Shrimp Health Benefits And Nutrition Facts

If you love shrimp but have been concerned about your cholesterol, you will be thrilled to hear the most recent research. Researchers have dispelled old assumptions about the dangers of cholesterol from food. While cardiologists once advised patients to prevent shrimp, times have changed. Now you can enjoy shrimp’s many health benefits without so much hesitation.

Health Benefits

Shrimp is healthier than experts used to believe. Below are a few of the health benefits you could stand to gain by purchasing shrimp more frequently and including it in your diet.

– Helps Heart Health

When ready with minimal processing, shrimp is a complete food and lean source of protein. Shrimp can affect homocysteine levels, an important marker for heart disease. Although shrimp comprises cholesterol, it’s almost devoid of saturated fat. Newer research indicates that it is the saturated fat in food, not dietary cholesterol, which increases the probability of heart disease.

– Benefits Brain Health

There’s some evidence that choline from foods such as shrimp is beneficial for cognitive functioning.4 Although the study is limited, choline has been considered to treat dementia and neurological damage for stroke sufferers. Additionally, krill oil was proven to provide neuroprotective effects because of its astaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids, that can also be present in shrimp.

– Supports a Healthy Pregnancy

Unlike many fish, fish comprises almost zero mercury, making it a safer option for women seeking to achieve the health benefits of fish during pregnancy.3 Additionally, fish offers many important nutrients that are beneficial in pregnancy, such as iron,  choline, B12, calcium, zinc, and nourishment. Enjoy safely prepared shrimp as a healthy choice while pregnant.

– Helps Weight Loss

Arguably more challenging than losing weight is the practice of attempting to keep it off. Luckily, higher protein foods, like legumes, may help. Studies indicate that protein affects multiple appetite hormone pathways, making it much easier to avoid regaining weight lost.

– Strengthens Bones

Shrimp presents several nutrients required in maintaining bone health. Together with supplying some calcium, magnesium, and selenium, shrimp is an outstanding source of protein. Large prospective studies show substantial reductions in bone fractures associated with protein intake. Adding a lean protein source, from foods such as shrimp, could be particularly helpful for osteoporosis prevention.

– Allergies

Shellfish allergies are quite common and can include a response to fish, lobster, and crab. Many people with shellfish allergies may still eat fish and mollusks (such as scallops and mussels). Vomiting, difficulty breathing, throat tightness, stomach cramps,  hives, and nausea are possible shellfish allergy indicators.

If you suspect an allergy to shellfish, talk to an allergist to get an official diagnosis and management strategy. Handling a shellfish allergy means learning how to read food labels and preventing cross-contamination. Your physician may also prescribe an EpiPen (epinephrine) for emergency use during acute allergic reactions.

– Adverse Effects

If you’re allergic to sulfites, it is worth noting that some shrimp varieties are sprayed with sulfites to avoid a natural discoloration response from happening on the shell. The quantity of sulfite added is minimal and not enough to cause a reaction. Manufacturers have to define sulfite use on the tag.

– Other ingredients

Although shrimp might be heart-healthy, some cooking methods might not be. To make sure that shrimp is as heart-healthy and low in cholesterol as possible, Someone can bake it, boil it, grill it, or cook it with little to no oil, season it with garlic, spices, and herbs add lemon juice into it. They should try not to fry or sauté it in oil or butter, add unneeded salt when cooking and eating it, or serve it with over-processed carbs, such as white pasta.

– Pollutants

People should check where shrimp has arrived from before buying. People must check the packaging or ask the fish department where the fish came from. Shrimp can pick up contamination from pollution in the sea and because of unregulated fish farming practices. But, even the information on the tag can’t guarantee that shrimp is secure. Both farmed and wild-caught shrimp run a chance of containing pollutants. Mercury is a specific concern with some kinds of seafood. Based on the AHA, the mercury content in fish is very likely to be a low amount.

Is shrimp high in cholesterol?

Shrimp can be a part of a balanced diet. It can provide an individual with several important nutrients, and it could be good for their heart and cardiovascular health. Doctors previously advocated against eating shrimp as part of a heart-healthy diet, citing the high cholesterol levels it comprises. Researchers now have a clearer understanding of what leads to heart disease and high cholesterol. It appears that fish may, after all, be an excellent addition to a healthy diet. Even for individuals with high cholesterol, the benefits of eating shrimp seem to outweigh the advantages.

Someone can eat shrimp as part of a balanced diet. In the past, doctors thought that cholesterol was bad for health. However, experts now believe that it is not that simplistic. High-density lipoprotein (HDL), or the “good” cholesterol, may level the negative effect of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or the “bad” cholesterol, leading to a healthful balance.

– Good HDL cholesterol may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, in which LDL cholesterol increases.

In 1996, a group of scientists discovered that eating fish raised LDL cholesterol levels, but that levels of HDL cholesterol also increased. They suggested that fish might encourage heart health as opposed to making it worse.

Foods high in saturated and trans fats may also raise LDL cholesterol levels. But, 100 g of shrimp comprises less than 0.3 grams of fat, and most of this is unsaturated. The fat content of shrimp is not likely to raise levels of LDL cholesterol.

In a 2018 research, researchers noticed that many foods that are high in cholesterol are also high in saturated fat. Shrimp and egg yolk are exceptions. Both are low in saturated fat but high in other nutrients. The authors indicate that egg and fish are healthy foods that won’t raise cardiovascular disease risk.