Why do you not eat oysters in months without an r?

Did you know that every month — sans May, June, July and August — has the letter "R" in its name?

Don't look it up. Take our word for it. Did you also know there's an old wives' tale that you shouldn't eat raw oysters in months without the letter "R" in it?

What months should you not eat oysters

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Once again, don't look it up. We wouldn't lie to you.

The logic behind this is that if you eat oysters during these months, you could get sick. Crazy talk, right? Perhaps so.

Can you eat oysters in august

Perhaps not. If you think about it, the months without an "R" fall during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and the truth is that if you eat raw oysters in the summer you do run the risk of getting violently sick.

That's because (and this does not come from an old wife) when the weather is warm, bacteria known as vibrio vulnificus and vibrio parahaemolyticus thrive.

And these pathogens multiply like nobody's business in warm water (as do oysters), especially in the Gulf of Mexico where a lot of oysters are harvested. So, eating raw oysters during

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