Clams go well in salads, and you can use them for recipes such as clam chowder, fettuccini with clam sauce and seafood stew. Fresh clams can be hard to find and you need to use them quickly, but canned clams are widely available and have a long shelf life. Canned clams are good sources of a variety of essential nutrients, and they may be beneficial as part of an overall balanced diet.
Nutritional Basics
Each 3-ounce serving of canned clams contains 121 calories, 5 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fat and less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat. Protein is a necessary nutrient for maintaining your lean muscle mass and supporting a strong immune system, and clams supply 21 grams of protein in a 3-ounce serving. They have 42 milligrams of cholesterol, or 14 percent of the daily value. Cholesterol from your diet raises levels of cholesterol in your blood.
Omega-3 Fats
A 3-ounce serving of canned clams provides 60 milligrams of eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and 90 milligrams of docosohexaenoic acid, or DHA. EPA and DHA are long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, and they may lower your risk for heart disease when your average intake is about 250 milligrams per day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Fatty fish and shellfish are the best sources of DHA and EPA, and examples beside clams include salmon, tuna, herring, shrimp and oysters.
Potassium and Sodium
A 3-ounce serving of canned clams has 534 milligrams of potassium, which helps regulate your blood pressure. Healthy adults should get at least 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Another benefit of clams for your blood pressure is that they are low in sodium, with 95 milligrams per serving. The recommended daily maximum for healthy adults is 2,300 milligrams of sodium.
Other Nutrients
Canned clams have 16 micrograms of vitamin B-12, or 133 percent of the daily value. Vitamin B-12 is necessary for healthy red blood cells, and the only natural sources are animal-derived foods, such as meat, poultry, seafood and dairy products, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Iron is another necessary nutrient for your blood cells, and a 3-ounce serving of canned clams has 2.3 milligrams, or 13 percent of the daily value. Clams also provide selenium, vitamin A and vitamin E.
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