Crab dietary taboos

Except for the three types of people who are allergic to crustacean aquatic products, those who are in the acute attack of gout, and those who have just had abdominal surgery or are in the stage of severe diarrhea with extremely weak gastrointestinal function, they should completely stop eating crabs. 90% of the "poisoning caused by eating crabs and persimmons/milk/VC together" spread on the Internet are rumors. As long as ordinary people don't eat dead crabs, don't eat raw crabs from unknown sources, and limit the amount they eat to 1-2 pieces at a time (about 200-300g of clean crab meat), there will be basically no problems.

Two years ago, I went to the market with my mother. She was greedy for bargains and bought hairy crabs that the stall said had been dead for half an hour. They were half cheaper than alive ones. After steaming the crab roe when she got home, it became bitter, so she couldn't bear to throw it away and ate half of it. That night she went to the emergency room with vomiting and diarrhea. Doctors say that the histidine in the body of river crabs will quickly decompose into histamine after death, and it cannot be destroyed even if it is completely steamed. People with allergies may get rashes if they eat a little bit, and ordinary people who eat too much may suffer from diarrhea or histamine poisoning. Of course, some people argue that there is nothing wrong with eating freshly dead sea crabs they bought. This actually has something to do with the type of crab and the temperature of the environment in which it died. A boss I know who has been selling seafood for ten years will never eat crabs that have been dead for more than an hour. If the crabs are freshly dead, it may not be a problem, but ordinary consumers cannot judge the time of death, so there is really no need to save money and take risks.

Even more controversial than dead crabs is whether raw crabs can be eaten. I went on a business trip to Ningbo last fall. The crab at my friend’s family dinner was so delicious that I ate two large pieces. When I got home, my fever reached 38 degrees Celsius. I went to the hospital to find out that it was a Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection. I argued with the doctor at the time, saying that local people would be fine after eating it for a lifetime, but the doctor did not refute it. He only said that local people have a gastrointestinal tolerance to eating it since they were young, and many people would soak crabs in high-alcohol wine for a week. Ordinary consumers make them at home. The alcohol content is not enough and the soaking time is short, which can easily retain germs. The current official food safety tip is that river crabs must be completely steamed and cooked for at least 10 minutes. As for sea crabs, if you buy ones that are clearly marked as "raw food grade", you can eat them with confidence. Ordinary sea crabs sold in ordinary markets are safer if they are steamed. After all, having diarrhea for two days and delaying the next meal of crab is a big loss.

As for the people who need taboos, it is actually not as exaggerated as what is said online. Take patients with high uric acid. My friend’s uric acid test last month was 480. The rheumatology and immunology doctor told him not to touch a bite of crab, but the nutrition doctor told him that it was perfectly fine to eat half a non-yellow male crab during the remission period, as long as he did not eat other high-purine foods that day. There is also a saying that has been passed down for many years, "Crabs are cold in nature, so women should eat less." There is actually no such thing as "cold in nature" in Western medicine. That is, the high protein and high cholesterol of crabs require a high level of digestion. People with weak stomachs will be prone to bloating and diarrhea if they eat too much. Traditional Chinese medicine will recommend that people with weak spleen and stomach eat with ginger and perilla. The logic of the two opinions is different, but the core is "adjust the amount according to your own physical condition." There is no need to argue about right or wrong. Needless to say, if you are allergic, if you really have a history of crustacean allergy, you may get a rash even if you smell the scent of crab, so don’t be greedy.

After talking about what you really need to pay attention to, let’s break down the matching taboos that have been passed down for more than ten years. Eating crabs and persimmons together will cause stomach stones, and eating VC together is equivalent to eating arsenic. There is really no need to just follow the wind. I was at home last fall, eating hairy crabs and crispy persimmons at the same time. I ate two crabs and one persimmon one after another, and nothing happened. To put it bluntly, the so-called "tannic acid and protein combine to form stones", the premise is that you eat ten pounds of astringent persimmons and five or six hairy crabs at one time. Who would normally eat like this? There are also rumors of arsenic poisoning from VC and crabs. To reach the toxic dose, you have to eat dozens of kilograms of severely contaminated crabs and take more than a dozen VC tablets. The amount of VC in the fruits you eat daily is simply not enough to react. Of course, some people say that I got diarrhea just because I ate crabs and then persimmons. It’s most likely that you have a weak stomach. The two were cold and irritated the stomach. It’s not poisoning. Just take a rest. If you really feel uncomfortable, just take some montmorillonite powder.

I have a little habit of eating crabs every year. When steaming, I put two layers of ginger slices and perilla leaves under the steamer. After eating, I drink half a cup of warm ginger and date tea. It doesn’t mean that it can drive away the cold. The perilla removes the fishy smell and the ginger warms the stomach. It is indeed not easy to bloat after eating. If you don’t like it, there is no problem in eating it directly. It depends on your personal habits.

In fact, there are so many things to pay attention to when eating crabs. They are only fresh in the two months of autumn every year. As long as you don’t mess with dead crabs and live crabs and control the amount, most people can eat them with confidence. Don't panic if you feel a little uncomfortable after eating. Most of the time it's because you've eaten too much and can't digest it, so you don't have to think about poisoning. After all, happiness is the most important thing when eating crabs.