# I want to eat raw meat. Help me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487 "2004-10-10T17:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/21 "2004-10-11T00:03:34Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > I’m a lover of the Atkins Diet. No flames please, hear me out. I’m reading a fascinating article in “Discover” magazine. Basically, I am wasting tons of nutrients across the board by eating my meat cooked. Were I to continue to apply low carb and high protein ratios, I would need a multivitamin. > > So. I think of the three biggies in the US. Pork, Beef, Chicken. Are there ways to prepare these meats so that they are raw, but safe? If I could manage a home irradiator, I would try it out. The gag issue is significant but I honestly believe it is psychological. I’m a homo sapien. Eating raw meat is in my DNA, I feel it wouldn’t be much of a step to get there. > > Can I slice beef thinly and soak it in …what?..to kill e.coli ? Pork? Chicken?? Fish, I love sushi and so if I trust the fish, I could eat raw fish. I haven’t researched the degradation of vitamin amounts due to storage and shipment, but I am serious about looking into this. > > Any thoughts on how I can safely make the most of the overall nutrients in raw meats? > > Cartooniverse Could I get a cite saying theres some neccesary micronutrient which is present in both raw meat and high carb foods but not in cooked meats, vegtables or fats? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/22 "2004-10-11T00:16:42Z")
Thanks for requesting a cite, **astro**. I would have done so myself. I notice that the paragraph you quoted from **picunurse** ’s first link refers us on to a Rosicrucian site, which I doubt is a fount of scientific knowledge. As far as I’m concerned, the credibilty of the whole page has gone down the tubes with that one. I know that kosher and halal meats are slaughtered under strict religious standards, but don’t know if the rules cover cleanliness. Are those meats safer to eat raw than what we find in the supermarket? (There are a couple of places in my neighbourhood that sell halal meat. I don’t think I’m close to any of the halal pizza places I’ve seen advertised.) ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/23 "2004-10-11T00:52:49Z")
Someone up there referred to the Inuit people. Yes, I was reading the Discover magaine article about them, and the diet of raw meat and raw fish. The near-total absence of other food sources, and yet the low rate of heart disease. Fascinating science. At any rate, the article did cover ( AFTER I posted the OP… ) why the Atkins Diet and other high-meat diets that make use of commercially prepared, hot cooked meats won’t yield the same kind of benefit, vitamin-wise. **picunurse** , fear not. You’re still my hero- even if you’re a lazy on a Sunday afternoon hero. 😃 **Shalmanese** , the SDMB Rules of the Road specifically prohibit the complete cutting and pasting of copyrighted materials. Best I can do is say, find this month’s Discover. It’s got a human head/brain on the cover. Find the article. It’s sound science, but I am not allowed to copy it into the SDMB. I cannot wash a steak in anti-bacterial soap. That’s horrifying, and besides- the soap would only cleanse the outer layer of meat. -gag city- It appears that I would have to radically alter my diet and import immense quantities of seal, whale and other Inuit staples. Interesting idea. When I win the Powerball, I will probably go for it. Till then, I will do like the nice dead Dr. Atkins said. Watch the vitamins and don’t eat donuts. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voodoochile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/898d66/32.png) [@Voodoochile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voodoochile)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/24 "2004-10-11T01:15:47Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Uncooked foods contain more solar magnetism than cooked foods. The more directly food comes to us from the soil, the more solar magnetism it contains. Consequently, it ‘‘stays with us’’ the longest when eaten uncooked. When food has gone through the process of cooking, a part of the ether it contained is lost, as a number of the finer particles are dissolved by heat and ascend in the kitchen as odor from whatever food it comes WTF?? Solar magnetism? Ether? I know what it is. I must never have been sick from eating raw beef cause of my protective health crystal pyramid and my lucky druid ring charm. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/25 "2004-10-11T02:34:32Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > …[this site](http://www.newtreatments.org/doc/WisdomExperience/188) addresses it a bit, but I’m not familar with the organization. It looks like sound science, but, who knows. Who knows, indeed. :rolleyes: **Picunurse** , I would characterize your link as anything but sound science. Virtually everything in the link is complete gibberish. For example: > [@](#): > > …The more directly food comes to us from the soil, the more solar magnetism it contains. Consequently, it ‘‘stays with us’’ the longest when eaten uncooked. When food has gone through the process of cooking, a part of the ether it contained is lost… ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/26 "2004-10-11T02:41:17Z")
