd venture to say that geriatric food does not appeal to the consumer.
This reminds me of a question I just answered in my Ask Brockovich column.
I said it there, and I'll say it here. I prefer organic fruits, vegetables and protein and good clean water. When that's what I eat, my body does great. When I focus on eating the right foods which are preservative, additive and pesticide free, I run like a machine. When I eat right, I don’t have puffy swollen eyes, stuffy sinus, I lose weight, my hair grows, my skin looks good, everything works better, and most of all, I FEEL BETTER. I don't think it is a coincidence.
We see consequences of this commercial food-additive mania in allergies. So think about this when you are sneezing and coughing and scratching, when you reach for your allergy meds, your Kleenex and Benadryl--some of your physical discomfort might be traced back to additives in your food. Try eating fresh for a while, and see if it doesn't help.
Currently, I am the President of the consulting firm, Brockovich Research & Consulting, where I am involved in numerous major environmental cases 
