Shellfish contains high concentrations of certain nutrients compared with plant and animal products. However, a kosher diet does not include eating shellfish. When adhering to a kosher diet, you may need to eat higher amounts of other types of foods or consume dietary supplements to obtain the nutrients you would otherwise get from eating shellfish. Consult your doctor or nutritionist about your health and diet.
Shellfish
Shellfish, including clams, mussels and oysters, are highly nutritional foods low in calories and cholesterol and packed with protein, omega-3 fatty acids and certain vitamins and minerals. In fact, shellfish contains the highest concentrations of vitamin B-12 of any food and are good sources for zinc, copper and iron. Clams contain 98.9 mcg of vitamin B-12 per 100 g, providing over 16 times the recommended daily allowance. Shrimp and crabmeat are among the food sources with the highest amount of selenium, a trace mineral and antioxidant.
Kosher Diet
Kosher dietary laws are part of Jewish tradition that has been in effect since Moses received the Torah, the books of the Hebrew bible. The kosher diet includes eating certain foods, but excludes other types. The kosher diet allows you to eat all types of plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Regarding animal products, a kosher diet includes animals, such as cattle, goats, bison, deer and sheep, which has cloven hooves and chews its cud, but excludes camel, pig and hare because each lacks one of these two qualifications. Regarding sea food, a kosher diet includes fish with fins and scales, such as salmon, tuna and herring, but excludes those that do not have fins or scales, such as shellfish, including crabs, lobster, shrimp, clams and oysters.
Kosher Sources of Vitamin B-12
Although a kosher diet excludes eating shellfish, you can obtain vitamin B-12 from many other sources of foods that are kosher. These foods include beef, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs. Vegetarians can obtain vitamin B-12 from foods fortified with the nutrient, or from dietary supplements. Your body needs vitamin B-12 to produce red blood cells, synthesize DNA and support a proper functioning nervous system.
Kosher Sources of Selenium
Your body requires small amounts of selenium from food to assist enzymes called senenoproteins, enhance the ability of your immune system to protect you from infections and stimulate development of sperm cells. Kosher foods that are good sources of selenium include Brazil nuts, halibut, salmon, white meat chicken, whole wheat bread, skim milk and walnuts. Brazil nuts grown in selenium-rich soil is the best sources of the mineral and contains 544 mcg per oz, but it exceeds the 400 mcg upper tolerable limit for safety.
References
- Penn Cove Shellfish; Shellfish Nutrition; 2011
- Healthaliciousness; Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin B12 2008
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University; Selenium; Victoria Drake; November 2007
- Judaism 101; Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws; Tracey Rich; 2011
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin); June 1 2009
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