Don Schaeffer Loc: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vpYty3XepY
The question suddenly struck me this morning: On grains of Cheerios (or other cereals) can you still see the cell structure of the original plant. I journeyed to the surface of a cereal particle to see. The answer may surprise you.

JBuckley

The microscopes that (man) has developed, allow us to inspect our foods, (planet), possibly, much closer than we should.

However, you caused me to think about our "modern processing of natural foods."
I asked myself, [Is there any processing, such as baking, frying, searing, or boiling) that actually, enhances any of the natural properties and cellular, strengths of a food that is produced in nature?] I've chewed on raw wheat cornels. (Not bad) Early man chewed on uncooked grains.

Other than, killing off harmful bacteria and enabling our modern taste buds to enjoy a (natural food), I don't think there can be any.

Perhaps, our present-day, inefficiency, to fight off natural germs and bacteria, would have a better ability to heal the body, naturally, if modern man just learned to eat (and digest), the natural plants as they come from the ground.

I will say that I love the flavors that I get from eating uncooked, potatoes, tomato, fresh peas and beans, etc.

In the beginning, God gave man privilege of eating of any fruit, vegetable, or (cattle), but I don't think I would (ever) be able to eat a chicken or beef, without first putting it on the fire. (I'm not too found of raw eggs, either).

Thanks for your comments and the video.

fhayes Loc: Madison, Tennessee

I appreciate the tongue in cheek humor !

For those about to embark on this journey, learn of what foods should be at least heated first before consuming. There was a naturalist that tried to eat just about everything growing. He was allergic to poison oak and by eating the new, young leaves a little at a time, he developed an immunity to the plants oils.

Some mushrooms need to be cooked to break down the proteins to aid in digest ability. Without cooking, stomach cramps would be intolerable and possibly resulting in death.
Raw chestnuts are pretty nasty tasting! Raw potatoes are better tasting cooked till soft.
Some foods such as avocado and banana need to be peeled first!

It’s all good as long as it doesn’t bite you back!!!

Don Schaeffer Loc: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

Thanks for your comments. I am interested in exploring other worlds--here on earth.

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

The problem in this hunt for cellular remnants left in Cheerios is two-fold. First, the endosperm, that part of a grain seed from which grain flours come, is not cellular in nature. The wheat germ or embryo, a small piece of living tissue at one end of the wheat seed is the only part with cells.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24349943_Water_movement_into_dormant_and_non-dormant_wheat_Triticum_aestivum_L_grains

Secondly, there is the way oat grain is processed to make Cheerios. The oat grains are brought to a mill, dehulled, and ground into oat flour. It is then cooked, blown into the loops we know and dried in the process, and then boxed and shipped to stores.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLI3yqNe-4c

So, any structure seen with a microscope of a Cheerio is from the puffing and drying of the wet cooked meal and not cell structure. --Richard (PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics)

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

With regard to eating poisonous leaves, it is good to hear the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology and follow their research rather than one incidental report.

"No one is born with sensitivity to Poison ivy, but if exposed enough most people become sensitized at some time and remain allergic. A sensitivity can change at any time. There's no way to desensitize people allergic to Rhus plants. Dogs and other animals are not affected by poison ivy, but people can get the rash by petting a dog that's been exposed."
And...
"Poison ivy dermatitis rashes are self-limited; sooner or later they clear up without treatment. Letting nature take its course with mild poison ivy dermatitis is reasonable, but severe rashes need treatment to ease the misery and disability they cause. The very first time this rash is gotten, it lasts longer than a repeat attack, often 3 or 4 weeks."

[Source: https://www.aocd.org/page/PoisonIvyDermatiti ]

There are many poisonous foods out there when raw and unprocessed. Let's be wise about this. For example, casava needs special processes even though it is widely used in many tribes and their villages in South America. Check out: "Processing Techniques to Reduce Toxicity and Antinutrients of Cassava for Use as a Staple Food."
[Source: https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2008.00064.x ]

--Richard

Don Schaeffer Loc: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

Thanks very much. I didn't know the details but I did imagine what you said. I still wanted to see, not as a matter of science but as a matter of art. It did turn out some vestiges of cell structure were still mixed in.

profbowman Loc: Harrisonburg, VA, USA

Yes, Don, I do not know what percentage of an oat seed is oat germ. But there could be some cell parts left in oat flour. How many of those cellular pieces could have survived the cooking and puffing process is another question.

Your microscopy work shows us some beautiful aspects of a world most of us have never seen. Thanks. --Richard

Don Schaeffer Loc: Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

Thanks. That's my goal. I am trained in science (physics and social psychology) but I'm just a naive artist looking for a different way to see the world.