Can you eat shrimp with high cholesterol

Can you eat shrimp with high cholesterol

Shrimp has a lot of cholesterol.

Image Credit: wmaster890/iStock/GettyImages

For decades, dietary cholesterol was on the "eat as little as possible" list, along with saturated fat. That's because health experts believed that different foods and seafood high in cholesterol could increase your risk of heart disease.

However, after getting a deeper understanding of how dietary cholesterol works, the original recommendations to limit dietary cholesterol to no more than 300 milligrams per day has disappeared from the dietary guidelines. That's because most health experts now agree that the cholesterol in shrimp isn't so bad.

Tip

Dietary cholesterol is no longer considered a nutrient of concern. Although shrimp contains significant amounts of cholesterol, most of the cholesterol in your body is made from your liver. The cholesterol you eat doesn't have a huge effect on your cholesterol levels.

Shrimp and Cholesterol

A 4-ounce serving of shrimp contains 116 milligrams of cholesterol. Other types of seafood high in cholesterol include crab — cholesterol is almost the same as shrimp at 109 milligrams for 4 ounces—clams and lobster.

But even though shrimp is fairly high in cholesterol compared to other types of seafood and meat, it's not necessary to limit it in your diet. Dietary cholesterol used to be something that health experts recommended you limit as much as possible, but that tune changed with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

While there used to be a daily upper limit of 300 milligrams for dietary cholesterol, that recommendation was removed when the guidelines were revamped in 2015. That's because as newer research emerged, experts realized dietary cholesterol wasn't as bad as previously thought. In fact, Harvard Health Publishing notes that cholesterol is vital to a healthy body, since cholesterol:

  • Acts as the main building block for cell membranes.
  • Forms the protective covering around your nerve fibers.
  • Is needed to make testosterone, estrogen, bile acids and vitamin D.

To understand why the cholesterol in shrimp isn't so bad, it's helpful to understand cholesterol's connection to heart disease and how much actually comes from your diet.

Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. According to a June 2018 report in Nutrients, the major underlying cause of heart disease is a buildup of cholesterol deposits in the arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis. Since cholesterol deposits in the arteries are connected with heart disease, it seems logical that you should reduce the amount of cholesterol in your diet.

While that used to be the school of thought, newer research shows that dietary cholesterol doesn't have as much of an effect on blood cholesterol levels as previously thought. That's because your body tightly regulates the amount of cholesterol in your blood.

In a Cleveland Clinic interview with cardiologist Steven Nissen, MD, Dr. Nissen points out that about 85 percent of the cholesterol in your body is actually made by your liver and that the cholesterol in your diet only has a minimal effect.

The Nutrient of Concern

Dr. Nissen goes on to say that while dietary cholesterol isn't too much of a concern, you should be wary of how many trans fats are in your diet, since these types of fats do contribute to high blood cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease.

Trans fats are especially dangerous because they not only increase small particle LDL that's linked with heart disease, they also decrease HDL cholesterol — the "good" kind of cholesterol that helps protect your heart health, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Fortunately, shrimp doesn't have significant levels of trans fat naturally, but you have to be careful about how it's prepared. If you're opting for battered, deep-fried shrimp, the oil involved in the cooking process can add some trans fats to the nutrition facts. Your best bet is boiled, sautéed, steamed, grilled or baked shrimp cooked in healthy oils or fats, like coconut oil, olive oil or grass-fed butter.

Can you eat shrimp with high cholesterol

Some foods contain cholesterol, but surprisingly they don’t make a big difference to the cholesterol in your blood. 

That's because most of us eat less than 300mg of cholesterol per day – a small amount compared to the amount of saturated fat we eat.

Cholesterol is made mainly in the liver. But it’s also found in animal foods such as eggs, shellfish, meat and dairy products.

Do I need to cut down on dietary cholesterol?

Most people don’t need to cut down on the cholesterol that’s found in foods- so you can still enjoy eggs and shellfish.

It’s much more important to cut down on foods which contain saturated fats. That’s because saturated fats affect how the liver handles cholesterol. So, eating saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol. Try to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats which are better for your heart.

For some people – those with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), those who have high cholesterol, and those who are at high risk of or have cardiovascular disease – the recommendation is to limit cholesterol in food to no more than 300mg a day. In the case of FH, ideally less than 200 mg a day.

Even though dietary cholesterol only has a small effect on blood cholesterol, people with high cholesterol and FH already have high levels of blood cholesterol, so it seems sensible not to eat too much cholesterol in food.

