One hundred grams -- 3.5 oz. -- of the American oyster, or eastern oyster, provide a number of nutrients, whether the mollusks are steamed or canned. When you compare their nutrition facts labels, you notice that canned oysters have fewer of certain vitamins and minerals and more of others. Thus, the most accurate answer about their nutritional value is that it depends on the nutrient.
Vitamins
Cooked and canned American oysters have the same vitamins, but all the values change with the different presentations. One hundred grams of steamed oysters have 2 percent of the recommended daily intake, or RDI, for vitamin A, vitamin K and thiamine. The oysters in the can provide 6 percent for vitamin A, just a trivial amount -- less than 1 percent -- for vitamin K and 10 percent for thiamine. Likewise, the cooked oysters have 4 percent of pantothenic acid and folate, while the canned ones contain 2 percent for each vitamin. Steamed oysters provide 3 percent of the RDI for vitamin B-6, 292 percent for B-12 and 8 percent for vitamin E. In the same order, the canned seafood’s values are 5 percent, 319 percent and 4 percent. One hundred grams of the steamed mollusks give you 11 percent of the RDI for riboflavin and 9 percent for niacin. The same serving in a can contains 10 percent for the former and 6 percent for the latter.
Minerals
You find the same irregular variations when you compare the minerals in the two types of oysters. In some cases, the numbers go down, in others they go up. One hundred grams of steamed eastern oysters have 9 percent of the recommended daily intake for magnesium, 3 percent for potassium and 524 percent for zinc. Following the same order, canned oysters have 14 percent, 5 percent and 606 percent of the RDI for the nutrients. The serving of cooked oysters provide 12 percent of the daily intake for calcium, 51 percent for iron and 19 percent for phosphorous. The canned mollusks offer a lower value of the same minerals: 4 percent for calcium, 37 percent for iron and 14 percent for phosphorous. With 5 percent of the RDI for sodium, the seafood in a can gives you 2 percent less than the steamed alternative. The levels of copper, manganese and selenium also decrease from 285, 30 and 56 percent of each nutrient’s RDI respectively to 223, 22 and 51 percent.
Amino Acids
Your body needs you to eat foods rich in amino acids so it can turn the nutrients into new proteins. One hundred grams of cooked oysters provide amino acids sufficient to make 23 percent of the recommended daily intake for protein. The same serving in a can gives you enough amino acids for 14 percent of the RDI for protein.
Other Values
The total calories in steamed oysters are 102. There are 68 calories in the canned variety. In the can, fat and cholesterol are also reduced from 5 percent and 26 percent of the RDI respectively to 4 percent and 18 percent.
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