Zinc, Copper, Selenium: Shellfish Vs Cocoa

kettlebell

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
417
Location
UK
Hi everyone,

I am not a fan of oysters. The taste and texture repulses me. I do eat prawns once every couple of weeks but that is about it. What I do eat a lot of is cocoa (90% cocoa chocolate to be precise). I always have it with coffee to stop the iron absorption.

That is how I get my zinc, copper and selenium and I was interested to notice that gram for gram those nutrients are in higher quantities in cocoa than in shellfish.

I wanted to mention it just in case there is a flaw I am missing.

I am taking about 100gm chocolate a day (90% high quality cocoa) which gives great amounts of the above nutrient + the saturated fat the chocolate contains.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
kettlebell, I totally hear you about oysters. I eat them about every 10 days when I can get them on sale. And truth be told, I dont look forward to eating them.

If gram for gram chocolate is higher in nutrients then oysters, then heck, forget the oysters!!!! Every day I eat a square or two of the Lindts 90% cocoa and with coffee it is quite yummy. If I bump it up to 4 squares, I am wondering if I would even need the oysters then.

Thank you for bringing this topic up. Hopefully some others will chime in.
 
OP
K

kettlebell

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
417
Location
UK
Hi Charlie,

Other point I forgot to make is oysters are near impossible to get hold of where I am.

Yes that's the exact chocolate I use. Also, if you go to their website they sell 99% cocoa chocolate online. Expensive though.

I cant get the lindt 90% so cheaply I am doing a whole 100gm bar a day. (Maybe overkill but i'm certain it won't do any harm)

I have seen ARK write that she uses a fair amount of chocolate too somewhere. Hopefully she will chime in.

Yes chocolate all the way for those nutrients. With a nice cup of coffee (5 tsp sugar and a tablespoon of coconut oil in it) its excellent and it tastes nice. Oysters are not my food of choice, there are always other options.
 
OP
K

kettlebell

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
417
Location
UK
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/sweets/5471/2

Cocoa per 86gm serving

Minerals
Amounts Per Selected Serving%DV
Calcium 110mg
Iron 11.9mg
Magnesium 429mg
Phosphorus 631mg
Potassium 1311mg
Sodium 18.1mg
Zinc 5.9mg
Copper 3.3mg
Manganese 3.3mg
Selenium 12.3mcg

Oysters per 86gm serving

Minerals
Amounts Per Selected Serving
Calcium 39mg
Iron 16.5mg
Magnesium 40.5mg
Phosphorus 116mg
Potassium 134mg
Sodium 181mg
Zinc 78mg
Copper 3.8mg
Manganese 0.3mg
Selenium 54.8mcg

I took the serving size of oysters on the nutrition facts and analysis website (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fin ... cts/4189/2) and broke down the nutritional content so as to compare it with cocoa gram for gram.

Above is an 86gm serving of oysters compared to an 86gm serving of cocoa (100%)

Cocoa has:

Less Zinc (By far) BUT high cocoa chocolate can be eaten daily which would make up the difference
Similar copper content
Higher selenium content

If you were to eat say 100gm of 90% cocoa chocolate every day you would get the following per week:

44gm Zinc per week
24gm copper per week
12.8mcg selenium per week

Are the above amounts considered reasonable amounts? (I realise that is how long is a piece of string question)

Is it more beneficial to have small amounts of those nutrients daily rather than one larger amount weekly?

Magnesium amounts per day are considerable with this amount of cocoa - Are there any detrimental effects like blocking other nutrients from being absorbed? (Lets assume nutrients like potassium etc are also in considerable amounts thanks to the peat approach, but still not as much as magnesium)

It is clear that oysters are superior in regards to the key minerals we would consume them for BUT cocoa still seems a viable option?

Are there other viable sources other than seafood? (You can probably pick up the vibe that im really not fond of seafood apart from prawns)

I likely consume more than 100gm cocoa per day thanks to the 90% cocoa lindt chocolate and I use cocoa powder in my milk for nutrients and flavour.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
This is crazy good news. ^5 kettlebell!

