Crab

food source · 1

• →Protein

  Cooked crab meat has about 17.9 g of protein and 0.7 g of fat per 100 g, lean protein like skinless chicken breast. The roe and paste are a different food, far higher in cholesterol.

  GUIDE · moderate
  Mechanism · 2

  Mechanism · Two foods in one shell

  Crab meat is lean, complete protein, in the same class as shrimp. The roe and paste are the crab's hepatopancreas and gonads, where fat-soluble nutrients and cholesterol are concentrated. So eating only the meat and eating it with the roe and paste are two different meals.

  Numbers · Meat, roe and sodium

  USDA's cooked blue crab meat has about 83 kcal, about 17.9 g of protein and about 0.7 g of fat per 100 g. Whole river crab, roe and paste included, has about 267 mg of cholesterol per 100 g against about 65 mg in the meat alone, and the fourfold gap is all in the roe and paste. Cooked crab meat already carries about 395 mg of sodium per 100 g, and dipping sauce adds a second helping on top.

  GUIDE · moderate