Hi, MrB! Thank you so much for your reply!

Sorry I mis-spelt "cyanide"...I knew it looked wrong the way I spelt it...but couldn't then think of any alternative spelling. (The term "monosodium cyanide" is a joke....a representation of what chemicals could come to if we're not careful. I'm truly sorry and deeply regret all the time you researched it so carefully and found nothing. I truly should have made the representative meaning of the term clear in my post. This mistake will never happen again.

Getting hit by a bus, (or car), going to work and finding a gunman waiting, and all other assorted hazards of dailiy living do, indeed, exist. So -- why add to the number of hazards by eating, (as the Ralph Nadar report, by John S. Turner termed it), "The Chemical Feast"? Sadly, I -- like most people-- cannot afford to purchase and eat all of my food as organic food -- but I do try to get the least-expenive Organic milk available, and always brush my thinner-skinned fresh fruits and vegetables off throughly before eating, and throughly rinse any canned or frozen vegetables in cold water before eating. True, no one will live forever, (although there are some societies that believe this is possible -- and look, we've cured leprosy and polio, and gone to the moon, so I'm not going to say they must be wrong. I mean, who knows what a realistically optimistic outlook, advancing medical science, excercise, sanitation, and vitamins and minerals can do? Already we've raised the "average" lifespan from 28 years, (ancient Rome), to about 75 years, now. Slow and steady....but who knows what the "average" lifespan will be in 2100 -- that is, if we don't blow ourselves up, or destroy the planet, first?) It's true even "natural" or "organic" substances have their limiitations -- such as the fact that distilled water, whilst removing most chemicals, also removes most minerals! Response? Just take some mineral tablets! (I once read an article in the Reader's Digest entitled: "The Only Way Out", about a man escaping from East Berlin. Since then, I've firmly believed there IS a way out for just about any situation. Some things -- like getting out of the Twin Towers on 9/11 -- are especially difficult, I'll grant, but I'm not one to give up on anything until the very last minutes! Only a few years ago, in fact, the last survivor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire tragedy in NY in 1912 died. How did she survive when so many others died? Whilst other employees ran downstairs only to find locked doors, she went upstairs -- to where the executives had their offices. Planes rescued the executives -- and her-- from the roof! Yes, she died -- over 80 years later -- but not without first giving a fight!)

My own "familial diseases" are cancer and the non-fatal, (but still tragic) glaucoma. I have also, personally, had a mild form of Myasthenia Gravis, (an ailment which causes extreme weakness upon exertion or stress -- it's almost like curare poisoning, they tell me -- all my life. MG is sure no picnic -- but I know it's the least serious of all neurological ailments,and am grateful I don't have either a more severe case of MG, or any of the other, more serious, neurological -- or non-neurological ailments. This is not to say I can't get them -- or be hit by a bus, truck, or car, or walk in on a robbery, etc. -- but I know that a realistically optimistic attitude, (wait for the green light, and look both ways whilst crossing the street at the corner), can most probably get one across any street safely -- even 5th Avenue in New York City during the rush hour. I know it can -- I've done it many times!) Take precautions -- reap rewards. If I'm really tired, and can't do something, I don't do it -- then. Maybe I can do it the next day. All I do know for sure is that being realistically positive can help just about any situation. Pollyanna? Well, if you look at the story "Pollyanna", you'll see that she didn't ignore problems or think they weren't there -- she just thought they could all be solved, and looked for ways to solve them. "Candide", of course, thought -- despite all evidence to the contrary -- that he lived in "the best of all possible worlds". So -- I may indeed be "Pollyanna'" -- but I'm not "Candide". There is a difference!

I've read recently that a new theory states that massive doses of vitamin C can cure cancer! This makes sense to me, anyway. So, as a preventative measure, I'm going to take 500 to 1000 mgs of natural vitamin C daily. Yes, I'll consult with my doctor -- but the decision, in the end, has to be MINE, Uf he says not to, he'd better have a very good reason! (He's the "expert"? This story about "experts" may impress you as it did me.......... A man wants to know the meaning of life. He sells all he has, and makes the arduous trip to Tibet. Over mountains, up more mountains, thjrough rain, snow, loneliness.... Finally, he reaches the Guru, and says: "I have gone far and suffered much. But now, please -- tell me the meaning of life." The guru looks at him, and finally says, "The meaning of life can be found in every pebble on the street." The man was amazed. "What! I gave up so much, and suffered so much, to get here and ask you the meaning of life -- and now you tell me the meaning of life can be found in every pebble on the street? Are you nuts or something?" The guru looked at the man slowly and sadly, and said: "You mean it isn't?" (Moral: Experts -- even doctors -- don't know everything!)

So, I'll keep drinkng organic milk, and washing and rinsing my un-organic vegetables. I agree, again, that life is filled with many hazards other than chemical ones...and I try to reduce all hazards in my life, chemical or otherwise, as much as I can. Yes, life is certainly bettert than the alternative....and I am going to try to make my life, and those of the ones I love, last as long as humanly possible, and be filled with as much as possible, whilst also guarding against hazards as much as possible! I see this as a sensible way to live for anyone!