Grilled Soft-shell Crab Nutrition Information

Blue crabs that have temporarily molted their hard exoskeletons are referred to as soft-shell crabs, which are suitable for grilling. While generally available fresh from May to September, you may also find them frozen at your local seafood market. This crab serves as a source for many vitamins and minerals, and it fits well into a low calorie diet.

Basic Nutrition

A 3.5 oz. serving of soft-shell crab contains 87 calories. Grilling this food keeps it low calorie, making it a good option for your meal plan when you are trying to lose weight. It also has low fat content, with 1 g of fat per serving. While a portion of grilled soft-shell crabs provides a small amount of carbohydrates -- 0.4 g -- this food does have 18 g of high quality protein. This fulfills 32 to 39 percent of the 46 to 56 g of protein required in your meal plan each day -- women generally require less protein than men, although whether you're a man or woman, your needs may vary depending on fitness goals and other factors.

Vitamin B-12 and Folate

Grilled soft-shell crabs are an excellent source of vitamin B-12. Eating a portion of this crab provides 150 percent of the daily recommended intake of this vitamin, which contributes to the formation of red blood cells. It may also help improve blood flow. A study published in the March 2011 issue of the journal "Coronary Artery Disease" indicates that study participants with coronary artery disease who took 0.4 mg of vitamin B-12 along with folic acid over a 24 month period experienced better blood vessel function. Grilled soft-shell crabs contain 11 percent of the folate you need each day, making this food a potentially good choice if you have coronary artery disease. Consult your physician before eating crab for any medicinal purposes.

Selenium

Eat a serving of grilled soft-shell crabs and you take in 53 percent of the selenium you should consume daily. Getting the selenium you need is especially important if you have a cardiac surgery scheduled. Evidence in the March 2011 edition of "Critical Care Medicine" correlates low selenium concentrations in your body with multi-organ failure after a cardiopulmonary bypass operation. Consuming soft-shell crabs and other selenium-rich foods may help ensure you go into surgery with the nutrients you need.

Other Vitamins and Minerals

Including grilled soft-shell crabs in your diet gives you access to a healthy source of copper, zinc and phosphorus; each serving contains 33 percent, 24 percent and 23 percent of the daily recommended intake, respectively. You also take in 14 percent of the niacin your body needs each day as well as lesser amounts of vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and manganese.

Considerations

Despite the healthy concentrations of selenium and folate that are potentially good for heart patients, eating too many grilled soft shell crabs may prove harmful to this group -- each serving of crabs contains 293 mg of sodium. This accounts for 19.5 percent of the 1,500 mg limit suggested by the American Heart Association. Sticking to this guideline is important for anyone with heart disease because too much sodium can increase the risk of hypertension, which can worsen heart conditions. Even healthy people should attempt to keep their sodium intake to this limit.