45. About Fresh Raw Fish
Unfortunately, the FDA in the US says you cannot eat raw fish, except for tuna. The FDA Food Code says that "fish that are intended for consumption in their raw form may only be offered for sale or service if they are obtained from a supplier that freezes the fish as specified". Luckily, the FDA has no jurisdiction over raw fish sold in restaurants like sushi and sashimi.
The reason behind this FDA regulation is that there is an extremely small risk of absorbing parasites from raw fish that can cause ill effects. Parasites, however, can easily be detected by the retailer through the use of ultrasound. (Also see Ch. 37)
But despite the fact that the risk of absorbing parasites from fresh raw fish is almost negligible, the FDA forbids you to eat fresh raw fish. This is strange because the risk of absorbing mutagenic substances from prepared food is 100%. For some reason it does not bother the FDA that cooking always creates mutagenic and toxic heterocyclic amines, converts healthy cholesterol in harmful oxy-sterols and fatty acids in artificial trans-fatty acids.
Unfortunately, freezing also causes the origin of 'dirty' (and toxic) protein. (See www.13.waisays.com/cooking.htm) The effect is less severe than through cooking, but it's still there.
If you are living in the USA and you do not accept the almost negligible risk of absorbing parasites (See Ch. 37) you can buy fresh raw tuna and alternate this with fresh raw egg yolks. Then you will be eating protein that does not contain any 'dirty' protein at all.
You can also go to a Japanese restaurant that is frequented by Japanese customers since serving only top-quality fresh raw seafood is a matter of honor among the Japanese. (For a list of traditional Japanese restaurants outside Japan, see http://www.sushi.infogate.de/) Unfortunately, many Japanese restaurants also import frozen fish from Japan. Always ask what fish has not been in the freezer.
Beware that in non-traditional sushi-restaurants / take-outs the mackerel is generally not raw, but smoked, (besides also being frozen first). In fact, in those non-traditional sushi-bars much of the fish might be not raw at all.
Besides tuna and restaurant-sushi / sashimi, there is another raw-fish option; According to the FDA only fish that "is intended to be consumed in its raw form" must be frozen first. Fish that is intended to be cooked or fried does not have to be frozen first. Therefore, fish-shops may legally sell 100% fresh raw fish that has not been in the freezer, but officially they are not allowed to sell it to you if you are going to eat it raw. This gives you the opportunity to buy other (than tuna) fresh raw fish (like salmon and mackerel) that has not been in the freezer.
So, if you are willing to take the almost negligible risk of parasites in fish, you can very well find other fresh 100%-raw fish to consume.
Find yourself a high-quality shop where you can trust the manager to tell you honestly that the fish has not been frozen. Make sure that the fish is not from a hatchery since fish from hatcheries are more likely to contain parasites. It is the same principle as with cattle: the more intensively they are bred, the more diseases / parasites / bacteria they will contain. Be aware that this rule also creates the possibility for fish-store owners to misrepresent and sell not-so-fresh fish as fresh fish because you are going to cook it anyway and you, therefore, will not notice its not being so fresh.
To be able to distinguish the difference between wild fresh salmon that has not been in the freezer and not-so-fresh salmon, salmon from hatcheries, or salmon that has been in the freezer, you should first eat salmon in a high-quality Japanese restaurant. You should not smoke or drink alcohol that day to be optimally able to detect the right taste. That meal should consist of salmon-sashimi only - a big or small meal. First inhale the scent of the salmon with your eyes closed. Then look closely at the texture and color of the salmon. Then smell it again, and then you taste it. Do this with every bite to retain the right imprint. If the memory fades, do it all over again.
If you are with a group of people that like to eat fresh raw fish, have a dinner with them in a Japanese restaurant. Ask the owner or chef at which market he buys his fish. Then you can go to a wholesale fish market where the Japanese restaurants buy their fish. Be very, very
friendly, absolutely polite, and not at all pushy. If they don't want to tell, don't pursue any further.
Maybe you feel that Japanese restaurants are too expensive.
We advise you to buy a book about sushi to find out what seafood can be consumed raw, and how to make sushi at home. "Sushi made easy", by Nobuko Tsuda, Weatherhill, Inc., New York, is an example.
It has to be a whole fish for you to be able to judge its freshness. The slime-layer must be intact. The gills should be moist and bright red (except for mackerel, whose gills are brown). The scales must be both intact and shiny, and firmly attached to the body. The cut edges must have a fresh scent and be moist. If you lightly jab your finger into the meat, it should bounce back. Fresh fish have convex eyes that aren't bloody, but bright white - with shiny black pupils.
And fresh fish does not smell.
Whether or not the fish shop employees tell the truth, you can tell if a fish has been in the freezer because the scales are more open, and fish that has been in the freezer tastes 'watery' and smells strange - not like fish. Herring is never raw because it's not allowed; herring has to be deep frozen for 24 hours to kill possible herring-worms.
