Choose Steamed Instead Of Fried When Eating Chinese Cuisine
Chinese restaurants have lots of fried food options. But there are many ways around these high-fat foods. For starters, consider spring rolls that are steamed rather than deep-fried, Kris-Etherton suggests, adding that spring rolls with rice wraps are an even better choice. Steamed rice is best too, says Kris-Etherton. If you must have stir-fried rice, which is higher in fat, she recommends asking your server to prepare it with as little oil as possible.
For your main course, seafood can be a good choice, especially if you order it steamed, notes Kris-Etherton. Boiled or broiled seafood entrées are also good choices for minimizing added saturated fats, according to the AHA. Just remember to eat shrimp in moderation and choose entrées with lots of vegetables many menus have a vegetable entrée section, which makes it easy.
Ask for skinless chicken as a protein and try to resist the crispy noodles often found on the tables at Chinese restaurants, to save on both fat and calories.
What The Research Says
Since my patients often ask me about shrimp and cholesterol, I decided to review the medical literature and discovered a fascinating study from Rockefeller University. In 1996, Dr. Elizabeth De Oliveira e Silva and colleagues put a shrimp-based diet to the test. Eighteen men and women were fed about 10 ounces of shrimp supplying nearly 600 mg of cholesterol every day for three weeks. On a rotating schedule, the subjects were also fed a two-eggs-per-day diet, furnishing about the same amount of cholesterol, for three weeks. They were fed a baseline low-cholesterol diet for another three weeks.
After the three weeks were up, the shrimp diet did in fact raise LDL cholesterol by about 7 percent compared to the low-cholesterol diet. However, it also increased HDL, or good cholesterol, by 12 percent and lowered triglycerides by 13 percent. This reveals that shrimp had a total positive effect on cholesterol because it improved both HDL and triglycerides a total of 25 percent with a net improvement of 18 percent.
A 2015 study suggests that low HDL levels are associated with total inflammation in relation to heart disease. Therefore, a higher HDL is desirable.
The egg diet came out looking a worse, bumping up LDL by 10 percent while raising HDL only about 8 percent.
The Bottom Line On Shrimp And Cholesterol
If youve learned two things from this article on shrimp cholesterol levels it should be this:
1) There is no longer a daily dietary cholesterol limit because the government has finally realized that dietary cholesterol has minimal effect on your total cholesterol levels.
2) Shrimp may have a higher concentration of cholesterol than some other foods, but again, eating foods with high cholesterol does not translate to higher total cholesterol in your body. Thats a myth.
Shrimp are low in saturated fat, high in protein and packed with important vitamins and minerals. Unless you are allergic or have been advised to avoid them due to a medical condition, by all means indulge yourself. And the next time you see someone avoiding shrimp, or eggs, or meat because they are high in cholesterol, you can snicker knowing that they are depriving themselves unnecessarily.
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Some Healthy Ways To Cook It
Sautéed
Since shrimp cooks very fast, it is perfect sautéed. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a frying pan and saute shrimps with chopped ginger and with some vegetables for about 4mins. Peas are a good complement to shrimp.
Roasted
Roasted shrimps in the oven is a simple way to cook large quantities of shrimp at one time. Heat the oven to a temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly cover them with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh herbs and spices. Roast in a single layer on a baking sheet with embroidery. Serve as a standalone dish or with pasta as accompaniment.
Boiled
Like prawns, shrimp skin becomes juicy and juicy when boiled in a succulent broth for seafood. Prepare a spicy broth with some Cajun condiments. Cook shrimp in the broth for a few minutes and then lower the heat and let them stand for a few minutes or more. Remove shrimps with a slotted spoon, store the broth and serve with a dipping sauce.
Grilled
Large, fleshy shrimp is ideal for cooking on a grill. Lightly cover them with oil and a selection of herbs and spices, and then pierce them with sticks to handle them easily on the grill. Serve the grilled shrimps as a main course, or as an accompaniment to salads or as a filling for some tacos.
Steamed
Ground
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Shrimp Cholesterol: How To Eat Foods For A Low Fat Low Cholesterol Diet
Following a low fat low cholesterol diet can be hard, but there are certain things that you can add to your food if you want to make it tasty as well as healthy.
Dont know what foods you should try to add more of to your menu? Here are a few foods for a low fat diet:
- Garlic Garlic helps to prevent clots from forming, and will help to thin out your blood . Adding more garlic to your dishes will also enhance all the flavors, and can seriously work on lowering your cholesterol within record time.
- Avocadoes Avocadoes are high in fat, but it is the natural fat that is good for you. You can lower your LDL cholesterol and raise your HDL cholesterol significantly by eating even a single avocado a day, and they can make your meal more filling. Just be aware that one avocado has 340 calories, so go easy on them.
- Nuts Nuts are the perfect topping for yoghurts, cereals, salads, and even poultry dishes, or they can just be served as a snack. They are excellent due to the fact that they contain lots of natural oils that your body needs, and will be the perfect way to cut back on your hunger.
- Legumes Legumes arent just good on their own, but they make a mean salad, sauce, or filling for other dishes. They contain lots of the excellent soluble fiber that your body needs to get rid of cholesterol, and will help to fill you up without adding fat to your diet.
