Let’s start with the sea cucumbers.
Sea cucumbers are the seemingly uncharismatic cousins of the sea star within the phylum Echinodermata — radially symmetrical, hydraulically powered ancient invertebrates. They are vegetable-like and generally remain still when not otherwise moving sluggishly. They are also constantly pooping. What’s not to love about these creatures, correct? sustain.round.glass
There’s just over 1700 species of these odd characters, they have a mouth and an anus but no eyes. If you google image sea cucumbers, you see some awesome creatures. They eat the benthic sands which are essentially all the sludge at the bottom of the ocean, strain the incoming microorganisms for lunch, and defecate sand and calcium carbonate. Their poop has a high alkaline pH which helps to lower the increasing acidity of the ocean due to climate change. They’re highly valued in Asian countries, especially in China, and currently may be sold for as much as $3,000/kilo as they are considered to be great delicacies.
Sea cucumber has a very neutral taste and is quite bland but will take on the flavors of the other ingredients it is cooked along with. It has a gelatinous texture that coats your mouth with its slippery exterior when you eat it raw.
Oh ugh. If any of you have eaten sea cucumbers, please leave a review!
They possess vital vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. High in protein, they may be a great alternative to meat…if you’re brave enough to try them. They reduce cholesterol levels, maybe lower blood pressure, may reduce risk of cancer. Their biologically active compounds read like a regular alphabet soup of enzymes, proteins, collagen, polysaccharides, sulfated fucans, and many more. Studies have determined that their biological gifts can turn multiple myeloma into a chronic ‘you can live your life with this’ sort of cancer.
So enough of that. Onto the inner struggle involved with ‘Do I advise friends and family or don’t I.’ In most cases, I am willing to listen and happy to dig for the latest information on that which ails my cousins and my contemporaries. Sometimes I accompany a friend to an appointment. More about that in a later post, but four ears and mouths ready to hear and ask questions in the exam room, whether or not your companion is in the medical field, can be very beneficial.
So finally, I now introduce a wonderful essay called “Right Brain Questions,” written by a doctor about his experiences when he was a medical student soon to move on to his degree and his future career as a neurologist. Faraway relatives call for advice wondering how helpful, among other things, eating “海参,” a black slug-like creature with a gelatinous coat could be. The author has given me permission to give you the link to his story:
https://n.neurology.org/content/neurology/early/2021/10/20/WNL.0000000000013004.full.pdf
Love the essay
I had them in China several years ago. I'll eat anything once. I wasn't impressed. They really didn't have much flavor and were soft in texture.