The fish with the most fat is the best fish to be consumed raw. Red tuna, therefore, is much better eaten raw than white tuna. Salmon is also a perfect raw fish for consumption. If you want to eat raw mackerel, be sure it's very fresh (sashimi) because you might have an allergic reaction to not-so-fresh mackerel due to its originated amines.
Oysters contain too little fat, too much copper, and far too much zinc (up to 160 mg / 100 g). Zinc and copper are added to cattle's feed to enhance growth and to make their skin shine. Eating oysters can make your skin shine, too, but it can also cause inflammations and severe allergic reactions.
Eating oysters can enhance skin cell growth so much that the skin temporarily tightens;
Zinc is essential for cell proliferation and differentiation. [143] Zinc-metallothionein stimulates (3H) thymidine incorporation in the cell. [144] Copper, manganese, and nickel don't. [145] Skin-metallothioneine induces skin-keratinocyte proliferation. [146]
Yes, buying fish in high-quality shops or at a whole sale market in another city will cost you more, but you only need fifty grams / two ounces maximum a day on the average. You can eat from it at least 2 days in a row if the fish is fresh. If you eat more than 100 gram / 3½ oz. on these 2 days, that will be enough for a whole week - especially if you also eat fresh raw egg yolks on some other days of the week.
You may find a farm where the hens are fed natural feedings - raw grains, little insects, and grass. You can then eat 2-3 raw egg yolks a day. Compared to the amount of beef, fish and/or poultry you were used to eating, consuming fresh raw fish and raw egg yolks this way will even cost you less.
People have been eating raw fish for millions of years. The Japanese, in particular, but also many other cultures around the world still do.
Fish contains far less connective tissue than meat so it is much easier to eat raw. Fruits (together with 50 g. / 2 oz. fish) contain all the nutrients you need. Consuming more protein than you need requires more vitamin B2, B6, and folic acid to process this extra protein.
(Salmon, tuna, and mackerel contain 20% protein, on the average.)
Though raw fish contains thiaminase, (which decomposes vitamin B1 in fish) that doesn't matter because just one piece of fruit contains as much vitamin B1 as is lost.
Eating food containing sugars and / or fibers within 2½ hours after having eaten raw fish or raw egg yolk can cause severe cramps. Eat fruits before consuming sashimi, and take your time.
Fresh raw fish is appreciated best when consumed alone (sashimi) or, as a single munch-food item by adding some soy sauce, chili sauce, mayonnaise, or mustard. You can roll the raw fish in rice (sushi) for example. But remember: it then becomes a munch-food item because anything prepared or spicy or salty makes your skin retain more water.
When you use salt or spices, use as little as possible - especially when your skin is susceptible to acne (and if you really want to eliminate cellulite totally).
Almost all of the supermarket-salmon originates in hatcheries, often isn't very fresh, and sometimes 'slightly prepared' to lengthen its shelf life. (Note: The sign that says "North Atlantic salmon", for example, is actually salmon from a hatchery on the New Jersey or Rhode Island shore). Even small shops buy their fish from hatcheries. The large hatcheries have made it increasingly difficult for independent retailers to buy fresh wild fish. In Europe most salmon is from hatcheries too. Salmon from hatcheries often is milky and/or stringy (like badly ripened avocado or mango), has a weird non-salmon-like smell, and a pale color. Wild salmon tastes and smells much better.
Unfortunately, fish can be fed growth hormones orally. [147] And of course they are. Fish from hatcheries can contain residues of drugs 'preventing diseases' up to six months afterwards. [148] The difference in size between natural salmon and salmon from hatcheries is striking. 'Genetic modifications' have created artificial 'super-salmon'.
These hatcheries are very often owned by large companies that also produce cattle-food, nutrient supplements, and baby food. Of course it is much cheaper to feed those fish recycled human foods and wastes instead of what they naturally eat (other raw small fish etc).
You can easily see that feeding these fish recycled foods (or even processed fish) would contaminate their flesh with damaged cholesterol and trans-fatty acids. And of course the hatcheries' owners will do anything to make these salmon grow faster and bigger.
The long-term effects of eating these salmon is still unknown, but producing fish this intensively will eventually create diseases as already have occurred in cattle. ('Psycho Salmon Disease'?)
Humans were not designed to eat plants, but their fruits. Egg yolk is 'the fruit of the egg' - containing most nutrients. Egg white does not contain vitamin A, D, K or E, or cholesterol, which are all contained in the egg yolk. The yolk also contains much more of the iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium and iodide than the egg white. Of all the proteinaceous foods, egg yolk contains the most vitamins and minerals.
Do not eat raw egg white, for it contains substances that inhibit the absorption of vitamins:
Raw egg white contains substances that inhibit digestion and uptake of vitamins. Egg white is comparable to the human womb; both contain avidin and ovomucoid. Avidin de-activates vitamin B8 (biotin). Ovomucoid inhibits trypsin; an enzyme that decomposes absorbed nutrients.
