We always advocate for safe fishing and the type of fishing that doesn’t hurt the environment. And we also want to make sure that there is enough seafood in the world so that it doesn’t run out because humans are fishing too much. You can find all of that information on our website.
But, we are often asked – Is crab good for you?
It is a valid question because everyone in our circle is a seafood enthusiast.
And here’s the short answer: Yes.
Even if you eat crab legs every day, you should still experience some benefits but we advise that you don’t overeat it. Just like every other seafood, there is a point where you can eat too much of it. And when it comes to seafood, there is no point of diminishing returns, instead, there is a point where it starts hurting you more than it benefits you.
But that’s a topic for another article.
In this article, lets dive deeper into the top 5 benefits you can experience eating crab legs.
You didn’t know this, did you?
Crab meat is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids and it also contains a good amount of vitamins and minerals. The kind of minerals that will help you with brain development and also protects you from several heart diseases.
The best part is that the Omega-3 that you get from crab meat is the long chain variety which your body can immediately consume and use.
Every other source of Omega-3 fatty acids out there (vegetables and oil) are the short-chain variety. When you consume it, your body first needs to convert it into long-chain before it can use it which is all good. But the problem is, our bodies aren’t very good at converting short-chain Omega-3 fatty acids to long-chain fatty acids.
So it is possible that it loses a lot of it during the conversion process.
Yeah yeah we know whey protein is the best way to quickly get 25-50g of protein in. But if you want to get the most bioavailable protein source out there, crab meat is it. No question.
And if you compare it with other sources of protein like chicken, beef, goat meat, etc. crab meat has as much protein per 100g as any other meat out there, with nowhere near the levels of saturated fat as those other sources of meats.
Consuming crab meat will result in you having a lesser risk of heart diseases and combine that with the Omega-3 fatty acids you get, you will live till 100 if you stick with a crab meat diet.
And the cherry on top is how easy it is to digest crab meat mainly because of the lack of connective tissue. So this is probably the best source of meat for even your grandma who might have issues digesting beef. But crab meat will be best for her.
Most people focus too much on making sure that they are consuming enough iron and copper gets a backseat in that conversation. But copper is heavily involved in the absorption, storage and metabolism of iron. And not just that, copper also plays a crucial role in forming red blood cells, maintaining blood vessels, nerves and also keeping the immune system healthy.
So if you think about it, copper is the mastermind that works behind the scenes while iron takes all the credit.
And wouldn’t you know, crab meat contains almost 30 times the copper found in other sources of meat like beef, chicken and salmon.
Phosphorus is usually available in huge quantities in the body. It is also the second most abundant mineral. Calcium is the first.
Phosphorus plays an important role in maintaining and strengthening of bones, teeth, etc. It is essential to have enough phosphorus in the body to make sure that your skeletal health is in top condition.
Not just that phosphorus is also heavily involved in metabolic actions such as converting your food to energy, kidney functions and cell growth. Needless to say, having enough phosphorus is crucial for your well being.
And consuming just 100g of crab meat will give you 62% of the daily recommended value of phosphorus for both adult men and women.
Selenium plays an important role in our body’s defense system. It makes sure that it can either prevent or quickly repair the damage to cells and tissues. This alone makes it something that we all should be looking out for.
On top of that, it also plays an important role in our immune system and the thyroid hormone production and metabolism. A lot of people that suffer from thyroid problems are known to have lower levels of Selenium.
And while all shellfish are a good source of Selenium, crab meat is just on a completely different level.
With just 100g of crab meat, you can get 112% of the daily recommended value for men and 140% of the daily recommended value for women.
So if someone says that beef is a good source of Selenium, send them a link to this article so they can discover that crab meat is the king of Selenium.
Vitamins are water soluble and so they are not stored in our body. This makes it important that we consume enough vitamins on a daily basis to avoid becoming deficient in any one of them.
Vitamin B2 plays a crucial role in the production of steroids and red blood cells. It also ensures that your body is growing at a normal rate while also maintaining the skin, eyes and your nervous system. And we all need our nervous system to be performing well so we can do what we do.
Riboflavin also plays a role in the absorption of iron and the activity of antioxidants.
But here’s the interesting part, the more active you are, the more riboflavin your body needs. So all the athletes and bodybuilders that are reading this, make sure you are taking enough riboflavin and are not sticking with the general daily recommended allowance guidelines.
Summing Up
We are working on an article where we talk about what happens if you eat too much seafood. Because we know this article recommends eating crab meat because of all the benefits we just mentioned. But it is always a good idea to mix in the types of foods you are consuming to make sure your body gets all the nutrients it needs.
Not just that, eating too much seafood can also cause some serious issues. But that only happens if you go WAY overboard with it. For the most part, we think you are alright if you eat crab meat once every day.
So, be on the look out for that article. And I hope you eat crab meat today instead of beef ?