Procambarus clarkii
1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.
Freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, farmed in rice-field rotations in Louisiana and China and gathered wild elsewhere. The USDA entry named here is the wild mixed-species animal, raw.
Also known as Crawfish, Crawdad, Yabby, Ecrevisse
What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.
May support muscle protein synthesis as a lean complete protein, on the general evidence for seafood protein rather than on any study of crayfish.
Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.
AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.
| Nutrient | Amount | % DV |
|---|---|---|
| Macronutrients | ||
| Calories | 77 kcal | 4% |
| Protein | 16 g | 32% |
| Total fat | 0.95 g | 1% |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g | 0% |
| Fibre | 0 g | 0% |
| Total sugars | 0 g | — |
| Water | 82.2 g | — |
| Fats | ||
| Saturated fat | 0.159 g | 1% |
| Monounsaturated fat | 0.174 g | — |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 0.293 g | — |
| Cholesterol | 114 mg | 38% |
| EPA (omega-3) | 0.104 g | — |
| DHA (omega-3) | 0.038 g | — |
| DPA (omega-3) | 0.01 g | — |
| Linoleic acid (omega-6) | 0.052 g | — |
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin A | 16 µg | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 1.2 mg | 1% |
| Vitamin D | 0 µg | 0% |
| Vitamin E | 2.85 mg | 19% |
| Vitamin K | 0.1 µg | 0% |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.07 mg | 6% |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.032 mg | 2% |
| Niacin (B3) | 2.21 mg | 14% |
| Pantothenic acid (B5) | 0.546 mg | 11% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.108 mg | 6% |
| Folate | 37 µg | 9% |
| Vitamin B12 | 2 µg | 83% |
| Choline | 80.9 mg | 15% |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium | 27 mg | 2% |
| Iron | 0.84 mg | 5% |
| Magnesium | 27 mg | 6% |
| Phosphorus | 256 mg | 20% |
| Potassium | 302 mg | 6% |
| Sodium | 58 mg | 3% |
| Zinc | 1.3 mg | 12% |
| Copper | 0.419 mg | 47% |
| Manganese | 0.226 mg | 10% |
| Selenium | 31.6 µg | 57% |
| Other measured compounds | ||
| Beta-carotene | 0 µg | — |
| Alpha-carotene | 0 µg | — |
| Lycopene | 0 µg | — |
| Lutein + zeaxanthin | 0 µg | — |
| Caffeine | 0 mg | — |
| Ash | 1.34 g | — |
Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Source record: Crustaceans, crayfish, mixed species, wild, raw (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 174206).
% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.
Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.
Amino sulfonic acid
Concentrated in shellfish and dark poultry meat; involved in bile salt conjugation and cell volume regulation.
Xanthophyll carotenoid
The carotenoid giving salmon, trout and shrimp their pink colour, originating in the algae at the base of the food chain.
Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.
Boiling until the flesh is opaque throughout inactivates lung fluke larvae. Marinating in spirits, a traditional preparation in parts of East Asia, does not.
Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.
Worth knowing
Freshwater crayfish are the intermediate host for Paragonimus lung flukes. Human cases of paragonimiasis, with cough, chest pain and eosinophilia often mistaken for tuberculosis, have followed eating raw or drunken crayfish in Missouri and elsewhere in North America as well as in East Asia. Thorough cooking inactivates the metacercariae; alcohol marinades do not.
Worth knowing
Clusters of unexplained rhabdomyolysis, with severe muscle pain and dark urine within about a day of eating crayfish or certain freshwater fish, have been reported in China, the United States and Europe. The causative agent has never been identified, no toxin is detectable in leftover food, and cases can be serious enough to need hospital care.
Allergy
A tropomyosin-driven allergen that cross-reacts with shrimp, crab and lobster and is a common cause of anaphylaxis.
Too much
Crayfish are boiled in heavily seasoned salted water and the shells carry it to the table, so the finished dish holds far more sodium than the raw entry named here indicates.