Who should not eat crab in large quantities
The meat of crab is rich in protein, niacin, and vitamin B12, and also contains other nutrients such as vitamins A and C, fat, carbohydrates, iron, and phosphorus. Especially vitamin B12, just 100 grams of crab meat contains more than the daily recommended intake. Therefore, people who often feel depressed, lethargic, or have numbness and pain in their peripheral nerves can consume it in moderation.
Although crab meat is nutritious, it has a high cholesterol content, and if you add the crab roe and crab paste, it becomes even more significant. Therefore, people with such concerns (such as those with gallstones, systemic lupus erythematosus, allergic constitutions, or gastrointestinal discomfort) should be moderate in their consumption to avoid affecting their health. Additionally, there is the issue of calories; crab meat is very high in calories, so if you want to control your weight, you need to pay attention to the portion size!
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, crab is salty and cold in nature. Therefore, people who often have cold hands and feet (especially women), or those with a cold or weak constitution should not eat too much. Alternatively, you can add more hot spices like ginger, green onions, and garlic during cooking to neutralize the cool nature of crab with the warmer properties of these ingredients. Or, drink a cup of brown sugar ginger tea after eating crab to warm the stomach, remove the fishy smell, and expel cold. Furthermore, folklore suggests that it is not advisable to eat cold-natured fruits like persimmons before or after eating crab, which is essentially to avoid consuming too many cold foods that could lead to a cold body constitution and cause discomfort.
In addition to the concerns mentioned above, there are other things to be aware of when eating crab.
1. Do not eat raw crab: Generally, the crabs we commonly eat are marine crabs. Their shells, gills, and intestines are full of various bacteria. If these bacteria or parasites are eaten, it can lead to illness at best, or poisoning and damage to internal organs at worst. Therefore, before consumption, crabs should be thoroughly washed and cooked thoroughly by steaming or boiling to ensure safety.
2. Don't eat dead crabs: After being captured, crabs often struggle, causing lactic acid to build up in their bodies. This leads to rapid bacterial growth and spread into the crab meat after death. Bacteria break down the amino acids in the crab, producing a harmful substance called "histamine," which causes allergic food poisoning. Another substance that may be produced is "histamine-like," which can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Therefore, be careful when selecting them.