Which foods are high in cholesterol?

All animal foods contain some cholesterol. But by cutting down on the animal foods that contain saturated fats you will be keeping the cholesterol in your diet in check too.

Foods that contain cholesterol and are high in saturated fat.

Full fat dairy foods such as milk, cheese, yogurt and cream.

Animal fats, such as butter, ghee, margarines and spreads made from animal fats, lard, suet and dripping.

Fatty meat and processed meat products such as sausages.

Can you eat shrimp with high cholesterol

There are some foods which are low in saturated fat but high in cholesterol. These include eggs, some shellfish, liver, liver pate and offal. Most people don’t need to cut down on the cholesterol that’s found in these foods.

Foods that contain cholesterol but are low in saturated fat.

Lean meat, especially offal, such as liver, kidney, sweetbreads, heart and tripe  

Prawns, crab, lobster, squid, octopus and cuttlefish.

Eggs (the cholesterol is in the yolk).  

For people with FH, or who have high cholesterol, or are at high risk of or have cardiovascular disease, you can still eat some of these foods, but you need to be more careful about how often you eat them to ensure you’re keeping within the guidelines. For example, you could eat three or four eggs a week, and shellfish such as prawns up to once or twice a week.

You should avoid liver and offal altogether because they are very rich sources of cholesterol.

The table below shows the amount of cholesterol in these types of foods:-

Food

Cholesterol (mg)

Per Portion

Eggs

·         1 very large

·         1 large

·         1 medium

·         1 small

256mg

240mg

200mg

185mg

Liver

·         Lamb, raw (100g)

·         Calf, raw (100g)

·         Chicken, raw (100g)

·         Pig, raw (100g)

430mg

370mg

380mg

260mg

Liver Pate (40g)

68mg

Kidney

·         Pig, raw (100g)

·         Lamb, raw (100g)

410mg

315mg

Heart

·         1 Lamb’s heart, raw (191g)

·         1 Pig’s heart, raw (266g)

267mg

210mg

Shellfish

·         Prawns, raw (140g)

·         Canned crab in brine (100g)

·         Fresh crab meat, cooked (100g)

·         Half a cooked lobster (250g)

210mg

72mg

169mg

275mg

Some shellfish such as cockles, mussels, oysters, scallops and clams are all low in cholesterol and in saturated fat and you can eat them as often as you like.

A word about eating liver

Liver is a lean meat which is high in cholesterol. It’s low in saturated fat and high in vitamins and minerals such as iron, copper, zinc, and vitamins A, B and D.

It’s generally a very healthy food to eat, but it’s so high in vitamin A that it’s best not to eat too much of it. For some people, eating liver often could mean that vitamin A builds up in the body, causing health problems.

The government recommends eating no more than one portion per week of liver or liver pate. If you do eat liver, avoid any supplements that also contain vitamin A in the form of retinol.

If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, avoid liver, liver pate and supplements which contain retinol completely.

Women who have been through the menopause should limit liver to no more than once a week.

Foods which don’t contain cholesterol

Cholesterol is only found in foods that come from animals, there is no cholesterol in foods that come from plants. So, there is no cholesterol in fruit, vegetables, grains, seeds, nuts, beans, peas and lentils.

Take a look at our six cholesterol-busting foods

Is shrimp bad for cholesterol?

Shrimp are notably high in cholesterol. You'll take in about 130 milligrams if you eat 12 large shrimp. But at only 2 grams of fat, shrimp are plump with B vitamins, protein, and the nutrients selenium and zinc. Check with your doctor, but you can likely enjoy them once or twice a week.

Can shrimp cause your cholesterol to go up?

Shellfish, especially shrimp and squid, is naturally higher in cholesterol than other foods but does this mean it increase one's cholesterol? We reviewed the research, and the simple answer is no. The cholesterol in shrimp does not have a direct impact on plasma (blood) cholesterol.

How many shrimp can you eat if you have high cholesterol?

Shrimp. Shrimp is a puzzling food for people watching their diet, since it is very low in fat but very high in cholesterol. The key with eating shrimp appears to be moderation. Though 100 g of shrimp contains 65 percent of the recommended daily allowance of cholesterol, a single large shrimp contains only 3-4 percent.

Can I eat seafood if I have high cholesterol?

People who want to manage their cholesterol or have received a diagnosis of high cholesterol from their doctor can include fish in their diet. Fish are low in saturated fat, and experts recommend eating fish regularly for heart health. Omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish can help prevent cardiovascular disease.