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But The Ratio Of ‘good’ And ‘bad’ Cholesterol Stayed Favorable
The good news: the shrimp diet also raised levels of HDL cholesterol. In fact, it raised the HDL cholesterol levels more than more than it increased levels of LDL, and the scientists concluded that the resulting HDL to LDL ratio was favorable. HDL cholesterol is known as ‘good cholesterol’ because high levels of HDL seem to protect against heart attack. The mechanism by which HDL protects the heart is not fully understood, but some medical experts have suggested that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries. Low levels of HDL have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
Reasons To Avoid Farmed Shrimp
1. 90 Percent of the Shrimp We Eat Is Imported
According to a report from Food & Water Watch, in 2006, more than 90 percent of the shrimp we eat was imported, with Thailand as the leading exporter, followed by Ecuador, Indonesia, China, Mexico and Vietnam. We have no way of knowing where the shrimp was produced, and nearly 50 percent of the shrimp found in grocery stores have no label because theyve been processed and added to seafood medleys, exempting them from U.S. labeling requirements. Restaurants arent required to label seafood either, so we dont know where the shrimp we order has been produced or if its fresh or farm-raised.
2. Shrimp Farms Run Under Very Poor Conditions
In order to export large quantities of shrimp, shrimp farm operators stock their ponds to produce as much as 89,000 pounds of shrimp per acre. For comparison, traditional shrimp farms yielded up to 445 pounds per acre. Because the water is overcrowded with shrimp, its quickly polluted with waste, which can infect the shrimp with disease and parasites.
Although you would think the U.S. government would help stop contaminated shrimp from entering the country and being sold at our markets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only inspects less than 2 percent of seafood thats imported into the United States. This means that were buying and eating farm-raised fish that contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria, antibiotics and pesticide residues.
3. Shrimp Is Commonly Misrepresented
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Shrimp Nutrition: Is Shrimp Healthy Or Harmful To Your Health
Shrimp is the most commonly consumed seafood in the United States and the most highly traded seafood in the world, but this high demand has led to many environmental and human rights abuses in the fishing, farming and processing of shrimp. Were routinely given little information about the shrimp we purchase and what the shrimp nutrition actually is, which is more important now than ever because shrimp is being impacted by several problems, including diseases, antibiotic use and environmental factors.
Twenty-five percent of the seafood consumption in the United States is shrimp, and the average American consumes four pounds of shrimp every year. That may be because we consider it to be a healthy form of protein thats low in calories, and thats true for fresh, wild shrimp, but farm fish has proven to be unhealthy and toxic, making it among the worst seafood and fish you shouldnt eat. In fact, its been proven to be even more toxic than farmed tilapia and catfish, which rank as the second and third most polluted foods from the sea.
Effect Of Eating Shrimps On The Cholesterol Level
As per a survey conducted, those who ate shrimps for around three weeks reported having a rise in their LDL cholesterol by about 7% compared to a low cholesterol diet.
Simultaneously, it also increased the good cholesterol or HDL cholesterol by 12%, lowering the triglycerides by 13%. Thus, eating shrimp did not harm heart health, and in fact, it was helpful by raising the HDL cholesterol levels and contributing to a healthy heart.
The American Health Association has also claimed that shrimps contain Omega 3 fatty acids up to some extent. Omega 3 fatty acids are a type of healthful fat and benefit the cardiovascular system and other bodily functions.
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How Often Can You Eat Shrimp
The AHA recommends consuming foods high in omega-3 fatty acids twice a week, although shrimp may not be a good choice for those servings if you have high cholesterol. However, if your cholesterol levels are normal, you can eat shrimp every week without worrying too much about affecting your LDL levels, says Aggie Casey, author of Mind Your Heart.
How Much Cholesterol Is In Shrimp
According to the USDA, a 100 gram serving of shrimp contains about 189 mg of cholesterol. To give you an idea of just how many shrimp are in a 100 gram serving, youre talking about about 10 medium shrimp or 5-6 large shrimp. So a regular lunch or dinner size portion will put you at 100 grams.
The government guidelines used to recommend a limit of 300 mg of dietary cholesterol each day for a healthy individual, and 200 mg per day if you have cholesterol issues, diabetes or heart disease. So basically, a shrimp dinner was about 63% of your recommended daily cholesterol intake. Thats about the same as one boiled egg for your reference.
But as of 2015 they have dropped the recommended daily limit. According to the latest guidelines, dietary cholesterol is no longer a nutrient of concern. So if the government has removed any limitation on cholesterol from the diet, why exactly are you worried about the amount of cholesterol in shrimp?
Also, its important to realize that recent studies have shown that dietary cholesterol has very little effect on your overall cholesterol levels anyway. Most of your bodys cholesterol, over 75% of it, is manufactured by your liver. As such only about 20% comes from your diet.
So you know what happens if you eat too many shrimp? Your liver will just make less cholesterol. So worrying about how much cholesterol is in shrimp should not be at the top of your list.
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Antibiotic Use In Farm
Due to the high demand for shrimp in the US, it is often imported from other countries.
