In the summer, a bowl of freshwater crab soup combined with fresh vegetables like water spinach, jute, and amaranth is undoubtedly the perfect choice for a family meal. Freshwater crab is highly nutritious, but you should be cautious not to combine it with certain foods to avoid potential health risks.
Things to Know When Eating Freshwater Crab
Freshwater crab is not only a familiar food for Vietnamese people but also a valuable medicinal ingredient. Freshwater crab soup serves as a refreshing dish in summer, stimulates appetite, and aids in digestion. Traditional medicine uses freshwater crab to treat blood stagnation from bruises. Modern medicine confirms that freshwater crab is rich in calcium phosphate, making it beneficial for children with rickets and individuals with osteoporosis.
Nutritional Value: In 100g of freshwater crab (without shell and claws), there are 74.4g of water, 12.3g of protein, 3.3g of lipids, and 2g of carbohydrates, providing 89 calories. The vitamin and mineral content, especially calcium, is notably high: 100g of crab contains up to 5,040mg of calcium, 430mg of phosphorus, 4.7mg of iron, as well as vitamins B1, B2, and PP.
The protein quality in crab is also excellent, with analysis showing it contains 8 out of 10 essential amino acids, including lysine, methionine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, threonine, and tryptophan (only lacking arginine and histidine).
Besides its nutritional value, freshwater crab has long been used in traditional medicine under the name “diện giải.” According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, freshwater crab has a salty taste, a fishy smell, and a cold nature, helping to disperse blood, nourish tendons and bones, and strengthen joints.
Freshwater crab soup is a refreshing dish in summer that stimulates appetite…
Foods to Avoid with Freshwater Crab
Tea
Experts advise against using tea while preparing or consuming crab. You should also avoid drinking tea for about an hour before and after eating crab.
The reason is that tea can cause some components of the crab to coagulate in the body, which is not beneficial for digestion and nutrient absorption, and may even lead to stomach pain and diarrhea.
Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes and sweet potatoes contain a large amount of phytic acid, while crab is rich in calcium. When consumed together, these two substances combine to form salts, making it impossible for the body to absorb calcium from the crab and leading to a deficiency of both calcium and salts.
Moreover, phytic acid prevents calcium from being distributed to other parts of the body, causing calcium to accumulate in the kidneys, which can lead to kidney inflammation and, more severely, kidney failure.
Celery
Research shows that celery, when combined with crab, produces substances that hinder the body’s protein absorption, leading to nutritional deficiencies, which are unhealthy.
Honey
Freshwater crab is cold in nature, while honey is warming. The combination of these two foods can stimulate the digestive system, causing diarrhea, and in severe cases, food poisoning.
Fruits Rich in Vitamin C
Fruits such as oranges, kiwis, and persimmons are high in vitamin C. However, they also typically contain large amounts of tannic acid.
This substance, when combined with the
