"Food Safety Guide" Series | Can pregnant women eat crabs? There are some tips for eating crabs healthily

Another autumn has come, and the plump crabs have become the main characters on the table. "Fresh and plump, sweet and greasy, white like jade and yellow like gold", crabs were once regarded as a feast for the tongue. However, we often hear some rumors that pregnant women eating crabs will cause miscarriage, which makes many pregnant mothers stay away from the delicious crabs. Can pregnant women really not eat crabs? What are the issues to pay attention to when eating crabs healthily? Let's take a look.

Can pregnant women eat crabs?

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that crabs are cold in nature and have the effect of promoting blood circulation, especially crab claws, which have a stronger power to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis. Crab claws are used as medicine, which have the effects of breaking blood, eliminating accumulation, and abortion. The ancients often used it to treat abdominal pain caused by postpartum stasis, as well as the weakness of parturients during labor and delayed fetal delivery. The Compendium of Materia Medica records that crab claws can "abort live fetuses and bring about dead fetuses." Because of its abortion effect, crab claws were listed as contraindicated drugs for pregnancy in ancient times. For example, in the widely circulated Chinese medicine pregnancy taboo rhyme, there is a figure of crab claws: "Sansha dry lacquer crab claws..." The "crab claws" mentioned in the rhyme are crab claws. In modern times, there are also news reports that pregnant women have miscarriages due to eating too many crabs.

But from a nutritional point of view, crabs are rich in high-quality protein, various trace elements, multiple vitamins and other nutrients, which are beneficial to the body of pregnant women, so some people support eating crabs during pregnancy.

In fact, whether pregnant women can eat crabs depends mainly on the amount of crabs they eat and their physical condition. Pregnant women with a cold constitution, especially those with a history of habitual miscarriage, are advised not to eat crabs, especially crab claws. For other healthy pregnant women, it is recommended to eat with caution according to their actual situation.

What should you pay attention to when eating crabs healthily?

For ordinary people who can enjoy a feast, there are certain rules to follow when eating crabs.

First, you cannot eat raw crabs. River crabs such as hairy crabs mostly grow in muddy ditches at the bottom of rivers and lakes, and mostly feed on animal carcasses. Therefore, they may carry certain pathogenic microorganisms and parasites. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat uncooked crabs such as drunken crabs and raw pickled crabs. It is also not recommended to eat marine crabs such as swimming crabs raw.

Second, do not eat dead crabs. Once a crab dies, bacteria and viruses will begin to multiply in its body. Eating dead crabs may cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and even food poisoning.

Third, do not eat too much. Any food should not be eaten in excess, especially crabs, which are cold in nature. Eating too much can easily cause stomach discomfort. Generally, one or two crabs are appropriate at a time. Although crabs are delicious, you should not eat too much.

Fourth, eat crabs with a companion. Chinese medicine believes that ginger and perilla can "detoxify fish and crabs." When eating crabs, you can chop ginger into small pieces and add it to vinegar as a dipping sauce. Ginger is a pungent and warm food that can dispel coldness. It can not only remove the fishy smell but also warm the body. It can also restrain the coldness of crabs while seasoning. When eating crabs, you can drink perilla tea. Although perilla is not as spicy as ginger, it also has the effect of dispelling coldness, and can also regulate qi and relieve bloating, protect the spleen and stomach, and prevent diarrhea. Yellow wine has the effect of promoting blood circulation and warming the stomach, and is also considered an ideal choice for removing coldness when eating crabs.

Author: Zhang Yidan, Class of 2018, Eight-year TCM Program (PhD Program) of Naval Medical University

Supervisor: Zhang Huiqing, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University

Project funding: The first round of Shanghai Health Science Talent Capacity Improvement Project (JKKPYC-2022-10)

Review and approval: Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Medicine, Zhang Huiqing