Xiaowang
Professor Cheng, I can't remember when it started, but in summer, everyone loves to eat a kind of supper at night!
Do you mean spicy crayfish?
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Recently, spicy crayfish has been quite "popular", but it has also been in trouble, and I heard that some people eat it and cause rhabdomyolysis syndrome. Professor Cheng, what the hell is going on? What is rhabdomyolysis syndrome?
Rhabdomyolysis syndrome refers to a series of inherited or acquired diseases that affect the striated muscle cell membrane, membrane channels and their energy supply, resulting in rhabdominal muscle damage, changes in cell membrane integrity, and leakage of cell contents, often accompanied by acute renal failure and metabolic disorders.
In fact, as early as 2010, Nanjing reported that 23 people suffered from rhabdomyolysis syndrome due to eating crayfish, and it was finally determined to be Haff's disease (Haff disease), with clear symptoms and unknown causes.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Huff's disease? What kind of disease is this?
Haff's disease is actually rhabdomyolysis syndrome. In 1924, for the first time in the world, a case of rhabdomyolysis syndrome of unknown origin caused by the consumption of aquatic products was reported abroad, which was also called Haff's disease because it occurred in the Huff region on the Baltic Sea coast.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
It turns out that this is the case, and it seems that there are many cases abroad.
Yes. Most of the foreign cases were caused by eating buffalo fish, freshwater cod, crayfish, etc.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Is it because of eating these aquatic products?
In fact, the cause of this Haff disease is not yet clear. Since the first outbreak of Haff disease, the cause of the disease has been discussed in various countries, but no exact cause has been found. Studies in fish that can cause rhabdomyolysis syndrome have found a thermally stable, n-hexane-extractable chemical that causes similar symptoms in mice, but it has not yet been determined what exactly this chemical is.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Professor Cheng, what are the symptoms of rhabdomyolysis syndrome caused by eating the above aquatic products?
It mainly has muscle pain, swelling, weakness, and inflammatory reactions such as fever, malaise, and an elevated ratio of white blood cells and neutrophils. At the same time, about 30% of patients will develop acute renal failure, and when the condition of acute renal failure is severe, oliguria, anuria and other manifestations will occur.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
What about the treatment?
There's no need to worry about this. If the treatment of Haff disease is timely, the vast majority of patients can recover quickly, and the symptoms can generally subside in 2~3 days. If the patient's symptoms are mild, they can recover on their own without treatment.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Then I'm relieved. Professor Cheng, so many people love to eat crayfish, and I believe it is not just because of its deliciousness! So what are the nutrients for the human body by eating crayfish?
The protein content of crayfish is high, accounting for 16%~20% of the total, the fat content is less than 0.2%, and the content of trace elements such as zinc, iodine and selenium in shrimp meat is higher than that of other foods. In addition, crayfish can also be used as medicine, which can dissolve phlegm and relieve cough, and promote postoperative wound healing.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Regarding crayfish, in fact, in addition to the possibility of causing rhabdomyolysis syndrome, there are some claims, and I can't tell whether it's true or false. For example, some people say that crayfish like dirty environments. Professor Cheng, is this statement correct?
Many people see that crayfish are easy to catch in the sewage ditch, but they can't be caught in clean water, so they think that crayfish like to survive in a dirty environment, which is unscientific. The reason why crayfish cannot be caught in clear water, but is easy to catch in a polluted environment, is because the crayfish grown in the clear water have strong vitality, while the crayfish in the polluted environment have poor vitality. Crayfish has a strong tolerance and can survive in sewage, but it has to shed its shell seven or eight times during the growth process, and if the environment is not good, the crayfish will not shed its shell and grow poorly. Many farmers did not pay attention to the water environment before, using shallow water, dirty water breeding, crayfish production is low, and later pay attention to the use of deep water, good water breeding, the output has increased.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
I also have a question, crayfish live in water, is there a possibility of heavy metals in their bodies?
In fact, crayfish are very sensitive to heavy metals, and in the water body where heavy metals exceed the standard, crayfish cannot successfully shed their shells and survive.
Heavy metals have accumulation, the more high-end organisms in the food chain in nature, the more heavy metals accumulate, and crayfish feed on primitive organisms such as aquatic weeds, at the bottom of the food chain, the accumulation of heavy metals is low, and the heavy metal residues will not exceed the standard under normal breeding.
And the current research shows that most of the heavy metals are accumulated in the gills, internal organs and shells of shrimp that we don't like to eat, so for us who love shrimp meat, crayfish are less likely to cause heavy metal poisoning.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Professor Cheng, do you have any advice for everyone who loves crayfish?
I have five suggestions:
(1) Buy crayfish from regular channels, remember not to catch them yourself, and do not eat wild crayfish.
(2) Be sure to clean before cooking, and cook thoroughly during cooking; Be careful not to process crayfish that are dead, organoleptic or stale in taste; Remember not to eat the head and guts of crayfish.
(3) Eat crayfish in moderation at one time to increase the diversity of food.
(4) If you have symptoms such as general or local muscle aches after eating crayfish, you should seek medical attention in time and take the initiative to tell the doctor about the situation.
(5) It is hoped that food producers and operators, especially catering service providers, should strictly control the source of raw and auxiliary materials to ensure that the crayfish is fresh and qualified, and the source is formal and legal.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Thank you very much for today's popular science.
Content Sources:
People's Medical Publishing House published "Safety on the Tip of the Tongue (Volume 3)"
Editor-in-Chief of the book:
Cheng Jingmin, an expert of the National Health Science Popularization Expert Database and a professor of Shanxi Medical University