page_title: Oyster
section_title: Nutrition
hierarchical_section_title: Oyster / As food / Nutrition
caption_attribution_description: Chargrilled oysters
context_page_description: Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not all oysters are in the superfamily Ostreoidea.
  Some types of oysters are commonly consumed cooked or raw, and in some locales are regarded as a delicacy. Some types of pearl oysters are harvested for the pearl produced within the mantle. Windowpane oysters are harvested for their translucent shells, which are used to make various kinds of decorative objects.
context_section_description: Oysters are an excellent source of zinc, iron, calcium, and selenium, as well as vitamin A and vitamin B₁₂. Oysters are low in food energy; one dozen raw oysters provides only 460 kilojoules (110 kilocalories). They are rich in protein (approximately 9 g in 100 g of Pacific oysters). Two oysters (28 grams or 1 ounce) provide the Reference Daily Intake of zinc and vitamin B₁₂.
  Traditionally, oysters are considered to be an aphrodisiac, partially because they resemble female sex organs. A team of American and Italian researchers analyzed bivalves and found they were rich in amino acids that trigger increased levels of sex hormones. Their high zinc content aids the production of testosterone.
caption: Chargrilled oysters
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