Shellfish is a collective term that refers to water animals or organisms with hard shells. They are extremely nutritious and should be a part of your diet.
While shellfish shouldn’t replace healthy meats, they offer benefits that can help improve your overall wellbeing. There are several types and species of shellfish and the following are the best for you to consume on the regular:
- Oysters: When it comes to nutrients, oysters contain the most amounts in the shellfish world. Although expensive, oysters have been proven to improve sex drive by being the greatest sources of zinc, which is what the body needs to produce testosterone. Aside from this, oysters have folate, vitamins A, E, and B12, selenium, copper, and omega-3s.
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Clams: Among the most versatile shellfish around, clams have a wonderful taste that can add more flavor to your dishes. Clams may not be as nutritious as oysters, but they also provide a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin B12, protein, carbohydrates, omega 3s, and magnesium. They are also good for people with anemia since they have high amounts of iron.
- Mussels: Not everyone is fond of mussels. However, there are plenty of reasons to love this shellfish. Often cooked in white wine with garlic and butter, 20 medium sized mussels can provide 1/3 of folate RDA, which makes them an ideal food for those who want to conceive as well as those who are expecting. The same number of mussels can give you 12.6 mg iron, four times the RDA for manganese, 143 mcg selenium, 38 grams of protein, and 5.1 mg of zinc.
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Scallops: If you’re looking for something sweet and succulent, scallops can give you what you are craving for. Eating six ounces of bite-size scallops can give you decent amounts of magnesium, zinc, selenium, B12, and protein.
Shellfish: delicious and nutritious. Now don’t be selfish about it, share the information / PicHelp
- Lobster: Lobster, along with crayfish and crab, don’t normally cross our minds when we think of shellfish. Unlike the other mentioned shellfish, lobster are not mollusks, but are arthropods instead. But they are as nutritious as the others with magnesium, zinc, and selenium to offer.
Research suggests that eating shellfish at least once a week can reduce the chance of suffering from a heart attack by 50%. Remember though that they are high in cholesterol and saturated fats, but these shellfish have high amounts of omega-3s that can actually keep the heart, artery walls, and blood flow healthy.