Shellfish for B vitamin and minerals

Many people today eat a far too limited selection of high protein foods. Health conscious women are probably the most likely to limit protein sources to egg whites, chicken breast, turkey and fish. While this is probably not a bad idea for middle aged men with high cholesterol, it's a mistake for younger women. At their lower levels of calories, they are very unlikely to be getting the B vitamins and iron that they need. Women of child bearing age (14-50) need twice the iron that men do - and a lot of them don't get nearly enough. Poultry and fish don't have all the B vitamins either. While fish provides the B-12 that chicken is low in, they are both too low in riboflavin, thiamin, and iron.

With low iron, women may experience fatigue and mental fuzziness. B vitamins are important for the proper functioning of your nervous system.

One way to boost B-12, iron and riboflavin is to eat shellfish - especially oysters, clams, and mussels. Here's the scoop on these foods:

Oysters
4 oz of raw oysters is only 76 calories but provides 877% of the RDA od B-12, 490% of Copper, 75% of iron, and 1430% of zinc. Make your own super nutritious oyster stew by adding raw or smoked oysters and a cup of chopped kale or spinach to chicken broth and simmering for 10 minutes.

Clams
4 oz of clams have lots of protein - 28g - in 162 calories. This much provides 4532% of the RDA of B-12 and 308% of Iron, 43% of riboflavin, 76% of copper, and 43% of zinc. An easy way to get clams is in Manhattan clam chowder. Make your own by adding canned clams to a good vegetable soup.

Mussels
3 oz of mussels provide 15g of protein in 167 calories. Also high in B-12 (573% of the RDA) and iron (45%) . This amount provides more than 20% of the RDA of E, folate, riboflavin, and zinc. Mussels can be steamed in a light broth or cooked in a marinara sauce.