Bye bye oysters! I might visit you again every now and then. :lol:
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
Now if you could only find something to replace liver. :rolling
 

Nick810

Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2012
Messages
124
So what type of Cocoa, 100% baking chocolate? or like 90/100% dark chocolate (any particular brand is good?)
 

mmartian

Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2012
Messages
41
Just heard an East West interview with Dr. Peat where he said he was experimenting with dark chocolate for Magnesium, and noticed that it was high in Leucine. After eating some chocolate, he had cravings for sweets — this got him thinking about amino acids and how they trigger insulin and require simultaneous sugar ingestion to avoid low blood sugar. So, basically, don't forget to get some fruit with your chocolate, I suppose!
 

nwo2012

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
1,107
Yes this is a great way to get those nutrients. I still feel oysters should be eaten though. You can always get frozen mussels which are much easier to obtain (and much cheaper) than oysters. Even my youngest is now eating her weekly serving, you guys are wooses! :lol:
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA

fat4thought

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2012
Messages
8
Per a discussion on this thread in the Fans group, I replied:

"Those are hardly comparable! Chocolate has almost six times the phosphorous, a tenth of the sodium, and a tenth of the zinc! You'd have to eat ten times as much chocolate as oysters to get the same amount of zinc. I am sure there are other foods which have a greater amount of zinc. Plus, something not mentioned is that like other plant foods, the minerals are bound in oxalate.

I love me some chocolate, but I am under no illusion that it is going to take the place of other more nutrient-dense foods. Per volume, the sugar displaces *something.*"

and

"I've been doing a lot of mussels and scallops, but I don't think they have as much zinc, either... No, nowhere near the amount. Why do oysters have so much zinc?! 124mg per 3oz serving, compared to 2.5mg for mussels and scallops. <sigh> Liver is the next closest thing (after fortified breakfast cereals) at 12mg per 1oz serving. Then beef at about 8mg per 3oz serving. Ooooh, oysters..."

and

"Yeah, they're [meaning you guys are] missing the boat. I think I'll add a 50mg zinc once a week, if I still have it around here."

Now, that being said, I focused for many years on avoiding getting too much copper, and getting plenty of zinc, and that didn't do me any favors, either.
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
fat4thought, thanks for your post.

I havent had a chance to compare then nutrients yet, but I was under the assumption from kettlebell that they were pretty much matched up gram for gram, even higher in cocoa for some of them.

Thats a good point about the phosphorus though.

Hopefully I can get on cronometer in the near future and do the comparison myself.
 
OP
K

kettlebell

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
417
Location
UK
I admit I didn't use cronometer. I used the links you will find in my earlier post.

Anecdotally I have heard Mr Peat say in numerous radio interviews that he rates high cocoa chocolate highly as a source of "Hard to get" nutrients.
 

nwo2012

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
1,107
fat4thought said:
Per a discussion on this thread in the Fans group, I replied:

"Those are hardly comparable! Chocolate has almost six times the phosphorous, a tenth of the sodium, and a tenth of the zinc! You'd have to eat ten times as much chocolate as oysters to get the same amount of zinc. I am sure there are other foods which have a greater amount of zinc. Plus, something not mentioned is that like other plant foods, the minerals are bound in oxalate.

I love me some chocolate, but I am under no illusion that it is going to take the place of other more nutrient-dense foods. Per volume, the sugar displaces *something.*"

and

"I've been doing a lot of mussels and scallops, but I don't think they have as much zinc, either... No, nowhere near the amount. Why do oysters have so much zinc?! 124mg per 3oz serving, compared to 2.5mg for mussels and scallops. <sigh> Liver is the next closest thing (after fortified breakfast cereals) at 12mg per 1oz serving. Then beef at about 8mg per 3oz serving. Ooooh, oysters..."

and

"Yeah, they're [meaning you guys are] missing the boat. I think I'll add a 50mg zinc once a week, if I still have it around here."

Now, that being said, I focused for many years on avoiding getting too much copper, and getting plenty of zinc, and that didn't do me any favors, either.

I hope that "you guys" statement is not aimed at me. I eat plenty oysters every week. Ive checked my zinc status and it is very good. Adding in artificial supplements for zinc is 'missing the boat' imo. My gloves are on and Im ready to go, anytime. :lol:
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
Dont mess with the nwo, yo. :lol:

I will admit, I do still eat oysters every 10 days when they go on sale. But man, what a chore that is. I eat a pretty big serving of them to. So hopefully that covers me.
 

nwo2012

Member
Joined
Aug 28, 2012
Messages
1,107
Charlie said:
Dont mess with the nwo, yo. :lol:

I will admit, I do still eat oysters every 10 days when they go on sale. But man, what a chore that is. I eat a pretty big serving of them to. So hopefully that covers me.

Yo! :lol:

It will, I'm sure. Why not have a blood test for zinc to be sure? Ours are all in a very good range and eating oysters once a week was the only change I made. (mine was previously a little low)

Take them out of the shells and place in a glass of lemon juice or OJ for a few hours (in the fridge). Makes them taste much better. this is what Mrs nwo does, I love the taste of the sea. :D
 

charlie

Admin
The Law & Order Admin
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
14,359
Location
USA
Yeh I guess I could take a blood test. Will talk to my doc and see if he will.

Thanks for the lemon juice or OJ tip. Gonna give it a shot!
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom