How Often Can I Eat Oysters? Anything Wrong With Daily Consumption?

[LukeL]

I love oysters and knowing they are one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet makes me love them more. Any advice on how often and when to eat them?

Thanks!

 

[Westside PUFAs]

If consumed daily you increase the risk of contracting hepatitis A if you eat them raw. They also have some naturally occuring polyunsaturated fat even if they are fresh and not canned. They can also be a source of contaminants. I think daily consumption would also be too much zinc, copper, and selenium as well as toxic heavy metals.

 

[lindsay]

I think it depends on if you have a deficiency that would warrant regular oyster consumption - but probably not good to do daily on a long term basis. That being said, I think RP recommends them at least once per week, so if you are deficient in any of the metals or nutrients, a couple days per week might even be beneficial until things level out. I personally love all kinds of shellfish and would eat shellfish all the time if it wasn't so darn pricey. That being said, different shellfish have difference trace nutrients in them, so it might be good to explore a variety of fish. Conch fish is my absolute favorite, but I've only ever found that in the Florida Keys.

 

[Ledo]

Paul Jamanet of Phd fame warned against picking up parasites (nematodes )from fresh raw seafood.

I still love my oysters raw.

 

[Jayfish]

Well don't eat them raw for sure and yea it might be a bit much in terms of minerals and also contaminants. But there were tribes of native americans along the Florida key are gulf Coast that ate them daily, they created huge piles of shells. I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[marteagal]

Very interesting! Back in March, I was diagnosed with a low level of zinc (0.63 mg/l; reference range: 0.60 - 1.20 mg/l) and the doctor suggested to supplement with zinc + biotin.

Given the discussions on contaminated (zinc) supplements and the general idea that eating food is preferable to supplementing, I got into the habit of buying 10 french rock oysters every Saturday, cocking them in their own sea water (+ coconut oil), putting the resulting soup in a blender and partitioning it into 7 portions. That is 1.4 oysters per day, yielding about 10 mg zinc. Other daily food sources should give me further 2 - 5 mg. I reasoned this regimen would do the job of restoring zinc over the next few weeks/months.

I was happy to have decided in favor of whole food vs. a supplement. Now, I am wondering whether that approach is safer than supplementing e.g. zinc picolinate. Do you think consumption of 10 oysters per week is still fine (in the long run)? I do not eat other seafood or fish.

 

[Jayfish]

Yes, definitely fine.

 

[DaveFoster]

Very interesting! Back in March, I was diagnosed with a low level of zinc (0.63 mg/l; reference range: 0.60 - 1.20 mg/l) and the doctor suggested to supplement with zinc + biotin.

Given the discussions on contaminated (zinc) supplements and the general idea that eating food is preferable to supplementing, I got into the habit of buying 10 french rock oysters every Saturday, cocking them in their own sea water (+ coconut oil), putting the resulting soup in a blender and partitioning it into 7 portions. That is 1.4 oysters per day, yielding about 10 mg zinc. Other daily food sources should give me further 2 - 5 mg. I reasoned this regimen would do the job of restoring zinc over the next few weeks/months.

I was happy to have decided in favor of whole food vs. a supplement. Now, I am wondering whether that approach is safer than supplementing e.g. zinc picolinate. Do you think consumption of 10 oysters per week is still fine (in the long run)? I do not eat other seafood or fish.

Zinc glycinate is a better option.

 

[marteagal]

Thank you Dave, do you mean zinc glycinate is better than zinc picolinate, or zinc glycinate is better than eating oysters as described above?

 

[Peater Piper]

Zinc levels in oysters can vary quite a bit so you can't be sure how much you're actually ingesting. My bigger concern would be other heavy metals that are being ingested with the oysters, but they're an issue with zinc supplements too. Selenium is protective against mercury and cadmium, same for zinc. Since oysters supply both in abundance perhaps they're the better option? Or take a zinc supplement with a meal rich in selenium.

 

[DaveFoster]

Thank you Dave, do you mean zinc glycinate is better than zinc picolinate, or zinc glycinate is better than eating oysters as described above?

Oysters > zinc glycinate > zinc picolinate.

 

[Elephanto]

Actually picolinate is the most well absorbed form. This is because picolinic acid greatly enhances the absorption of zinc.

Effect of iron, vitamin B-6 and picolinic acid on zinc absorption in the rat. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[marteagal]

Thanks for all your answers! I guess I can stick with oysters then. And 2 L orange juice may help chelate some of the toxic heavy metals.

A concern more diffcult to address: I read that French rock oysters are primarily harvested in Normandy. After D-Day, prossibly lots of residual explosives/ammunition can be found in this area. I have not researched this; just speculating, and inferring from reports on poisonous WW II waste in the Baltic Sea. Anyway, I would need to get the specific oysters tested by a laboratory ...

 

[forterpride]

Very interesting! Back in March, I was diagnosed with a low level of zinc (0.63 mg/l; reference range: 0.60 - 1.20 mg/l) and the doctor suggested to supplement with zinc + biotin.

Given the discussions on contaminated (zinc) supplements and the general idea that eating food is preferable to supplementing, I got into the habit of buying 10 french rock oysters every Saturday, cocking them in their own sea water (+ coconut oil), putting the resulting soup in a blender and partitioning it into 7 portions. That is 1.4 oysters per day, yielding about 10 mg zinc. Other daily food sources should give me further 2 - 5 mg. I reasoned this regimen would do the job of restoring zinc over the next few weeks/months.

I was happy to have decided in favor of whole food vs. a supplement. Now, I am wondering whether that approach is safer than supplementing e.g. zinc picolinate. Do you think consumption of 10 oysters per week is still fine (in the long run)? I do not eat other seafood or fish.

soooo...did yiu get your levels checked to see if the oysters helped bring your zinc up?

 

[marteagal]

soooo...did yiu get your levels checked to see if the oysters helped bring your zinc up?

Sorry, actually I hate needles so I am planning to have new blood drawn in 6 months or so. I think, this also allows other blood parameters (e.g., steroid hormones) to be more reliably be affected by my current diet and supplements.

 

[Spokey]

I've read about people getting viagra like symptoms from picolinate, which makes me wonder if it might be adversely effecting nitric oxide.

 

[marteagal]

soooo...did yiu get your levels checked to see if the oysters helped bring your zinc up?

@forterpride: My zinc level has increased (as of 3rd January 2017):

774 μg/dl (reference range: 408-760 μg/dl; different lab), thus, beyond the upper limit.

Blood was drawn after overnight fasting at 8:30 am. My habit of ingesting about 1.4 oysters per day hadn't changed since April 2016. There were two weeks in August and only some other days where I ran out of oysters and supplemented 15 mg zinc picolinate instead.
Maybe my current health problems are related to going too high on zinc, so I'm planning to consume fewer oysters and see.

 

[Momado965]

Actually picolinate is the most well absorbed form. This is because picolinic acid greatly enhances the absorption of zinc.

Effect of iron, vitamin B-6 and picolinic acid on zinc absorption in the rat. - PubMed - NCBI

I have gotten great results with orotate and picolinate. I tend to like oro more tho.