Shrimp and cholesterol. How much cholesterol in shrimp?

Shrimp can be found in the list of foods high in cholesterol. However, despite the high cholesterol content, the total fat content in shrimps is small. This means that shrimp, unlike many other products (such as fatty meat) do not have a negative effect on cholesterol. You can easily include them in your diet, even with high cholesterol.

How much cholesterol in shrimp?

The content of cholesterol in shrimps is really quite large. For 100 g of seafood there are 150-200 mg of cholesterol, while the recommended daily norm is 300 g. But there is very little fat in shrimps - 1.5 g in 100 g of product. At the same time saturated fat, which is the cause of additional synthesis of cholesterol in the body, only 163 mg. And almost all calories are contained in 19 grams of protein.

Cholesterol and shrimp

Despite the bad reputation, cholesterol is vital for human health. It is necessary for building cells and transporting substances in the blood. It is also needed for the synthesis of skin vitamin D and is part of the nerve shell.

However, doctors recommend eating no more than 300 mg of this substance per day with food. This restriction is introduced in connection with the effect of cholesterol on blood vessels. Cholesterol is deposited on the walls of the vessels and forms atherosclerotic plaques that obstruct the blood flow.

Such a view was formed by Nikolai Anichkov at the beginning of the last century after a series of experiments on rabbits. Anichkov then made a very bold statement: "no cholesterol - no atherosclerosis." And the whole world took this position for a very long time.

But as it turned out, there are two kinds of cholesterol: "bad" and "good." On the walls of the vessels, the first species is deposited, and the second, on the contrary, prevents the appearance of plaques. Therefore, when dealing with elevated cholesterol, it is important to know which kind is the cause of the increase.

To do this, make special tests that determine the amount of high-density lipoproteins ("good" cholesterol) and low ("bad") density. It often happens that the overall level is within normal limits, but "good" cholesterol is too low. Then the risk of cardiovascular disease is high.

Now directly about cholesterol and shrimp. In 1996, an authoritative American medical journal, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, published a study on the effect of shrimp on cholesterol levels. It turned out that the shrimps increase it. But this increases "good" cholesterol. And the level of "bad" even a little reduced. After this experiment, scientists concluded that shrimps do not have a negative impact on health.

On the methods of preparation

Shrimp is not a fatty product in itself, but some cooking methods can make a shrimp dish fat enough, and then shrimp may not be as useful.

For example, one popular method of cooking involves dipping shrimps in a mixture of eggs and flour and further roasting them in boiling oil. This recipe no longer makes shrimp a dietary product. If you need to control the level of cholesterol, then avoid deep-frying and similar cooking methods.

The most useful boiled shrimp, because they retain most of the useful substances. In this form they can be eaten as an independent dish or added to salads.