More than 80% of the shrimp consumed in the US comes from abroad, from countries such as Thailand, India and Indonesia .
Although this helps increase access to shrimp, most imported shrimp is farm-raised, which means it is grown in industrial tanks that are submerged in bodies of water .
Farm-raised seafood from other countries is frequently treated with antibiotics due to its high susceptibility to disease. However, the US does not permit the use of antibiotics in shrimp and other shellfish .
For this reason, it is illegal to import shrimp that contains antibiotics. The US Food and Drug Administration is responsible for inspecting imported shrimp to ensure it doesnt contain antibiotics .
However, due to the high volume of shrimp imports, the FDA is unable to regulate all of them. Because of this, farm-raised shrimp contaminated with antibiotics has the potential to enter the US food supply .
One study that investigated the antibiotic content of US-purchased seafood found that a sample of farm-raised shrimp contained a detectable amount of sulfadimethoxine, an antibiotic not permitted for use in shrimp in the US .
Using antibiotics in shrimp has not been confirmed to have any major adverse health effects. However, it may lead to antibiotic resistance, which can cause outbreaks of disease that do not respond to antibiotic treatment .
Can I Have Shrimps If My Ldl Cholesterol Is High
Answered by: Dr Puja Gandhi | Nutrition Consultant, Dubai
Q: I am a 38 years old man who had high low-density lipoprotein but it is now under control. Are shrimps safe for the heart? Do they increase the LDL cholesterol? What about high-density lipoprotein cholesterol?
A:There are two types of blood cholesterol – low density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. LDL is considered the bad cholesterol because it contributes to narrowing up of the arteries, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. The HDL cholesterol is considered to be the good cholesterol because it actually cleans out the arteries, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Although shrimp has more cholesterol than any other shellfish except squid, the cholesterol in shrimp has not been shown to be as much of a problem as cholesterol in other foods. The cholesterol in shrimp does increase the LDL levels of cholesterol but the level of good cholesterol is incrementally increased by a higher percentage. Also, shrimps are very low in saturated fat, which has been shown to raise blood cholesterol more than dietary cholesterol. Thus, shrimp actually improves the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol and lowers triglycerides. Furthermore, shrimp contains heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Therefore, shrimp can be included in a heart healthy diet. As long as you don’t overdo it, eating shrimp should not have an adverse effect on your cholesterol levels.
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Consuming Shrimp Shell Could Lower Cholesterol Levels
- Date:
- Blackwell Publishing
- Summary:
- Shrimp-lovers take note — research has shown that a chemical called chitosan, derived from shrimp shells, might be useful in the fight against obesity and high cholesterol.
Shrimp-lovers take note research has shown that a chemical called chitosan, derived from shrimp shells, might be useful in the fight against obesity and high cholesterol.
This study is published by Wiley-Blackwell in the journal, Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology. Lead author Dr. Shahdat Hossain from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Jahangirnagar University tested the effect of chitosan derived from the exoskeleton of shrimp on the body weight, plasma lipid profile, and fatty acid composition of rats.
The results from the study conducted by Dr. Hossain and his colleagues have shown that chitosan reduced weight gain and blood cholesterol levels in the rats. More significantly, the researchers found that when taken as a dietary supplement, the chemical chitosan increased the ratio of good versus bad cholesterol levels.
These research results suggest that chitosan produced from shrimp may be a good source of nutrition and may guard against high cholesterol and other related complications.
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Shrimp Linked To Low Triglyceride Levels
The Rockefeller researchers also found that those study participants who were on the shrimp diet had significantly lower triglyceride levels than those on either the baseline or the egg diet. Triglycerides are a type of blood fat and have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, when present in excessive amounts in the blood. One 18-year study of 460 adults found that people with triglyceride levels as low as 100 milligrams per deciliter were more than twice as likely to suffer from future heart disease than those with lower triglyceride levels.
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How To Prep And Cook Shrimp
In a perfect world, shrimp would be bought fresh and used as such, says Gerard Viverito, an associate professor of culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America. Unfortunately, due to shipping, they are frozen because of their extremely high perishability.
So unless you live on the coasts, the available shrimp will likely be frozen. Be aware of buying thawed shrimp at the supermarket and mistaking it for fresh, says TJ Delle Donne, an assistant dean in the College of Food Innovation and Technology at Johnson & Wales University. In general, he recommends choosing frozen products and thawing them at home rather than buying already-thawed shrimp.
The best and safest way to thaw frozen shrimp is to move them from the freezer to the refrigerator, Donne says. This will allow the shrimp to thaw at a safe rate and avoid the dreaded time/temperature abuse, and ensure a firm re-thermalizedi.e., not soggyproduct.
If youre pressed for time, you can also thaw frozen shrimp by putting them in a bowl and placing it in the sink under a faucet set to run cool water in a slow stream, Viverito says.
Once your shrimp are thawed, you have a decision to maketo peel or not to peel. For Viverito, the answer depends on the cooking method: for grilled or peel-and-eat steamed shrimp, he typically keeps the shell on. For sautéed dishes or anything that calls for a more upscale presentation, he peels them before cooking.