Can You Get Parasites from Eating Raw Trout?

How fresh is too fresh? Wrong question.

Let’s talk about raw fish. Obviously, yes, you want fresh fish, but the question you should be asking is about quality; it can’t be TOO FRESH if the quality is right. Meaning a clean, well-raised, properly handled fish can be eaten as fresh as you want. Obviously, not many of you have the opportunity to eat it straight out of the pond like this, but our fish is one that we feel confident serving to our family undercooked or even raw. Check out Ty eating one of our raw trout Gollum-style.

Not only that, but chefs have confidence in using our trout for sashimi or lightly cured dishes. Additionally, raw and even fermented fish is considered a delicacy and a nourishing powerhouse of food around the globe. So why are we so scared of raw fish?

It seems like a lot of nourishing foods are made to be scary nowadays. (Raw fish, raw eggs, raw beef, raw milk, and cheeses)…And it causes us to not even question the quality, but to throw the food out all together. THIS is because mass, poorly produced food is what is cheap, and makes big bucks in America - at the expense of our health. Meanwhile, these foods, when produced right, are some of the most nourishing foods historically and still around the world.

To honestly answer the question about parasites - the short and sweet answer is yes, you can get parasites from eating raw trout. You can also get parasites from walking barefoot, insect bites, shaking hands with someone, inhaling dust, and the list goes on...

The other half of that question is answered with the new understanding that we all have a balance of parasites in our systems. Parasites that serve us and are a part of every system in our bodies, just like good bacteria. And the key is balance and total health. You can’t eliminate parasites, just like you can’t eliminate all bacteria. It matters what you eat, and if what you eat is clean and nourishing. If what you eat was nourished and balanced itself. You ARE what you eat - meaning your body can and should be able to handle a real quality food, and how that food is raised, fed, and treated matters.

These days, folks are scared to drink raw milk, scared to eat raw eggs, and scared to consume delicacies like steak tartar and sashimi’d trout…but often, they see no problem with a bag of Doritos and a Diet Coke for lunch.

It doesn’t matter what you eat for the sake of the food pyramid, or calorie counting, or fortified iron in cereal. It matters if what you eat is real food and if it’s nourishing to your body, if it’s feeding your soul, if it’s clean and healthy and well raised to begin with. Isn’t it about time we question the mainstream thought about what we eat here in America anyway?

The more aligned to nature, and the shorter the journey between farm to table our food has, the better off we will be and feel.