A healthy diet should include zinc every day, since your body can't store this essential mineral. Many types of shellfish, including mussels, are rich sources of zinc. When eating mussels, keep in mind a few tips to ensure that you're minimizing any potential for contamination from poor mussel habitat.
What Zinc Does
Zinc helps your immune system and aids in rebuilding cells. It helps your wounds heal and aids in synthesizing the protein you eat into usable energy. Even more important, proper levels of zinc ensure that you can both taste and smell properly. Your zinc needs change as you age; when you're an infant you only need about 2 mg of zinc each day. When you're over 18, you need about 8 mg daily if you're a woman and 11 mg daily if you're a man. Pregnant or breastfeeding women need 12 mg of additional zinc each day.
Nutrition of Mussels
A 3-oz. serving of fully cooked mussels contains .81 mg of zinc. In addition, this serving size provides 28 mg of calcium, 313 mg of sodium and 48 mg of cholesterol. Mussels are low in fat; a 3-oz. serving has just 3.8 g of fat and 147 calories.
Buying Mussels
Mussels from approved waters are safe to eat. Most seafood outlets remove the thick threads, known as the beard, that are on the exterior of the shell that the mussel uses to attach itself. Mussels that are fresh close when you tap on them. Avoid mussels that are cracked, as the meat inside is not safe to eat. When you buy mussels, they should be resting on a bed of ice, and the clerk should examine them prior to weighing to ensure that you don't pay for inedible mussels with cracked shells. Ask for additional ice to keep the mussels chilled if you're going out on other errands, or head home to rinse and scrub them before putting them on a dampened towel to cook that evening. Do not keep them in plastic or airtight containers.
Cooking and Storage
Mussels cook easily in a large pot with garlic, onions, white wine and tomatoes and sausage, making a mussel stew. This will provide a healthy supply of zinc and other nutrients. It's best to eat them the day you buy them. However, you can freeze them by placing them in a tightly sealed plastic bag and keeping them at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Defrost them by placing them in the refrigerator overnight.
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