Compounds released from the putrefaction of flesh can cause a common form of seafood poisoning.
New Corpse Smell
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Then there are all sorts of really rare fish toxins that can cause our muscles to break down. Guy ate some salmon, went to bed, and when he woke up, he could hardly stand or hold a cup of coffee. Not being able to walk is one thing, but no coffee? The key point? There are lots of toxins in fish, and they’re not affected by cooking.
Nobody in their right mind would eat poisonous puffer fish, but what if it’s mislabeled as monkfish—causing these two recent cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning in Chicago.
Then there’s scombroid poisoning. Woman eats some mackerel at a restaurant, and just collapses. When fish starts spoiling, toxins can be released—even when the fish still tastes and smells fine—and can cause what may actually be the most common cause of food poisoning from fish.
See, when flesh decomposes, it releases chemicals that can have a toxic effect—like putrescine, and cadaverine, which is the “new corpse smell” that they use to train cadaver-sniffing dogs.
But it’s not just fish. When all carcasses rot, you get these decaying flesh compounds, including spermine, actually, which is what gives semen its characteristic odor. But it really depends just what kind of bacteria are involved in the putrefaction process.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
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- R. L. Langley and W. H. Bobbitt III. Haff disease after eating salmon. Southern medical journal, 100(11):1147, 2007.
- N. J. Cohen, J. R. Deeds, E. S. Wong, R. H. Hanner, H. F. Yancy, K. D. White, T. M.Thompson, M. Wahl, T. D. Pham, F. M. Guichard, I. Huh, C. Austin, G. Dizikes, and S. I. Gerber. Public health response to puffer fish (Tetrodotoxin) poisoning from mislabeled product. J. Food Prot., 72(4):810-817, 2009.
- P. S. Borade, C. C. Ballary, and D. K. C. Lee. A fishy cause of sudden near fatal hypotension. Resuscitation, 72(1):158-160, 2007.
- I. A. Bulushi, S. Poole, H. C. Deeth, and G. A. Dykes. Biogenic amines in fish: Roles in intoxication, spoilage, and nitrosamine formation-a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 49(4):369-377, 2009.
Image thanks to naotakem via Flickr.
Then there are all sorts of really rare fish toxins that can cause our muscles to break down. Guy ate some salmon, went to bed, and when he woke up, he could hardly stand or hold a cup of coffee. Not being able to walk is one thing, but no coffee? The key point? There are lots of toxins in fish, and they’re not affected by cooking.
Nobody in their right mind would eat poisonous puffer fish, but what if it’s mislabeled as monkfish—causing these two recent cases of tetrodotoxin poisoning in Chicago.
Then there’s scombroid poisoning. Woman eats some mackerel at a restaurant, and just collapses. When fish starts spoiling, toxins can be released—even when the fish still tastes and smells fine—and can cause what may actually be the most common cause of food poisoning from fish.
See, when flesh decomposes, it releases chemicals that can have a toxic effect—like putrescine, and cadaverine, which is the “new corpse smell” that they use to train cadaver-sniffing dogs.
But it’s not just fish. When all carcasses rot, you get these decaying flesh compounds, including spermine, actually, which is what gives semen its characteristic odor. But it really depends just what kind of bacteria are involved in the putrefaction process.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- R. L. Langley and W. H. Bobbitt III. Haff disease after eating salmon. Southern medical journal, 100(11):1147, 2007.
- N. J. Cohen, J. R. Deeds, E. S. Wong, R. H. Hanner, H. F. Yancy, K. D. White, T. M.Thompson, M. Wahl, T. D. Pham, F. M. Guichard, I. Huh, C. Austin, G. Dizikes, and S. I. Gerber. Public health response to puffer fish (Tetrodotoxin) poisoning from mislabeled product. J. Food Prot., 72(4):810-817, 2009.
- P. S. Borade, C. C. Ballary, and D. K. C. Lee. A fishy cause of sudden near fatal hypotension. Resuscitation, 72(1):158-160, 2007.
- I. A. Bulushi, S. Poole, H. C. Deeth, and G. A. Dykes. Biogenic amines in fish: Roles in intoxication, spoilage, and nitrosamine formation-a review. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 49(4):369-377, 2009.
Image thanks to naotakem via Flickr.
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New Corpse Smell
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Content URLDoctor's Note
For more on this topic, check out:
Ciguatera Poisoning & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
And check out my other videos on fish.
For more context, see my associated blog post: Diet and Cellulite.
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