What are mollusks? Mollusks include all the shelled seafood found in the ocean. Mollusks include clams, mussels, scallops, and oysters and as a family of species with more than 80,000 known species. What diversity!
Growing up, these creatures were always a delicacy but sometimes the seafood-y smell didn’t make it as appetizing for me. Also, they are considered unclean in the Kosher diet, which I am conscious of and sometimes prescribe to (just pretty hard on the pork part given I eat a lot of Chinese food). So the mollusk family has only been an occasional part of my diet.
Recently, I have been looking hard for elements and food that are good for my blood. One essential element is iron. Amazingly, clams are one of the richest sources of iron, surpassing beef liver many times over. Get this, three ounces of clams yields 700% of the daily value for vitamin B12 plus 66% of the daily value for iron. Amazing, amazing.
Even on manganese, raw blue mussels provide 100% of the daily value which is important for growth, reproduction, wound healing, peak brain function, sugar metabolism, and cholesterol. And, zinc, which is crucial for a strong immune system, fertility, and male sexual health can be found in 1 cup of drained oysters, that is 100% of the daily value.
These sea critters are good deals all around. All high in protein, low in fat with the real benefit coming from the minerals our bodies can absorb from eating them. Now if only I can find good sources for this food, as many have toxins because of where they are caught or grown. And, if you have any chronic illness of the liver, stomach, blood or immune system, you should definitely not be eating these raw.
Source: 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, by Jonny Bowden
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