Is Shrimp Healthy Nutrition Calories And More
Shrimp is one of the most commonly consumed types of shellfish.
It is quite nutritious and provides high amounts of certain nutrients, such as iodine, that arent abundant in many other foods.
On the other hand, some people claim that shrimp is unhealthy due to its high cholesterol content.
Additionally, it is commonly believed that farm-raised shrimp may have some negative health effects compared to wild-caught shrimp.
This article will explore the evidence to determine if shrimp is a healthy food to include in your diet.
Shrimp’s High Cholesterol May Not Be So Bad
From Correspondent Eugenia Halsey
WASHINGTON — Even thoughshrimp is low in fat, many doctors tell their patients to avoid itbecause it’s high in cholesterol. The typical serving of shrimp hastwo-thirds the amount of cholesterol you should consume in an entireday.
Well, shrimp lovers take heart. A study published in the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition says despite all that cholesterol shrimpis perfectly good for you.
For more than two months, researchers at Rockefeller University inNew York and Harvard tested several different types of low fat diets on18 people with normal cholesterol levels, including a diet containingmore than half a pound of steamed shrimp a day.
The scientists found theshrimp diet did not raise participants’ overall cholesterol levels. They’re not sure why, however, the scientists say perhaps it’s becauseshrimp is low in fat and contains fish oils that are good for yourheart.
“In fact, consuming shrimp instead of other high fat foods will havebeneficial effects,” said Elizabeth De Oliveira of RockefellerUniversity.
While the shrimp diet did increase people’s so-called badcholesterol or LDL slightly, it also boosted their so-called goodcholesterol or HDL enough to offset the increase in bad cholesterol.
“If you love shrimp, and you follow a heart healthy diet, enjoy yourshrimp with no guilt,” De Oliveira said.
That’s good news, because Americans eat more shrimp than any otherkind of seafood, except for tuna.
Are There Any Risks
One potential concern is the high amount of cholesterol in shrimp. Experts once held that eating too many foods high in cholesterol was bad for the heart. But modern research shows it’s the saturated fat in your diet that raises cholesterol levels in your body, not necessarily the amount of cholesterol in your food. Still, if you’re wary of the stuff, moderation is key.
Shellfish, including shrimp, is also the cause of a common and sometimes severe food allergy. More than half the people who are allergic to shellfish have their first reaction as an adult.
Avoid shrimp that has an unusual smell to it, especially if it smells like ammonia, which is a sign of bacterial growth.
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They Provide Key Nutrients
Aside from protein, shrimp provide a pretty impressive array of nutrients. Four ounces steamed contains over 100% of the Daily Value for selenium, over 75% for vitamin B12, over 50% for phosphorous, and over 30% for choline, copper, and iodine. And while we dont typically think of animal proteins as sources of antioxidants, shrimp contain two types. In addition to being a mineral that plays a role in immunity and thyroid function, selenium is an important antioxidant that helps fight damaging particles called free radicals, which damage cell membranes and DNA, leading to premature aging and disease. Another antioxidant, called astaxanthin, which provides the primary color pigment in shrimp, has been shown to help reduce inflammation, a known trigger of aging and disease.
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Will Your Cholesterol And Triglyceride Lowering Diet Work Alone
Many people look at their cholesterol and triglyceride lowering diet and think they are doing great, and in reality they are. The fact that you are eating less food that contains fats, sugar, and cholesterol is good, but diet alone will not be enough.
You are going to have to take serious steps to change your lifestyle, and one of the best ways to do so is by getting more exercise. Exercise is the key to overall health, but exercise will get rid of cholesterol more effectively than almost anything else will.
As you burn fat in your body, your metabolism will start burning all the cholesterol that it has floating around your blood. Exercise cleans out your body of all the bad fat, and thus will seriously reduce the risk of cholesterol problems.
Want to be healthy and keep cholesterol low? Get off your rear and start doing exercise today!!
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Top 10 Reasons Not To Eat Shrimp
Are you still throwing shrimp on the barbecue because you think that eating them is good for you? Nothing could be more askew. In fact, the latest scientific research shows that eating shrimp may actually be hazardous to your healthbut that isnt the only reason why you should leave these animals off your plate.
They’re Low In Calories
One medium shrimp provides about 7 calories, which means a dozen add up to less than 85 caloriesroughly 15 less than a 3-ounce chicken breast . One jumbo shrimp, the type often served in shrimp cocktail, contains about 14 calories, and a teaspoon of cocktail sauce provides 5, so three jumbo shrimp, each with a teaspoon of cocktail sauce as an appetizer, adds up to less than 60 calories, about 10 less than just one pig in a blanket, and 20 less than two mini empanadas or two mini quiche.
