Very few of us will aware that toxins, fungus, mold, yeast, and pleomorphic bacteria ( can be a spherical, rod-shaped, or spiral-shaped bacteria) is found present in most of the raw foods. Therefore, not all foods can be eaten raw. Precautions should be taken against these foods as their toxicological properties have been documented to cause specific diseases and the growth of the specific organ lesions in both humans and animals. And if these raw foods are eaten raw, they will never be ingested properly by our digestive system. Below are some of the listed foods that you should avoid eating raw.
Do Not Eat Raw Fish
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Do not eat raw fish as it has a high possibility of being infected by a type of parasitic worm called Clonorchiasis (Chinese liver fluke or Opisthorchiasis). This snail-looking worm may result in human infection if the infected fish are eaten by humans themselves. This infection is scary as it may spread to the bile ducts in the liver and to the gallbladder.
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When clonorchiasis enters the human body, it will lead our body to cholangitis, an indicative of the inflammation of any portion of the bile ducts which carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and intestine. The progress of this cholangitis can lead to pain, jaudice (yellow skin), and fever. In some severe cases, it is a consequence of cirrhosis (chronic liver disease), characterizing anatomically by widespread nodules in the liver combined with fibrosis which might later interfere the blood flow through the liver. This makes the liver having problem to carry out essential functions, such as manufacturing vital nutrients, purrifying the blood and detoxifying harmful substances. The recent clinical reports show that people who like to eat raw fish, have 50% higher possibility to have cirrhosis developed in their early ages.
Do Not Eat Raw Crab, Prawn or Lobster (may also include other seafoods)
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Do not eat raw or undercooked crabs, prawns and lobsters. Raw crabs are the carrier for a parasitic worm (trematode) with the most common being called Paragonimus westermani, while raw prawns and lobsters are the intermediate host for this scary worm. People who consumed either raw crabs, prawns, lobsters or any other seafoods, may have a consequence called Paragonimiasis. It is a food-borne parasitic infection primarily caused by the lung fluke, which has known to infect about 22 million people worldwide.
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When Paragonimus westermani penetrates into human body, this parasite excysts in the deodenum, and then it penetrates via the intestinal wall into the peritoneal cavity. Later, it will crawl through the abdominal wall and diaphragm into the lungs, where it is excited enough to encapsulate and develop into adults. It can also reach to other organs and tissues like the brain and striated muscles, in which its infection can persist to as long as 20 years in humans as documented in some academic studies. It is also documented that the penetration of Paragonimus westermani into human body can cause lung injury that might have progressed to a stage of a chronic intestinal inflammation, or intestinal edema.
The acute symptoms may be marked by an abdorminal pain, cough, fever, urticaria(hives), eosinophilia (an elevated level of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell), diarrhea, pulmonary abnormalities, and hepatosplenomegaly (enlargement of the liver and spleen). As for the chronic phase, the symptoms include chest radiographic abnormalities, expectoration of discolored sputum, severe cough, and hemoptysis (spitting up blood).
According to the latest statistics, more than 4,000 persons have injuries in their lungs, 3,000 persons have inflammation in their intestinal tracts and more than 2,000 persons have suffered with intestinal edema worldwide due to their main diets on raw crabs, prawns or lobsters.
Do Not Eat Raw Water Chestnuts
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Scientists have discovered that the raw water chestnuts are home for a parasitic worm called Fasciolopsiasis buski. This worm is commonly found in the aquatic plants. According to Lankester (1857), this is the largest intestinal fluke of humans, measuring up to 7.5cm in length. Fasciolopsiasis buski results in food-borne infection in humans.
Though most of its infections are asymptomatic, its heavier infections may lead to an intestinal obstruction, abdominal pain, ascites (the condition of pathologic fluid accumulation within the abdominal cavity), anasarca (massive enlargement of organs, skins, or other body parts), and fever. The scientific journals reported that its adult worm can attach to and ulcerate the mucosa of the proximal small bowel, and thus causing abdominal pain, signs of malabsorption (the difficulty of digestion or absorption of food nutrient across the gastrointestinal tract), facial swelling, and diarrhea.
Do Not Eat Raw Eggs
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The raw egg white or albumen contains a Glycoprotein called “avidin” which can hinder any biological reactions that occurred in human body. This in turns will interfere the absorption of biotin (water-soluble B-complex vitamin), causing us to suffer from a biotin deficiency. Raw eggs may also have the possibility of being colonized with fungus and contaminated with mycotoxins (compounds that are produced by molds). Besides that, raw egg is infected with Salmonella. Its symptoms are always marked by an abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. The elderly, children, and people with cancer, HIV, or other diseases may be a high risk group of the Salmonella infections.
