It is just a tad bit more dangerous than drinking pasteurized milk. But not really that much more dangerous in the big scheme of things. Chris Kresser put this into perspective.
But there are some extra benefits of drinking raw milk as mentioned by Chris Kresser.
Gluten sensitivity is a broader category of which celiac disease is only a small subset. The estimation of amount of gluten-sensitive people varies widely. Here are some references on the web …
Dr. Mark Hyman writes in HuffingtonPost.com Dairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It at All Costs He has the following YouTube video …
Dr. Walter Willett said in a FrontLine interview that …
“The huge push for high consumption of dairy products is really not based on good science.”
Dr. Cordain writes the following about why milk is unhealthy …
“Drinking of cow’s milk or other species’ milk by children and adults is an unhealthy practice that increases the risk of many chronic diseases and adds no micronutrients to the diet that cannot be obtained from fresh vegetables, fruits, meats, seafoods and nuts. Human’s have no nutritional requirement for cow’s milk.”
There are some evidence that suggests there might be a link between casein and Type 1 diabetes. For example, the paper “A1 beta-casein, type 1 diabetes and links to other modern illnesses” says …
“people with Type 1 diabetes have enhanced levels of antibodies to beta-casein and in particular A1 beta-casein … high milk intake in children linked to high incidence of diabetes”
A1 beta-casein (as opposed to A2 beta-casein) is found in milk that comes from certain breeds of cows. Here they are talking about Type 1 diabetes which is an autoimmune disease.
Another study titled “Antibodies to bovine beta-casein in diabetes and other autoimmune diseases” found that subject with Type 1 diabetes, Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA), and Coeliac disease has increased levels of antibodies to beta-casein as compared to age-matched control groups.
Kurt Harris’ Archevore diet framework has one tip that advises …
“If you are allergic to milk protein or concerned about theoretical risks of casein, you can stick to butter and avoid milk, cream and soft cheeses”.
Butter does have very small amount of casein. But depending on your sensitivity to casein, it may or may not be tolerable. If not, try ghee (clarified butter) which has even less casein to the point of virtually none. See forum thread “Casein in Butter” on celiac.com.
Milk and dairy product contains lactose which is a disaccharide sugar and is on the “avoid list” of FODMAP foods if you are doing a Low-FODMAP type of diet.
Mat Lalonde says in a Chris Kresser podcast that …
“I say the casein can be problematic, lactose can be problematic, so the best macronutrient, the least problematic macronutrient in dairy is the fat”
HowStuffWorks.com writes that …
” Dairy is one of the most commonly reported food allergies”
Potentially. It all depends on where the oyster came from, how it was handled, and how it got to your plate, and how strong your immune system is. There is always a risk.
The danger in raw oysters is not in the mercury level, but rather the pathogens and virus that they may contain. The mercury level of oyster considered “lower levels” category in the similar range of that of salmon.
Oysters are filter feeders and can contain pathogens and bacteria. Immuno-compromised individuals, individuals with poor liver functions, or pregnant, or other conditions may want to avoid raw oysters.
But for healthy individuals, oysters are eaten raw as in this Executive Chef shows on YouTube how to shuck and eat one. Shucking an oyster means to open and remove half of its shell. They are usually opened with oyster top up. Which side is the top? The flat shell is top. The rounded shell is bottom.
The Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference says …
“Oysters harvested from approved waters, packed under sanitary conditions, and properly refrigerated are usually safe for raw consumption by healthy individuals. Cooking oysters to an internal temperature of 140 F or greater for 4-6 minutes destroys the common microorganisms of public health concern.”
Wikipedia says that “oysters must be eaten alive, or cooked alive.” That is why you do not often see frozen raw oysters. After frozen and thawed, their texture changes so that they need to be consumed cooked, and can no longer be consume raw. If they are canned, they are cooked before canning.
SafeOysters.org says that shucked shellfish can be kept in the refrigerator at …
“Temperatures below 35°F will minimize bacterial growth and help shucked shellfish stay fresh longer, usually 4 to 7 days or by the “use by” date printed on containers. Refrigerator temperatures greater than 40°F will decrease shelf life.”
However, if you remove half its shelf, don’t you kill the shellfish? So personally, I get nervous at keeping shucked oyster that long.