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Despite An Unfair Reputation Most People Can Eat Shrimp As Part Of A Well
Many people, including health-conscious consumers, are concerned about the cholesterol content of foods such as meat, eggs and dairy products. In the case of shrimp, the cholesterol story is different because a number of research studies have demonstrated that the high percentage of good fats in shrimp reduce the impact of cholesterol, and that a majority of people can eat shrimp as part of a balanced diet.
Benefits Of Eating Shrimp
Information developed by nutritionist Dr. Rosemary Stanton Ph.D., APD a most well-known celebrity nutritionist in Australia for the Australian Prawn Farmers Association , report that shrimp are an excellent source of protein, low in saturated fats, a great way to get iron, zinc and Vitamin E, as well as a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
These valuable fats lower triglyceride levels and have many other benefits for heart health. Shrimp have less fat and therefore contain a lower level of omega 3s than some other seafood , but the omega 3 content in prawns is well above the minimum 60mg/100g required for an official label of good source of omega 3 fatty acids.
Information from The George Mateljan Foundation a not-for-profit foundation with the mission is to help you eat and cook the healthiest way for optimal health provides a wealth of information on the numerous benefits of eating shrimp. For example, shrimp is an excellent source of the antioxidant mineral selenium . Recent research has shown that the selenium in shrimp can be well absorbed into the human body . Selenium deficiency is a risk factor for heart failure and other forms of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, compromised cognitive function, and depression.
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When To See A Doctor
If you suffer from a heart disease or have high LDL levels, consult your doctor before beginning to add shrimp to your meals. While shrimp is a perfectly healthy meal for most people, your doctor will probably prefer you to avoid foods that could raise your LDL cholesterol levels. If this is the case, you still have many options for seafood.
Medical Disclaimer
Although we base our articles on recent scientific researches, the content on CholesterolMenu.com should not be considered as medical advice or a recommendation for medical treatment, but as educational and informational articles that are strictly the personal opinion of CholesterolMenu.com’s authors. As the reader, you are recommended to consult your doctor to discuss any health issues and treatments. We shall not be held responsible or liable for possible health consequences from following the information in our articles.
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.
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A Faster & Easer Solution For Healthier Cholesterol Levels
There are a few ways for promoting healthier cholesterol levels within a normal, youthful range – diet and exercise being two important factors.
Unfortunately, they take time and most people are either NOT patient or need faster results, with less effort…
This is the exact problem I ran into with my own parents.
Because of this, I needed to find a simple, easy and fast solution for promoting healthier lipid levels in less than 30 days, without the use of harmful prescription drugs, worthless supplements or following a restrictive diet.
If this is something you’re also interested in, you can easily copy this “proven formula”, implement it and start seeing and feeling results within days…
Is Shrimp High In Cholesterol
Shrimp is a type of seafood thats readily available, has essential nutrients, is low in fat, and also a good source of protein. However, a lot of people believe that shrimp should be avoided, or eaten only in small amounts because of its high cholesterol content. But is shrimp high in cholesterol?
First, lets take a look at the numbers. A 100g serving of shrimp has roughly 189mg of cholesterol. In contrast, for a 100g serving of salmon, theres an estimated 63mg of cholesterol. Based on this comparison, shrimp has 3 times the amount of cholesterol when compared to salmon.
So does this mean that shrimp is unhealthy?
Well, not quite. A lot of people are afraid of eating food with cholesterol because of its association with cardiovascular disease. While this is true, studies conducted on shrimp consumption found that people who ate shrimp in moderation didnt have a significant increase in their cholesterol levels.
In fact, the levels of bad cholesterol actually went down in persons who had more shrimp in their diet. Other studies found similar results, with some respondents even having a lower risk of heart attacks when they ate more seafood and shellfish.
The main reason is that seafood, in general, contains less fat compared to beef, chicken, or pork. Fat is typically associated with increased cholesterol levels, which is why eating a lot of red meat can be bad for you.
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Good And Bad Cholesterol
Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream in two kinds of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol throughout your body: low-density lipoproteins and high-density lipoproteins , which have been referred to as plump little fat and protein packages. LDL is known as bad cholesterol because it leads to a buildup of cholesterol in your arteries and may promote the production of artery-blocking plaques that can result in a heart attack. HDL is called good cholesterol because it returns cholesterol back to the liver for reprocessing or excretion, which reduces cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.
