The good and the bad news about eating crabs with melted butter...

As some of you know, by a long shot, my favorite food in the world is boiled crab with some melted butter. My particular favorite would have to be Texas Gulf Coast blue crabs because they are cheap and I think they are the most flavorful. Also, if you are inclined, its pretty easy to catch them with a crab trap and bait assuming you have some coastline or a boat. For bait you can use leftover meat from a meal or a gutted fish and the crab trap can be re-used for years so it can be a pretty cheap meal! There are some complications however.

First of all, it can be a lot of work to get the meat out, especially if you don't have much experience. The shells are thick and have to be cracked open and within the main body of the crab you have to pick out the meat just right to keep it in nice big chucks. This is actually one of the things I like about eating crab, it takes some skills and it slows you down. Since there is a natural speed bump to eating it you could sit there for hours (and I do) eating crab because your body digests the meat just as fast as you can eat it. Since crab meat is extremely lean I don' think there are health consequences to eating large portions of it. The other complication is that you have to cook the crabs alive and this brings me to the bad news.

Now cooking crabs alive is something that I have never enjoyed doing. These hardy little monsters want to live and they are not afraid of you. Given the chance they can and will take your finger off. Now that is something that I can respect. These animals have been engineered by nature to kick ass and not take names. With a thick shell and two big pincers they are ready for battle and I've been scarred a few times trying to pick them up. They also attack each other when you put them in a container together, which is obviously gonna kinda get in the way of you cooking them all alive. But I definitely have respect for crabs and I feel bad to throw them in a pot of boiling water... alive. However, until now I had assumed, like most, that crabs actually can't sense pain. Since crustaceans have no vertebrae it had been thought that crabs do not feel pain. A recent study proved that wrong:

"Not only do crabs suffer pain, a new study found, but they retain a memory of it (assuming they aren't already dead on your dinner plate). The scientists say its time for new laws to consider the suffering of all crustaceans.

The study involved using wires to deliver shocks to the bellies of hermit crabs, which, being hermits, often take up residence in left-behind mollusc shells. The crabs that were shocked scampered out of their shells, "indicating that the experience is unpleasant for them," the scientists concluded; unshocked crabs stayed put.

Another test was run to see what would happen if a mild shock was delivered, one just below the threshold that would cause the crabs to leave home. These mildly shocked crabs, along with crabs that had not been shocked, were then offered a new home. The typical reaction: They'd go inspect the new shell. Significantly, those that had been shocked were more likely to pack up and move to the new residence compared to those that hadn't been shocked. "

So that's the bad news, now I have a second layer of guilt for all the grabs I've killed and eaten over the years. I doubt this will sway me from my food passion but it might slow me down.

As I mentioned before, when I eat crab I like to keep it simple. Boil them and serve with melted butter. I might throw in some Zatarans spice and a coke but that's as fancy as I'll get. I had assumed the worst component of this meal for my health was the butter, but boy was I wrong. This brings me to the good news.

Recent studies on tooth decay have revealed that teeth can actually repair themselves given the proper diet. I read this in a fascinating blog post that cited some these studies and generalized the conclusions.

"Teeth are able to heal themselves. That's how traditional cultures such as the Inuit can wear their teeth down to the pulp due to chewing leather and sand-covered dried fish, yet still have an exceptionally low rate of tooth decay. It's also how the African Wakamba tribe can file their front teeth into sharp points without causing decay. Both cultures lost their resistance to tooth decay after adopting nutrient-poor Western foods such as white flour and sugar.

...

If I were to design the ultimate dietary program to heal cavities that incorporates the successes of both doctors, it would look something like this:

• Rich in animal foods such as meat, organs, fish, bone broths, full-fat pastured dairy (if tolerated) and eggs.
  
• Fermented grains only; no unfermented grains such as oatmeal, breakfast cereal, crackers, etc. No breads except sourdough because they typically aren't made from fresh flour.
• No nuts; beans in moderation, only if they're soaked overnight or longer in warm water (due to the phytic acid).
  
• Starchy vegetables such as potatoes and sweet potatoes.
  
• Moderate quantities of fruit, but no refined sweets.
  
• Moderate quantities of well-cooked vegetables.
  
• Sunlight, high-vitamin cod liver oil or vitamin D3 supplements.
  
• Generous amounts of pastured butter. <-----!!!
• No industrially processed food.
  

This diet would maximize mineral absorption while providing abundant fat-soluble vitamins. It probably isn't necessary to follow it strictly. For example, if you eat more mineral-rich foods such as dairy and bone broths, you can probably get away with more phytic acid. Or you might be able to heal cavities eating like this for only one or two meals a day, as Dr. Price demonstrated. "

That's great news for me because I love butter. Its also worth noting that the crab meat its self would also be considered good for teeth as well. I was very surprised by the fact that oats, including bread and cereal are actually very bad for your teeth. Its an interesting article and I'd recommend reading it in full.

Ok, to summarize. Eating crab with butter is good for your teeth, bad for the crab.