An oyster that can not close its shell is a dead oyster. When buying oyster, buy only those with fully closed shells. Oyster should be purchased live, as fresh as possible, and from a quality source. To avoid killing the oyster due to lack of oxygen, do not keep oysters in air-tight containers.
If you eat at a restaurant, eat them from a place you trust. The chef should know all of the above and be able to detect bad oysters (including by smell) and toss them out. Some bad oysters can look the same as good ones.
If you cook the oyster, scrub and wash the shell thoroughly and then it can be smoked, boiled, baked, fried, roasted, stewed, canned, pickled, steamed, broiled.
Boiling is a good way to kill pathogens. If you boil them in the shell, they will open on its own, saving you the need to shuck them. Boil them until the oyster flesh edge curls.
Here on YouTube is what Oysterologist Daniel Notkin says about oyster and his reply to eating raw oysters: “Get them as fresh as possible, with a chef that you trust. There is always a risk. … But if you look at the grand scheme of things, there are more recalls on peanut butter, meat, eggs, than anything we heard of oysters.”
WiseGeek.com says …
“Eating raw oysters can potentially be dangerous. Taking the time to cook an oyster will greatly reduce the risk of picking up a food-borne illness. People who are pregnant or who have compromised immune systems should always cook an oyster before eating it”
Disclaimer: I am not a profession chef. Everything I learned about oysters, I’ve learn from the Internet.
The are some people who believe in eating more healthy fats in the diet.
You absorb more nutrition from salads if you have some fat in your salad or salad dressing rather than to use low-fat dressings.[source: sciencedaily]
Dr. Rosedale say in one of his website Q&A that …
“Yes, the major portion of your diet should be composed of healthy fats.”
Dr. Mercola’s interview of Paul Jaminet is summarized Mercola’s site where Jaminet recommends the following as the optimal balance between carbohydrates, proteins, and fats …
However, one issue that Jaminet and Rosedale differ on is the amount of carbohydrates that one should consume. Jaminet allows for more carbs and says rice and potatoes are “safe starches”. He believes that it is possible to go too low on carbs resulting in “glucose deficiency” and certain negative health effects. Rosedale believes that there are no “safe starches” and that one can never be too low on carbs.
After hearing both Jaminet’s and Rosedale point of view, Dr. Mercola tend to side with Jaminet’s view in that it is possible to go too low in carbs as Dr. Mercola has personally experienced. (reference Dr. Mercola and Paul Jaminent interview)
Dr. Mercola writes article mentioning that he himself consumes 60% to 70% of his calories from healthy fats.
Kurt Harris MD writes on his Archevore blog that …
“Archevore eaters typically range from 5-35% carbohydrate, from 10-30% protein and from 50 to 80% fat (mostly from animals) …”
Archevore is a diet framework and in the link provided has quite a few other healthy tips.
Mark Sisson’s article says that during training he consumes up to 50% of his calories from of healthy fats plus a lot of anti-oxidants.
Dave Asprey writes that he eats 50% of his calories from fat and puts butter and MCT oil into his coffee. MCT oil stands for medium chain triglyceride oil of which coconut oil is among them. Dave Asprey has a recipe for putting butter in coffee.
Paul Jaminet often drinks coffee with half coffee and half heavy cream [from his book The Perfect Health Diet]
Essay by Stephanie Seneff writes that fats and cholesterol are healthy especially for the brain. She says …
“… aim for something like 50% fat, 30% protein, and 20% carbohydrate, so as to pro-actively defend against Alzheimer’s.”
The idea that saturated fat is unhealthy is false. She writes her opinion as follow …
“You would practically have to be as isolated as an Australian Aborigine not to have absorbed the message that dietary fats, particularly saturated fats, are unhealthy. I am extremely confident that this message is false”
Because of this reasoning, many are now adopting a low-carb high-fat style of diet. Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt has an good explanation of the low-carb high-fat style of diet on his site DietDoctor.com.
Dr. Andrew Weil has said on his site that his “thinking on saturated fat has evolved”, citing studies that indicates no difference in coronary heart risk between low saturated fat consumers and high saturated fat consumers. He says that …
“refined starches and sugars are more likely than saturated fat to be the main dietary cause of coronary heart disease and type-2 diabetes.” [reference]
Heart surgeon Dr. Dwight Lundell speaks out as in an article saying that it is sugar that causes heart disease rather than fat. [reference]
If you want to learn more about a group that went on a low-carb high-fat diet, watch the documentary My Big Fat Diet. Or to learn about lipid metabolism in Kevin Ahern’s Biochemistry YouTube Channel.