In the human womb, ovaries and oviduct, the progesterone enhances avidin composition, and estrogen enhances composition of ovomucoid.
Do not eat the 'bag' containing the yolk and the string attached to it.
Just hold the whole yolk in your fingers, open it, and drain the yolk into the dish.
Then throw the empty bag in the kitchen sink; you now understand why you should not eat it: it is just a bag.
The egg yolk itself tastes like vanilla and combines very nicely with avocado. You can also blend fruits in a blender - banana, orange, apple, - and afterward add the egg yolks, stirring very gently with a fork. This is because egg protein is easily damaged on the molecular level, (see www.13.waisays.com/cooking.htm) even through mixing / blending. When added to fresh orange juice, the raw egg yolk makes the juice taste soft and creamy. Most other fruits (than banana, orange juice, apple) don't go very well with egg yolk in a shake.
When you are eating raw egg yolk, you should know that:
- if there's a crack in the shell, salmonella can have entered.
- washing the shell allows bacteria and molds to enter the egg.
- When fresh egg yolks are eaten often, the eggs should be stored in a cool and dark place - but preferably not in the fridge.
- fresh eggs roll in a wobbly manner when rolled across a flat surface.
- You can hear old eggs dash inside the shell when shaken because they contain more air. The more air, the older they are.
When you open a fresh egg, watch the egg-white slip away.
- Fresh egg yolk is convex and firm.
- Not-so-fresh egg white is watery instead of jelly-like.
- The egg white should be champagne-colored / yellowish.
- Fresh egg white does not drain away like water, but falls out of the shell as one or two pieces of jelly still partially attached to the yolk. Pull it off gently until only the string remains attached to the yolk. You can leave the string on,
for you will need to drain the yolk from the egg yolk bag anyway.
- If the yolk smells 'different', don't eat it.
Consuming not-so-fresh egg yolk can give you cramps and the runs.
The first 3 days that you consume fresh raw egg yolk, take only one teaspoon of it, so that your defense system has the time to adapt to the small amount of bacteria in the egg. The next 3 days you can take one whole egg yolk. And the next 3 days after that you can take one yolk more, and so on. That way your defenses system will be properly trained to fight bacteria, so that even if you eat something really bad in the wrong restaurant with your friends, your bowels will maximally move too much while your friends may be seriously ill.
Organic Eggs
Unfortunately, on regular farms hens hardly ever get their natural food; raw grains, grass and insects. The feedings that are regularly given to the hens are processed and even recycled wastes, containing bad substances like heterocyclic amines, oxysterols and artificial fatty acids, which accumulate in their flesh and eggs. Furthermore, also hens are fed growth hormones and antibiotics.
If you cook your eggs, you will absorb these bad substances, but you will very likely not notice this, since a part of these chemicals has an anesthetic effect.
But when you eat raw egg yolk, and it contains such bad substances, this may make you nauseous. And of course you should diminish uptake of these chemicals. To prevent uptake of such bad substances, you should only eat egg yolk from hens that are fed their natural feedings only; organic eggs.
Keeping your own hens would be ideal, but of course that requires space and time.
Don't eggs contain too much cholesterol?
Absolutely not - if they are eaten raw and biologically bred.
Eggs are excellent 'brain-food' because natural raw eggs contain so much clean, natural cholesterol. Oxy-cholesterol is cholesterol that is damaged by heat, and is the only 'bad cholesterol'. It is these oxy-sterols that are no longer true cholesterol that cause vascular disease. (See Ch. 35)
Unfortunately, raw egg yolk from hens that are fed prepared / recycled - grains or other animal feed - contains damaged cholesterol and trans-fatty acids too. You won't taste this in eggs that have been cooked, but when you are eating raw egg yolk, you can taste it, and this may make you nauseous.
The longer the eggs have been cooked or heated in whatever other way, the more clean cholesterol is converted into bad oxysterols.
Especially hard-boiled eggs are very bad. Fresh raw organic egg yolk is very healthy.
Processing fresh raw egg yolk mixed with avocado requires lots of oxygen and, therefore, physical inactivity. If you are a heavy smoker you might sense a lack of oxygen after having eaten raw egg yolk with avocado.
Choose the right time to eat egg yolk with avocado, for this combination can make you temporarily lazy, and can even make you drowsy or sleepy.
Fresh raw egg yolk can be a perfect topping over rice, pasta or potatoes in a munch-food meal. Or you could dip your French fries in a bowl with 2 egg yolks and some tomato ketchup on the side.
Fresh raw egg yolk also tastes delicious when mixed with ripe avocado, or in blended tomato or banana/fruit mixes, or orange juice alone. Just remember to add the yolks gently only after the mixture is blended.
>>
To the next chapters; Part 3C
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