Health benefits of consuming shellfish

Are you a pescatarian and especially obsessed with shellfish? Well, then we have good news. Your obsession with

shellfish

can also benefit your health. Shellfish, especially mollusks, which include clams, scallops, oysters, and mussels are nutrient-dense and have several health benefits.
Seafood is a good source of healthy animal protein. However, as there is a growing concern about the mercury in tuna, bycatch on the shrimp boats, and pesticides in the Salmon ponds, finding something that is healthy for you and also does not take a toll on the environment can be challenging. That’s where seafood comes in.
Shellfish are aquatic animals characterized by their hard outer shell or shell-like exterior. They are classified into two main groups: crustaceans and mollusks. Crustaceans include shrimp, crayfish, crabs, and lobsters, while mollusks include clams, scallops, oysters, and mussels.
Shellfish, particularly bivalves like oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops, are good for you, and also the environment. In recent times, we have seen a boom in the sustainable farming of these mollusks.

Are shellfish good for your health?

Shellfish such as clams, and oysters are nutrient-rich and are a great source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, zinc, and iron. According to Christopher Golden, an expert on planetary health and aquatic foods at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, mussels top the list for nutrients. They are low in fat and free of environmental contaminants like mercury due to being lower on the food chain.
According to USDA Food Composition Databases, 85-gram servings of clams have 73 calories, 12 grams of protein, and 0.82 grams of fat. Sama quantity of scallops has 59 calories, 10 grams of protein, and 0.42 grams of fat. In Mussels, the calorie count is 73, protein 10 grams, and fat 1.9 grams. 85 grams of oysters contain 69 calories, 8 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fat.

Though there are many health benefits, one of the health concerns is contamination. Though no seafood is risk-free, raw oysters can harbour harmful bacteria. In rare cases, there are incidents of contamination in these bivalves, due to algal blooms or sewage releases, says Konstantine Rountos, a marine ecologist at St. Joseph’s University in New York, to The New York Times. There are also chances of these shellfish ingesting microplastics, however, it’s unclear if this poses a hazard to humans.
3% of adults and 1% of children have

shellfish allergies

, especially because of proteins like tropomyosin that trigger allergic reactions.

Are shellfish good for the environment?

In the past two decades, aquaculture of bivalves has doubled making them a more

sustainable seafood

option compared to other methods like fishing. About 90 percent of the bivalves are now farmed. Dr. Golden confirms that shellfish are the most sustainably produced type of seafood today. Also, they do not require fertilizers or pesticides and improve water quality as filter feeders.

Shellfish farming can help mitigate climate change by extracting carbon from the water, and shellfish farmers are environmentalists, as they cannot farm in dirty water!

How to enjoy shellfish?