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Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

41–50 of 55 posts

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#41
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Raw eggs contain the anti-nutrient avidin, a protein that binds to biotin, making it unavailable as vitamin. If you eat large quantities of raw egg you could theoretically become biotin deficient. Cooking destroys the avidin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avidin Additionally, the protein in raw eggs is poorly absorbed, which could be because of other unidentified anti-nutrients. Again, cooking solves the problem: htt…

Good thing no one eats raw eggs then

If you've ever had proper mayonnaise, you've eaten raw egg.

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#42
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't eat eggs, they have cholesterol ! It is somewhat depressing how much of the stuff we have done "for health reasons" ends up being less healthy than the original.

Cholesterol is good but the antinutrients in egg whites are not ideal. Egg yolks are extremely good for you though.

Eggs contain everything you need to make a chicken with the exception of air. They can't be that bad. ;-)

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#43
post #29

Additional interesting thoughts on sulfer and health in this Weston Price Foundation article: http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/...

Weston A Price foundation is not a reliable or useful source of health information. It is more of a religion, or cult, based on a bunch of anecdotes from Price's travels and dental practice. They never let science get in the way of a good story from their founder.

As with other religions, they get some things right, but I think I'll take my nutritional guidance from the best science I can find on the topic, rather than a 19th century dentist.

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#44

Aren't brassicas (cauliflower, bok choy, kale, etc) contain sulfur? Are they not a good source of sulfur? I'm confused as to why this article proclaims proteins to be the only dietary source of sulfur.

Yep they are. Onions and garlic family vegetables too. Eggs/fish/meat simply have much higher concentrations.

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#45
post #29

Additional interesting thoughts on sulfer and health in this Weston Price Foundation article: http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/abcs-of-nutrition/...

Weston A Price foundation is not a reliable or useful source of health information. It is more of a religion, or cult, based on a bunch of anecdotes from Price's travels and dental practice. They never let science get in the way of a good story from their founder. As with other religions, they get some things right, but I think I'll take my nutritional guidance from the best science I can find on the topic, rather th…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#46
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience is that older people fear eggs because of the bad campaign against them in the 80s (70s?).

Can't eat eggs, they have cholesterol ! It is somewhat depressing how much of the stuff we have done "for health reasons" ends up being less healthy than the original.

Oh yes. After Linus Pauling advocated high vitamin C doses, lots of people started taking synthetic vitamin C, which turns out to be carcinogenic. A product called Geritol was marketed to the elderly for many years on the premise that they were iron deficient. Geritol was behind lots of cases of iron poisoning.

We laugh at the quaintness of the snake oil salesman or yore -- but he never left, not really. ==== Edit ==== Not calling Pauling a snake oil salesman :-)

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#47
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People certainly do eat raw eggs. In the UK, the vast majority of eggs are from vaccinated chickens ("Lion Mark") and are considered safe to eat raw. Raw egg yolks taste much better than cooked egg yolks IMO. And there is an old idea of eating raw eggs as a protein supplement for athletes, eg. Sylvester Stallone does it in Rocky. This is now discredited but eggs are cheap and easily available so people probably still…

They're hard to find because most grocery stores don't stock them, but you can actually buy pasteurized eggs at some places in the states too. They pasteurize by putting the eggs in hot water for a few minutes, so it's a simple process that you could actually do at home (but getting it right is tricky). I have a prairie oyster for breakfast sometimes: one unbeaten raw egg, a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, a litt…

In Western Canada, prairie oysters are cooked bull testicles, so another acquired taste (one I never acquired)

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't eat eggs, they have cholesterol ! It is somewhat depressing how much of the stuff we have done "for health reasons" ends up being less healthy than the original.

Oh yes. After Linus Pauling advocated high vitamin C doses, lots of people started taking synthetic vitamin C, which turns out to be carcinogenic. A product called Geritol was marketed to the elderly for many years on the premise that they were iron deficient. Geritol was behind lots of cases of iron poisoning. We laugh at the quaintness of the snake oil salesman or yore -- but he never left, not really. ==== Edit ==…

Synthetic vitamin C is exactly the same as real vitamin C. [1]

When I Googled "synthetic vitamin C carcinogenic" I found a bunch of quackery and the Scientific American article. Mostly the sites were screaming "IT'S A CHEMICAL!! CHEMICALS ARE BAD!!!!" as if water and foods aren't also made up of chemicals... :|

[1] http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/natural-vs-sy...

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#49
post #7
post #6

I thought sulfur was put in prison food to quell the libido. Maybe a wise tale.

I thought it was potassium chloride (salt Peter)

This is specifically about the military, but searching for "saltpeter prisons" gets similar results:

http://www.snopes.com/military/saltpeter.asp

Re: Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet? (2007)

#50
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought it was potassium chloride (salt Peter)

Saltpeter is potassium nitrate. It's a diuretic, not sure why it would have any particular effect on libido.

http://www.snopes.com/military/saltpeter.asp
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