So is shrimp good for you or bad for you? Shrimp is low in fat, but high in cholesterol. There is much confusion about the fat and cholesterol amounts in shrimp. Shrimp is very low in total fat, tough it is quite high in cholesterol content. There are many people who will not eat shrimp because of its high cholesterol content. Yet, based on studies about shrimp and cholesterol levels, not eating shrimp because of this is not necessary.
There is a positive relation between two types of cholesterol, LDL and HDL this reduces the vulnerability to heart disease. LDL is known as bad cholesterol, because it might advance the manufacture of artery blocking plaques which can cause a heart attack. HDL is called good cholesterol, because it goes back to the liver for reprocessing, this in turn decreases cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.
Studies have shown that the high percentage of good fats in shrimp reduces the impact of cholesterol. Most people can eat shrimp as part of their balanced diet. Cholesterol from food only has a negative effect if it is absorbed, and saturated fat seems to aid in this absorption.
Shrimp may have a high level of cholesterol, but they have, basically, no saturated fat. Cholesterol in shrimp is harder to absorb than cholesterol from other high fat foods, it is not clear why this is. At one time, scientists could not distinguish the different sterols, and measured them all as cholesterol. This is the reason that the amount of cholesterol in shrimp and other shellfish is recorded as being very high. Not all sterols are the same.
It has been thought all of this time that shrimp was a bad food for those with high cholesterol when actually the opposite is true. Like eggs you should limit your intake to a few times a week, but unlike eggs the cholesterol is offset by the other nutrients of the shrimp, though there are new studies that are changing minds about eggs as well.
If you are a shrimp lover, you are safe to eat your shrimp. As studies progress you may find that it is a food that you do not have to eat in lower amounts; which has already been hinted at. It is a healthy and tasty food that can be a part of your low cholesterol diet.
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Visit the Cholesterol Scoop for more information on Cholesterol Medication
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