Raw Oysters

[Guest guest]

B. wrote:

> Necrotizing fasciitis aggressively attacks

> the deep fascia and creates life threatening

> infection........

...........About a month ago I purchased a zinc picolinate

supplement, 22 mg, which I take, but not daily,

because 22 mg. is too much for a daily intake, since

it doesn't include the zinc from your diet.

: so you're saying that raw oysters can cause that horrible " flesh

eating bacteria " infection?

Also, don't know if you were on the list when the subject of my favorite

breakfast food came up. I eat " Total " to insure getting 100% of my

daily requirements including zinc. Since you sound like you're a health

professional, any opinion on eating a fortified cereal like Total (which

does contain some sugar, BTW)? Some in the group doubted if such a source

of vitamins/minerals could be trusted/reliable for actual absorption into

the body.

[Guest guest]

Hello CRONies,

Down here in North Carolina it is common knowledge to eat oysters

only during months with an " R " in them. So May through August are

out. The water is warm and bacteria & parasites are thriving.

During " off " months I purchase shucked, containerized oysters at the

supermarket that are shipped in from Washington state. I boil my

oysters in a little water, just enough to cook them, and put em in

the fridge for use in salads, soups, etc. 2 per day YUM YUM

Bob

> Francesca said:

>

> >Raw Oyster eaters: There is a for a bacteria that

> contaminates oysters

> and

> clams and is being blamed for the deaths of three

> Washington area

> residents

> since May. I know some of you are eating oysters to

> insure your zinc

> ------------------------------------------------

> Not long ago there was an internal medicine physician

> who died from eating raw oysters at a restaurant about

> a mile from where I work. After eating the oysters,

> he died within 2-3 days, even though he got prompt

> medical attention and was in the intensive care unit.

[Guest guest]

Francesca said:

>: so you're saying that raw oysters can cause

that horrible

" flesh

eating bacteria " infection?

Also, don't know if you were on the list when the

subject of my

favorite

breakfast food came up. I eat " Total " to insure

getting 100% of my

daily requirements including zinc. Since you sound

like you're a

health

professional, any opinion on eating a fortified cereal

like Total

(which

does contain some sugar, BTW)? Some in the group

doubted if such a

source

of vitamins/minerals could be trusted/reliable for

actual absorption

into

the body.

--------------------------------------------------

Francesca, yes, absolutely, raw oysters can cause that

horrible " flesh eating " bacteria infection. I have

personally seen and treated (for daily wound care)

several cases due to eating raw oysters/raw shellfish,

and over 50 cases overall (the majority not due to

eating raw shellfish).

Regarding the question about eating " Total " for

breakfast, I would like to see the list of ingredients

from the box before I fully tackle that question.

Would it be possible for you to type out the

ingredient list from the box, exactly as the box has

it (the order of the ingredients is very important,

because they are listed in order from most to least)?.

I would also like to know how much salt (sodium

chloride) the box says that one portion has, the

portion size listed on the box vs. your personal

portion size, and whatever else the box says, e.g.

amount of protein, fat, and to see if there is any way

to find out how much sugar they added to the product.

Also, the form of the minerals and vitamins and how

much of each mineral and vitamin one portion contains

(without milk added). When I say " form " I mean for

example calcium carbonate or calcium citrate or any of

the many forms of calcium. The same is true for all

the vits/mins: they can come in many types of " forms "

(chemical structures).

I wouldn't doubt the amount of vitamins/minerals they

say it has. I'm sure that's accurate. The form of the

minerals/vitamins has some bearing, e.g. calcium

carbonate is not as good as bone calcium. But overall

this probably won't be a big issue.

I wouldn't be surprised if the first ingredient said

" whole wheat " , and the next ingredient said " wheat

bran " (just a guess).

With whole grain products, there is the issue of

absorption due to compounds called phytates, which can

bind nutrients, but this affects some vits/mins more

than others, e.g. it affects calcium absorption. This

is not going to be a big issue with one or two

portions.

Overall I'd be surprised if the vits/mins were not

absorbed well, assuming you personally don't have any

malabsorption syndromes (I very much doubt that you

do). The only way that the vits/mins would not be

absorbed is if they chose the absolute worst forms of

the vits/mins, which is extremely unlikely, or a

person suffered from a malabsorption syndrome.

My first impression is that I'd rather eat cooked

whole unprocessed wheat berries and add a vit/min

supplement that contains the vits/mins that the cereal

contains.

That's a very important issue: those 100% of the RDA

for vits/mins are not an intrinsic part of the cereal:

whole wheat, whole rye, whole oats, or any whole grain

simply will not supply 100% of the RDA of a large

variety of vits/mins in one portion. So the company

just added the vits/mins, just the same as if you took

a pill containing the same vits/mins. My concern would

be how much might be lost or altered in processing the

wheat to make those thin flakes, versus just cooking

the whole wheat berries.

Also, I'd be concerned about the amount of salt added.

I'm not a fan of salt in the diet. Salt, even added

to the food of animals, raises their blood pressure,

according to the Center for Science in the Public

Interest, publishers of the very fine Nutrition Action

Health Letter, which Dr. Walford has recommended, and

is my favorite health letter. ($20-24 per year, well

worth the price).

You may say that you don't have 30 minutes in the

morning to cook a true unprocessed whole grain cereal,

but (and you can add this to your recipe book), you

can do this the night before:

For true unprocessed whole wheat cereal: depending on

the quantity and calories you want to consume, put 1

cup of whole wheat berries in a thermos, then add 2

cups of boiling water to the thermos, seal it and

forget about it. The next morning your breakfast will

be waiting for you !!

The cooked whole wheat berries will not be much

different than if you cooked them fresh that morning.

I used to do this many years ago with many types of

grains (whole buckwheat groates, whole rye berries,

whole oat groates, etc). Works great !

I will probably have a few other things to say once I

get the information requested above.

However, in summary, I think we are on the wrong issue

regarding concerns about the vits/mins in the cereal,

or their absorption. The important issues (IMO) are

the processing of the wheat to come up with those very

thin, dry flakes, the addition of salt and any other

unwanted additions, and the supreme importance of

realizing that this is not some superfood: it's a

flaked cereal with ADDED vitamins and minerals. The

vitamins and minerals are extremely easy to get just

by taking a vit/min pill. If they were to print on the

box the actual amounts of vits/mins from the cereal

flakes alone, you might faint !!

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