Crab, along with other types of shellfish, has come under fire from the nutrition police lately, as it is said to be high in cholesterol. A little more research into the matter, however, shows that crabmeat is a healthy food, and may still be enjoyed even by people on low-cholesterol diets.
Cholesterol in Crab
Cholesterol levels vary by type of crab. Maryland blue crab has 85 mg of cholesterol per 3-ounce serving. Dungeness crab is slightly lower in cholesterol, with 65 mg per 3-ounce serving, while Alaskan king crab is lower still, with 45 mg of cholesterol in a similar-size portion.
Other Cholesterol-Rich Foods
Cooked white-meat chicken has a similar cholesterol level to that of Alaskan king crab, about 44 mg per 3- to 3 1/2-ounce serving. Steak, ham and pork chops all come in around 53 or 54 mg of cholesterol for a similar portion, so are higher in cholesterol than Alaskan king crab, but lower than other types of crab. Three ounces of cooked hamburger or lamb chops have 71 and 72 mg of cholesterol respectively, so are somewhat lower in cholesterol than blue crab. A 3-ounce omelet, however, has 356 mg of cholesterol, more than quadruple the amount of cholesterol found in the blue crab.
Ways to Prepare Crab
If you are on a low-cholesterol diet but would like to enjoy crab meat, consider that it is not the crab itself, but how it is prepared. Crab cakes, which often contain egg and are also fried, have about 137 mg of cholesterol per serving, while every tablespoon of mayonnaise used to make crab salad adds an additional 4 mg of cholesterol. Melted butter adds 31 mg of cholesterol per tablespoon. If, however, you prepare your crabs by steaming or boiling them, and you use no seasonings other than Old Bay and lemon juice, you should stay safely within your cholesterol budget. The American Heart Association recommends a limit of about 300 mg per day.
Saturated Fat and Cholesterol
The real threat to your cholesterol level isn't the amount of cholesterol in the foods you eat so much as the amount of saturated fat those foods contain. Crab meat is very low in fat, with the total amount of fat in a 3-oz. portion of blue crab coming in at 1.5 grams, only 0.2 grams of which is saturated fat. Most of the fat in crab meat falls into the "good fat" category, and the American Heart Association specifically recommends that lean meats and seafood be consumed to help lower cholesterol levels.
Health Benefits
In addition to being very low in fat, crab meat is an excellent source of protein, with one serving of blue crab providing 48 percent of the U.S. recommended daily value (DV). It also contains significant amounts of zinc (33 percent of the DV), copper (38 percent of the DV), selenium (68 percent of the DV) and particularly vitamin B-12 (144 percent of the DV).
