CRAYFISH FATTENING? Absolutely NOT!

So often, a food’s reputation depends on whether it is considered fattening or not. But don’t we usually find that what’s fattening about a food is actually what we add to it at the table and not the food itself?

Some like to dip a crayfish tail in melted butter! Don’t blame the crayfish for that additional saturated fat. Some use dips that contain both fats and sugars. To say nothing of the breads served with slices of ham, cheese with butter and/or mayonnaise. Any carbohydrate will add a fattening factor. To end a crayfish meal with ice cream or cheese cake is tasty. But don’t blame the protein rich crayfish for all those carbohydrates.

How about some fruit at the end of a tasty crayfish meal?

CRAYFISH ARE NUTRITIOUS

Ever since my mother told me, I have believed it. Fish and shellfish are brain food.

As I grew older, I may have taken that truth with a grain of salt or two. But when I started gathering nutritional facts about crayfish for this page, I found to my surprise that nutritionists now are convinced that crayfish, and other shellfish like lobster, crab and shrimp, do indeed have the nutrients that stimulate mental energy.

The more I studied the subject, the more I realized that crayfish have a super healthy combination of nutrients from its almost pure form of protein to its healthy amount of Omega-3 Fatty Acids which we now know are among the most beneficial fats we can eat. Crayfish protein has large amounts of the amino acids tyrosine that mentally energizes the brain.

Come to think of it, maybe this is why I usually feel so revived after a meal of crayfish. These amino acids are supposed to make you think and react better and to be more attentive and motivated and mentally energetic. Could this be the reason why crayfish parties and crawfish festivals are so lively?

One nutritionist expressed it as “being on a mental roll” thanks to the dopamine and norepinephrine getting to work in the brain.

However, it appears, according to many physicians specializing in blood types in relation to foods, that people with type O blood thrive on shell fish while those of type B blood often are allergic to it. Just like my wife who cannot touch crustaceans.

In a serving of 3 - 4 ounces of crayfish, you can expect the following amounts of nutrients:

	Total fat		1 g.
	Saturated fat	0 g.
	Cholesterol	126 mg.(compare one egg 200 mg.)
	Sodium		170 mg.
	Total Carbohydrate 0 g.
	Dietary fiber	0 g.	
	Sugars		0 g.
	Protein		16 g.
	Calories	80 (compare to beef 242 calories)

In addition, there is a healthy supply of vitamin D and A as well as calcium and potassium, copper and zinc in crayfish. Iodine is also often mentioned as an important ingredient. As you can also see, crayfish is a very low carbohydrate food, and without ‘carbs’ you can safely eat crayfish without putting on unwanted weight.

Another favorable aspect of crayfish nutrition is that there is hardly ever any toxic residues or artificial hormones injected into the meat as crayfish usually come from lakes that are free from industrial or other pollution. In addition, crayfish are very sensitive to polluted waters and have in the past been used to test the purity of lakes before we invented other methods to determine water purity.

There was a time when I was wondering if shellfish had too much cholesterol for my own good. Since then I have read several medical dissertations indicating that apparently we have in the recent past exaggerated the role of cholesterol in our bodies. No matter how much cholesterol we ingest with our food, the blood cholesterol in our bodies stays about the same. After all, our own bodies produce cholesterol which is a necessary part of our cellular system.

"It appears that our diet is almost 100 % cholesterol. That appears to be very, very, very bad."

Some people may not like crayfish because it is a ‘finger food’. Yes, eating crayfish can be rather messy unless you eat them pre-peeled. But to many of us, who love crayfish, getting together in friendly camaraderie for some ‘sucking of heads and squeezing of tails' and some Swedish Akvavit is the highlight of dining experiences.

AND IT ISN’T FATTENING!