High blood cholesterol is a condition where a person has too much cholesterol in his/her blood, and can have a greater chance of getting coronary heart disease, also called coronary artery disease. The higher the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood, the greater your chance is of getting heart disease, and conversely, the higher the level of HDL cholesterol in the blood, the lower the chance is of getting heart disease. A positive ratio between two types of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein reduces susceptibility to heart disease, and is an important number to monitor.
Shrimp Are Not Bad For You
At least once a week I’ll be talking with a patient about theirhigh cholesterol and it seems like every third person will say, “ButDoc, I don’t eat any shrimp!” Almost every time they’reshocked when I say tell them that shrimp is OK. The best part is thatthis gets their attention and I love talking about the things you caneat.
At the core of eating healthy is to eat less saturated fatand trans-fats, more fruit and vegetables, morelegumes like beans, good fats like olive oiland nuts and more fish. And shrimp does qualifyas fish.
Shrimp does have a more cholesterol than many other ingredients.While the amount of cholesterol that you eatis important, by eating lean meats, fish, veggies,legumes, fruits and nuts that are low in cholesterol,it’s OK to have shrimp or eggs. The more important factor, asyou have heard me talk about, is saturated fat and trans-fats.
Let’s compare:
| 4.5 | 104 |
Notice that the shrimp and chicken breast have about thesame number of calories and fat but the shrimp has far more Omega 3 fats.This is a trade off that’s more than worth it for only an extra 105 mgof cholesterol. The shrimp is far better thanthe ground beef, which has almost 5 grams of saturated fat .
There’s enough to focus on in eating healthy. The amountof cholesterol in any particular food is onethat we now know is not as important.
Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!
Dr. Gourmet
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But What About My Higher Cholesterol
Now, coming back to the cholesterol topic. IF you are concerned about having high cholesterol, have a family history of it, or taking a cholesterol-lowering drug then I would reconsidering having Shrimp.
Or limit it to once or twice weekly at the most. And make sure its wild caught, NOT farm-raised shrimp.
And there are natural ways of lowering your cholesterol while improving your HDL/LDL ratios and triglycerides and other heart health markers.
Id like to share with you a natural formula that my own parents have been using since 1999, to lower their cholesterol . Its clinically proven and something I would highly advise using, instead of toxic, cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Know Where Your Seafood Is Coming From
While seafood is a great alternative to red meat, it is important to know where your seafood is sourced. This is because some seafood can contain high levels of mercury due to water pollution.
In particular, swordfish, marlin, and bigeye tuna can possibly contain high levels of mercury. If the fish you buy is from fisheries and farms, they are generally safe as the farmers ensure that the mercury levels in the water are very low.
As always, the important thing to remember is to eat in moderation. Be sure to have the right portion sizes, and balance it out with fresh vegetables and fruits for every meal. This way, you can have a healthy meal that helps strengthen your body and keeps you free from disease.
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A Study On Shrimp Showed Surprising Results
One study showed that there is no reason to avoid this seafood. The researchers asked 18 men and women to eat large portions of steamed shrimp each day. To be precise, robust participants ate more than 275 grams, or 30 to 40 shrimp, which was enough to give them nearly 600 milligrams of dietary cholesterol. This is twice the daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association .
This may surprise you. Three weeks later, the researchers took blood samples from the volunteers and found that their levels of low-density lipoprotein or LDL or bad cholesterol had increased by 7.1% on average. While this may not seem like good news, shrimps have an important advantage high-density lipoprotein levels or HDL, good cholesterol for arteries, increased by 12.1%. In other words, eating shrimp has improved the good cholesterol/bad cholesterol ratio. Many cardiologists believe that this ratio is a better indicator of cardiovascular health than total cholesterol levels.
Nutritional Profile Of Prawns
100g cooked prawns has 70 calories. They are made up of 84 per cent water, with around 15g protein and less than 1g fat, of which is pretty evenly split between saturated and unsaturated fat. There is negligible carbohydrate in prawns because it’s an animal protein.
Prawns also have a good nutritional profile with an array of vitamins and minerals, including a lot of the B vitamins which we need for energy and to help support the nervous system. They also contain some calcium and iron, which are both involved in healthy blood formation and clotting, as well as being a good source of selenium which is important to support the immune system and reproduction, as well as thyroid health.
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