All About Snails

What is Snail?
A snail is a mollusc with a single spiral shell into which the whole body can withdrawn. Land snails belong to the class of Molluscan, Gastropod, popularly known as ‘Congo Meat’ in many parts of Africa. In some part of Nigeria, it is usually called Eju, Igbin, and so on.













Is snail meat rich in nutrients? 
Yes,  it meat contains
Protein (12-16%)
Iron(45-50mg/kg)
Fat(0.05-0.08%)
Amino acids
It is a white meat and thus good for all ages especially the old ones
Vitamin E
Each 100-grammes serving of snails provides 4.25 grammes of vitamin E, or 28 percent of the amount both adolescent boys and girls and adult men and women need daily. Vitamin E plays an important role in vitamin K metabolism, red blood cell synthesis and in protecting cells from free radical damage.
People who don’t consume enough vitamin E can have trouble controlling their muscles and may experience jerky, abnormal eye movements. They may also develop liver or kidney problems.
By eating enough foods like snails that are high in vitamin E, you decrease your risk of diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, cancer, heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.
Numerous health benefits of snails.
Hippocrates  documented the health benefits of snails in the Ancient Greece civilization. As at that time, experiments, conducted showed that snails mucin was beneficial  in healing skin and reducing scarring. As of today, modern Researchers have proved that Hippocrates was correct, and snail serum has been found to contain both anti-inflammatories and antioxidants.
"Snail secretions are alleged to contain a copper peptide which is thought to be the only natural sources of a substance usually manufactured to assist in making creams which help minimize scarring"
It sounds unbelievable but it is true that snails- Congo meat, 'les escargot' have more health benefits than we otherwise thought.
 An average Snail is comprised of 80% water, 15% protein, and 2.4% of fat which is primarily healthy fat. A snail contains essential fatty acids, calcium, iron, selenium, and magnesium are also found in snails.
They are rich source of vitamins too and highlly and incredibly packed with vitamins E, A, K and B12.
Snails are an ideal weight watchers diet because they are good sources of proteins but low in calories and fat. Imagine for a 100-gram serving of snail, you have about 90calories.
An average snail also contain a glycoprotein which is believed to contain cancer-fighting properties. The mucous exuded by these  creatures contain a copper compound which helps in healing after an injury or scalding and also helps in preventing heart disorders.
In addition to all these health benefits, snails are tasty, juicy, delicious nutritious and cheaper than any red meat. Snail farming, can make any villager rich if he knows how to rear snails. Snails farming is relatively   cheaper in Nigeria than chicken or fish farming. I wonder why many people in Nigeria have not considered establishing snails farms instead of fish.
Such farms are easy to set up and do not take time before the farm starts to yield some profits. Snails farms can help many people  "reduce nutritional deficiency". You now know the health benefits of snails. You can prepare it in any form and as well eat it all alone or put them in soups, fry, cook, boil and eat with all sorts of vegetables and foods.
Additional Snail Facts.
1. Some snails Hibernate.
Some species of snails hibernate during the colder months of the year. They cover their bodies with a thin layer of mucus, which prevents them from drying out. Sometimes snails also do a similar process in the summer, called estivation, to survive if it is a dry period. These processes are probably one of the reasons they have survived for millions of years.

2. Snails can have a long life.
The life expectancy of snails depends on their habitat and the species. Some of them only live for about five years. However, others in captivity can live up to 25 years old.
3. There are giant snails.
The biggest land snail recorded was 12 inches long and weighed near 2 pounds. It was a Giant African Snail. Other species are tiny being only a few centimeters long when they are adults and just a couple of ounces in weight.
4. Snail Moving.
When moving, snails leave behind a trail of mucus. This mucus acts as a lubricant to reduce friction against the surface where they pass.
5. Snail Mucus.
It is a myth that snail mucus can make humans ill. Many people worry that the snails in their garden will ruin the foods grown there and make them unfit for consumption, but that is false.
6. Snails live in slow motion.
Garden snails ( Helix apersa ) reach a top speed of 50 yards per hour; this is about 0.5 inches per second. While they don’t move fast, they do move at a very steady pace. Snails are one of the slowest creatures on the Earth.
7. Snails are Hermaphrodites.
Snails have the reproductive organs of both, males and females, which categorize them as hermaphrodites. However, they usually do not create offspring on their own. They mate with another snail, and then both lay eggs.
8. Snails can see but can’t hear.
Most land snails have two set of tentacles, the upper one carry the eyes, while the lower one has the olfactory organs. However, they do not have ears or ear canal.
9. Snails are nocturnal
Snails are nocturnal animals, which means most of their activities take place at night.
Snails don’t like the sunlight, which is why you find them out more on cloudy days. If you keep them in an aquarium, make sure that there is not too much sunlight in the room, or the snails will stop eating and hide inside their shell.
10. Get your size.
Snails length ranges from a few centimeters to 12 inches.
11. Snail Care.
Snails will die if you put salt on them. Make sure they are not in contact with salt if you have one in captivity because their body can´t process it.
12. Very Hungry.
The Giant African Land Snail is known to eat more than 500 different types of plants.
13. Small, not weak.
Snails are strong and can lift up to 10 times their body weight in a vertical position.
14. Large family.
There are at least 200,000 species of mollusks out there including snails, although only 50,000 are classified.