Many people who lives a long life have low insulin within the normal range. And sugar spikes insulin and should be avoided. Most cenenarian do eat meat.
Robb Wolf says that …
“centenarians ALL eat red meat, typically drink a little, are go-getters in attitude.”[reference]
And in his podcast 146, he says …
“one of the things that we see as a defining element of people living longer is that
they tend to eat more protein.”
Paul Jaminet found that centenarians tend to eat two types of diets:
1) Calorie-restriction and intermittent fasting.
2) High (saturated and monounsaturated) fat low-carb diets.
Of course there are some with good genes that can eat anything and still be healthy. Look at George Burns who smokes and lives to 100.
References:
Typical Lifetime Dietary Habits of Centenarians
You might have heard of …
But have you heard of …
Fear of certain animals …
This is just my own personal opinion. I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. It may sound extreme for anyone with any autoimmune condition to avoid gluten. But this article list some reasons and references as to why.
If not avoid gluten, then at least get screened for gluten sensitivity. The article Reversing Autoimmune Disease is a Real Possibility writes and I quote …
“If there is any autoimmune disease in your family immediately get tested for gluten intolerance. This is not just a celiac test but also a test for gluten sensitivity.”
It is true that autoimmune conditions can be caused by many other factors besides gluten. However, gluten is of the things that can contribute to or exacerbate autoimmune conditions in gluten sensitive people. There are ample evidence that many people with autoimmune conditions also have gluten sensitivity.
While there are tests that test for gluten sensitivities, false negatives are common — meaning that the test says you do not have sensitivity to gluten, yet you really are. The test only tests a subset of antibodies and a subset of the type of gluten that people may be sensitive to. It does not catch everything. Also a antibodies blood test will come out negative even if you are gluten sensitive if you happen to not be eating gluten at the time of the test.
Since there is no way to know for sure if you are gluten sensitive or not, it is best to avoid gluten as there is a plausible mechanism for which gluten causes autoimmunity.
For gluten sensitive people who continue to consume gluten, gluten causes openings in the tight junctions in the gut. This is known as a leaky gut, or increased intestinal permeability. This means that partially digested proteins and foodstuff may leak into the bloodstream where they normal would not.
Your immune system see these as foreign invaders and initiates an inflammatory response. Over time, one experience chronic systemic inflammation and eventual dysregulation of the immune system, which is what autoimmune conditions are.
In the same line of reasoning, even healthy individuals with no autoimmune symptoms may choose to avoid gluten as a preventative measure against autoimmune disease.
The short of it is that we know that autoimmune disease is characterized by an leaky and inflamed gut. And gluten is one of the things that can inflame the gut. Therefore, gluten can simply do no good. And it is not like avoiding gluten is that terrible. Our ancestors in the Paleolithic era didn’t eat gluten. The Paleo diet and the “Gluten-Free Casein-free” diet some example ways of eating that does not include gluten.
Autoimmune diseases is when the immune system attacks own self.
Some people consider autism an autoimmune condition (see New York Times piece) and autistic children have inflamed gut. Many people treating autism are putting them on gluten-free (and sometimes casein free) diet.
More References:
Short answer is, “Yes, it is”. Some people are taking it as a supplement. Great for brain health. And many people consider it to be the best cooking oil to use.
Here are some references to why coconut oil is healthy….
What about the saturated fat?
Saturated fat has gotten a bad rap. Many people now believe that saturated fat is not as bad as they once were told.
Mary Enig writes article New Look at Coconut Oil which says …
“coconut oil is at worst neutral with respect to atherogenicity of fats and oils and, in fact, is likely to be a beneficial oil for prevention and treatment of some heart disease.”
And she further states that coconut oil may have antimicrobial and anti-cancer properties.
Dave Asprey’s recipe on how he drinks coffee is that he adds butter and MCT oil to his coffee and eats 50% of his calories from fats.
Article published in September 2012 reports on a study that showed eating smaller meals more frequently provides a more stable blood sugar and reduces any sudden spike of fatty acid, resulting in lower cholesterol.