October
2007
Shellfish: Healthy or Not?
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Shrimp have long been on the average dietitian’s “bad” list. The belief was that lobster, crabs, clams, shrimp and other shellfish were high in cholesterol, and therefore detrimental to cardiovascular health. But according to the L.A. Times, the oft-cited information is completely wrong. Accurate measurements reveal that shellfish - even shrimp - are quite low in cholesterol.
Of course, the theory that dietary cholesterol somehow translates to high LDL blood cholesterol - and further, heart disease - is one of rapidly eroding merit. (See Mary Enig’s critique of the lipid hypothesis for more research and information on this.) In truth, avoiding particular foods because of their cholesterol content - whether it’s grass-fed beef or eggs or shellfish - is not only unnecessary, but possibly foolish. In keeping with our Primal Health discussions here at MDA, I am firmly convinced that the national nutritional guidelines which recommend strict avoidance of natural, nutritious foods containing saturated fat - and cholesterol - in favor of highly refined products made from grains are clearly contributing to our epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes, “syndrome X”, and possibly depression and arthritis. And the list goes on…
Now, whether we ought to be eating shellfish in light of environmental considerations is another question. Clean, fresh shellfish of all sorts are high in many important nutrients and our primal ancestors certainly ate oysters, shrimp, abalone, clams, and lobster in abundance - depending, of course, on geographical location. Your thoughts?
Further reading:
44 delicious low-carb recipes for vegans and carnivores alike
Technorati Tags: shrimp, shellfish, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL
Not healthy if you have a sensitivity/allergy, or farmed raised shrimp, or imitation crabmeat. Healthy otherwise as long as it’s good quality. I eat shrimp but not much of the others.
They used to feed lobsters and other buggy crustaceans to prisoners in the olden times… Hmm.
Regardless, yummy and high in protein!
Yep the imitation crab concerns me. It’s got a lot of weird stuff in there. Wild caught shrimp and seasonal fresh oysters are my faves
In Jewish kosher laws, shellfish is forbidden. I’ve often wondered why that might be. Anybody know?
It makes all the sensee in the world to me that our early ancestors (in the right geographic locations) diets were abundant if not soley relied on shellfish.
Raw abalone is one of my favorite sashimi items.
T.
Tat, I will explore that issue because I’m curious myself.
Cool Sara, thank you.
T.
All My Life I’ve Eaten Shrimp, Crab, Lobster,Crawfish And NEVER Got Sick On It.
I Was Raised And Told To Just Never Drink
Milk With It.
The environmental impact is, unfortunately very significant. I know most about shrimp farming, which is terribly destructive to the delicate and endangered mangrove ecosystems where shrimp are most productively farmed. Mangroves are absolutely destroyed (and quickly) by shrimp production, and when they’re gone they can no longer prevent coastal erosion and protect against things like hurricanes. I used to love shrimp but I just can’t eat it anymore.
Donna-Why not milk?
My husband always gets a “cleanse” after eating crab/clams.
Crystal,As A Kid That’s How My Parents Raised Me, To Never Drink Milk With Seafood. I’ll Have To Ask WHY???
Well, here’s the wiki on “clean” and “unclean” flesh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unclean_animals
Here’s an interesting comment thread: http://www.peertrainer.com/LoungeCommunityThread.aspx?ForumID=1&ThreadID=5541 [I found this comment interesting: “I’m not sure I understand the concept of bottom feeders in terms of shell fish - they do eat all the stuff at the bottom of the ocean (since that’s where they live), but they are also the bottom of the food chain. Why a lot of the bigger fish have so much mercury is that mercury isn’t flushed by the body, so the big fish eats the slightly smaller fish, who ate the smaller fish, who at the tiny fish, and the big fish ends up with all those other fishes’ mercury in his body, which we get when we eat him.
Shellfish, on the other hand, only eat little tiny plankton or plant matter, which has almost no mercury (and probably very little other bad stuff, too, although this is where my knowledge gets fuzzy), making them, at least in that way, healthier for us to then eat.”]
http://www.oceansalive.org/eat.cfm?subnav=bestandworst
For what its worth. A guide to your Seafood dining pleasure…
The link above, awaiting moderation, stipulates that there are only a few seafood choices worthy of consumption due to ecological concerns….
Good choices generally include: Anchovies, catfish, clams, Dungeness and stone Crabs, crawfish, Pacific halibut, Atlantic herring, mussels, wild or Alaskan salmon, sardines, and bay scallops.
No shrimp or lobster made the acceptability index, and only the following are considered both high in Omega 3’s and low in contaminants:
Anchovies, Oysters (farmed), Herring (Atlantic US Canada), Mackerel (Atlantic), Sablefish/black cod (Alaska), Salmon [Wild (Alaska, canned pink /sockeye], and sardines.
Tat and others:
The Bible warns of ingesting scavengers such as swine, shellfish of any kind, etc. because of the
garbage they ingest and can pass on to us. It is strictly, to my knowledge, to protect us from potential harm. Shellfish are referred to as “bottom-feeders”. I hope this helps.
Great link, Oxybeles, thanks.
[…] Shellfish and Cholesterol […]
Shrimp, shellfish, crab, etc., were made by God to clean up the garbage on the bottom of the ocean and were never meant to be eaten by humans. God forbid the eating of them for the health of His people…so He knows what is best for them. If we eat these creatures, then we are eating all the garbage they have eaten.
[…] Shellfish: Healthy or Not? […]
My only problem with fish is two part. I live too far inland to get fish without a second mortgage, and I can’t get wild fish, only farm raised here. I used to live in NY and we ate fish my Dad caught at least three times a week. Shellfish was another two days. The other two days of the week we ate strange stuff called Chicken and Beef. LOL HELP!! Does anyone know how to get wild fish shipped to Arizona?
[…] Shellfish: Healthy or Not? […]