Land snails are surprisingly nutritious, as long as
you do not eat all the butter often slathered over and around them. Like any
animal meat, land snails provide a hefty dose of protein, little carbohydrate and
some fat. Land snails also serve as an excellent source of iron and other
essential minerals, such as potassium and phosphorus. According to Ukpong (2009), the following are
the nutritive value of land snail:
a. Calories and Protein: A
100-gram serving of land snails provides 90 calories. Most of the calories in a
dish of land snails come from protein. A serving of land snails packs a protein
punch, that, while not quite equal to beef or chicken, compares favorably with
seafood. A 100-gram serving adds 16.5 grams of protein to your diet, compared
to 30 grams in a serving of white-meat chicken and 25 grams in a serving of
dark-meat chicken. A 100-gram serving of catfish provides 19 grams of protein. Land
snails provided an excellent and inexpensive source of protein and iron for
children and young mothers.
b. Carbohydrates: If you are following a
low-carbohydrate diet, both snails and their most frequent accompaniment –
melted butter – fit well into your diet as a snack, an appetizer or a meal. A
serving of snails contains just 2 grams of carbohydrates, while the butter does
not add a single carbohydrate.
c. Fat: Like other animal sources
of food, land snails do contain fat, although not very much. An entire serving
contains just 1.4 grams of fat, with slightly more unsaturated than saturated
fat. A serving of land snails contains 50 grams of cholesterol; if you add the
butter sauce, you will get extra dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. A
tablespoon of butter contains 11 grams of fat and 31 grams of cholesterol.
d. Vitamins and Minerals: A
100-gram serving supplies 3.5 milligrams of iron; that’s more iron than beef,
which contains around 4 milligrams of iron in a 6-ounce serving. This equals
nearly half of your daily 8 milligram iron requirement if you are a male or a
postmenopausal woman and about 20 percent of the 18 milligrams you need if you
are a woman of childbearing age. A serving of land snails contains about the
same amount of potassium as beef, 382 milligrams, as well as 250 milligrams of
magnesium, far more than beef, chicken, pork or fish, which provide about 30
milligrams of magnesium.