I used to grab bites of my mothers ground beef (bought from the store) before she cooked it often. I liked it. Never got sick. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/27 "2004-10-11T03:44:09Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Per your first site cited, in the second paragraph - :dubious: > > I didn’t see anything in either link about modern humans lacking the digestive enzymes necessary to break down raw meat. Yikes! I’m sorry! That is NOT the site I intended at all! I did look there, and said the same things you guys did. Damn! Now my credibility is shot. I guess, unlike my computer, I’m not internet ready. I have a pathophysiology textbook that discusses it , but its in the basement, packed, besides its almost 30 years old. Sorry again. I’ll shut up now. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/28 "2004-10-12T01:16:37Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > **Shalmanese** , the SDMB Rules of the Road specifically prohibit the complete cutting and pasting of copyrighted materials. Best I can do is say, find this month’s Discover. It’s got a human head/brain on the cover. Find the article. It’s sound science, but I am not allowed to copy it into the SDMB. > > I cannot wash a steak in anti-bacterial soap. That’s horrifying, and besides- the soap would only cleanse the outer layer of meat. -gag city- I understand the article is copyrighted but could you give me a lead as to the specific chemical that appears only in starches and raw meat by nowhere else? Also, The main vector for contamination for pork and beef are through fecal bacteria smeared on the surface. There is no known bacteria that can survive inside the muscle tissue of beef and the only parasite inside pork, trichonisis, is so rare now that it shouldn’t be a worry. So, as long as the surface of pork/beef are clean, then it should be perfectly okay. Chicken, I think is still a worry with salmonella so I would steer clear of that just to be safe. It’s not like there are spores just hanging around your kitchen waiting for the next oppurtunity to latch onto meat, once you’ve sterlised a piece of meat, it will stay clean as long as you practise basic safety procedures. If the thought of using ati-bacterial soap seems gross to you, an alternative would be to sear the meat very quickly so the inside is still raw. It achieves the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![moggyAU](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@moggyAU](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moggyAU)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/29 "2004-10-12T01:23:34Z")
I eat raw beef, well not exactly raw, its carpaccio and Italian dish where you have fairly thinly sliced pieces of raw beef or lamb, but you marinate it in lemon Juice and sometimes balsamic vinager. The acid in which slightly cooks the meat. But it is my favourite meal and I prepare it with Meat from teh supermarket at least once a month. Theres risks sure, but when it tastes so good, ill eat it till itmake me feel sick. As a bit of a hijack, why exactly did humans start cooking their meat? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/30 "2004-10-12T01:50:21Z")
It had something to do with George Foreman. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/31 "2004-10-12T03:29:42Z")
> [@moggyAU](#): > > I eat raw beef, well not exactly raw, its carpaccio and Italian dish where you have fairly thinly sliced pieces of raw beef or lamb, but you marinate it in lemon Juice and sometimes balsamic vinager. The acid in which slightly cooks the meat. But it is my favourite meal and I prepare it with Meat from teh supermarket at least once a month. > > Theres risks sure, but when it tastes so good, ill eat it till itmake me feel sick. > > As a bit of a hijack, why exactly did humans start cooking their meat? Cause it tasted better! Mmmm, fried fat. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/32 "2004-10-12T03:42:39Z")
One of the Armenian dishes is called, if I recall correctly, _khema_. A raw meat dish. Know any Armenians? Armenian butcher around? Yet another ethnic group into Land Sushi. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/33 "2004-10-12T03:48:05Z")
You guys are nuttier than those crossword guys. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487/34 "2004-10-15T13:25:08Z")
**Shalmanese** , this is why I love the Straight Dope. I’d no clue that the bacterial concerns lived on the surface and did NOT permeate the meat. I am sorely tempted to sear my next steak in an iron skillet. WICKED hot metal, very fast, totally kill anything on both surfaces. God knows I adore a tuna steak prepared that way. Hmmmm. You may have seriously altered the way I eat my food. Thanks !!! I owe you a steak !! 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-eat-raw-meat-help-me/268487.md?page=1)