Cholesterol and Shellfish ?

[Bella the Ball 360]

Does anyone know if eating lobster and crabmeat makes your cholesterol go up? I have been eating it rather frequently but need to go for my blood work in a couple of weeks. At one point i had heard it was a problem food and then more recently I heard it was not a big deal to eat shellfish.

I hope the answer is the latter. I LOVE both of those and I am on diet and they make it very bearable.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I believe they are good foods....its the method of cooking that becomes the problem. EX: fried, broiled in lots of butter....

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I believe they are good foods....its the method of cooking that becomes the problem. EX: fried, broiled in lots of butter....

OMG I hope you are right! That is the best news I have heard all week. I do not fry, or use butter. I eat it just plain or with a small bit of lf mayo.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

All shellfish is VERY high in cholesterol. Be careful....

 

[pearlieq]

Dietary cholesterol does not raise blood cholesterol levels as much as one would think. Saturated and trans fats are much more dangerous.

Here's a helpful article: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats.html

If you eat shellfish as part of an overall healthy diet, I can't see how it would be a problem. Coastal people somehow survived for millenia eating it!

 

[SplshMtn99]

Dietary cholesterol does not raise blood cholesterol levels as much as one would think. Saturated and trans fats are much more dangerous.

Here's a helpful article: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats.html

If you eat shellfish as part of an overall healthy diet, I can't see how it would be a problem. Coastal people somehow survived for millenia eating it!

My dad is a fisherman / lobsterman (occupation)....active and only recently found health issues at age 75 -- other than high blood pressure he's always dealt with. However, he eats ALOT of fish, scallops, muscles, crab, shrimp & lobster....and his doctors know it. They haven't told him to stop or reduce.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

My dad is a fisherman / lobsterman (occupation)....and has health issues. However, he eats ALOT of fish, scallops, muscles, crab, shrimp & lobster....and his doctors know it. They haven't told him to stop or reduce.

Big difference between fish (which reduces cholesterol) and shellfish which raises it.

 

[NotUrsula]

Um, no, shellfish generally doesn't raise cholesterol. It *contains* a fair amount of it, very true, but because it is low in fat and high in Omega-3 fatty acids, the cholesterol in it doesn't translate so readily into human cholesterol as the cholesterol in things like beef and eggs. Naturally it wouldn't do to really pig out on it, but it normally isn't harmful when prepared without extra fat and eaten in moderation

http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/shellfish.html

It has also recently been determined that because of the way cholesterol was initially measured, earlier estimates of the amounts of cholesterol in shellfish were too high. http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2006-rst/3337.html

 

[LadyyRedd]

While shellfish doesn't raise your cholesterol in a way that you should worry about how much you eat, you shouldn't eat it for about 48 hours before your blood test so that your cholesterol reading is accurate. This is more true if you eat a lot of it.

Kimya

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Um, no, shellfish generally doesn't raise cholesterol. It *contains* a fair amount of it, very true, but because it is low in fat and high in Omega-3 fatty acids, the cholesterol in it doesn't translate so readily into human cholesterol as the cholesterol in things like beef and eggs. Naturally it wouldn't do to really pig out on it, but it normally isn't harmful when prepared without extra fat and eaten in moderation

http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/shellfish.html

It has also recently been determined that because of the way cholesterol was initially measured, earlier estimates of the amounts of cholesterol in shellfish were too high. http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2006-rst/3337.html

Everyone has their own take on "moderation".