Expert Advice: Six Groups of People Should Avoid Eating Crabs
Xinhua News Agency, Hangzhou, November 3 (Reporter Zhang Le) In the golden autumn season, it's the best time for chrysanthemums to bloom and crabs to be plump. Experts from the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention remind us: although crabs are delicious, they are not suitable for everyone.
Experts from the Nutrition and Food Safety Institute of the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention introduced that although crabs are nutritious, the following six groups of people should eat them sparingly or avoid them altogether.
First, patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as abnormal blood lipids, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease. Crabs, especially their crab roe, are high in cholesterol. Eating too much can lead to elevated blood cholesterol. Even for healthy people, it is not advisable to consume a large amount of crab roe at once. For those with already high blood lipids or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, eating Chinese mitten crabs can adversely affect these conditions.
Second, patients with digestive system diseases such as gallstones, pancreatitis, and active hepatitis. Crabs are rich in protein, and consuming a large amount can promote the secretion of pancreatic juice, triggering pancreatitis, especially acute episodes in those with gallstones. At the same time, crab roe is also rich in cholesterol and promotes bile secretion, which can increase the burden on the liver of hepatitis patients.
Third, patients with gout. Crabs are high-purine foods, and the final product of purine metabolism in the human body, uric acid, can worsen the condition of gout patients. People with abnormal purine metabolism or gout must stay away from crabs, and certainly not try the "gout set meal" of "crabs + beer."
Fourth, individuals with allergies. Histidine in crabs, after decarboxylation by bacteria, becomes histamine, which is an allergen that can easily trigger allergic reactions. People with a history of food allergies, protein allergies, or asthma cannot eat Chinese mitten crabs.
Fifth, those suffering from colds and fevers. The Qing Dynasty dietary monograph "Sui Xi Ju Yin Shi Pu" records that eating too many crabs can induce "wind," cause "accumulated cold," and is contraindicated for those with "unresolved seasonal colds," "phlegmatic cough," or "diarrhea." The diet of those with colds, fevers, or diarrhea should be light. High-protein crabs are not easily digested and absorbed, and eating them can make a cold difficult to heal or worsen the condition.
Sixth, infants and young children. Crab roe and crab paste contain large amounts of sex hormones, and consuming too much may lead to precocious puberty in infants and young children.