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Shellfish removed from cholesterol “bad list” 11 December, 2006 -
Over the past year, the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) has questioned the old advice that shellfish, particularly prawns, should be avoided by people trying to control and reduce their blood cholesterol. The idea that cholesterol in shellfish might represent a risk was first put forward at a conference held 22 years ago. However, leading U.S. nutritional scientist Professor Bill Lands has advised SAGB that there has never been any proof to support this. Prof. Lands believes that maintaining an adequate omega-3 level in the diet is the surest way of avoiding heart disease and that shellfish can help that. According to SAGB, in 1988 Canada rejected the idea that shellfish should be avoided and in French speaking countries the idea is ridiculed. They have never strayed from the idea that shellfish is good for you. “When leading nutritionists in this country were approached, it was clear that the low-fat, low-calorie qualities of shellfish, including prawns were more important and generally beneficial to healthy eating,” SAGB Assistant Director Clive Askew told FISHupdate.com. “Although some shellfish contain cholesterol, they are low in saturated fat. It was agreed there was no reason to exclude prawns as it is mainly the saturated fat content of the diet that is known to increase blood cholesterol levels. Shellfish like oysters, cockles and mussels also contain plant sterols which are viewed as good and these species are anyway low in cholesterol, containing less than chicken. “Heart UK, the charity advising people who have a genetic disorder called familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) now limit their advice to minimise prawn consumption to a very small group of people, those who both have FH and who cannot take statins. That is a miniscule group. For people most at risk of heart attack, the advice is to limit dietary cholesterol to 300mg per day. That is about two-dozen oysters or over a pound of prawns in shell.” For everyone else, in other words most people who need to reduce their cholesterol, shellfish is simply not a problem, Dr Askew concluded. The news has been welcomed by the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group, which supplies over half of Scotland’s harvested mussels. Commenting, Donny Gillies, Managing Director said: “We welcome the decision by NHS Direct to review the health benefits of shellfish. It proves what we have always known, that fresh Scottish shellfish is some of the best and healthiest food in the world. “Over the past few years, mussels in particular have been developing a reputation as a wonder food. Mussels, which contain only a trace of fat but are rich in nutrients contain more than double the amount of iron found in red meat and over eight times as much as found in green leaf vegetables like cabbage. This is particularly important in combating anaemia in children. Research has shown that iron - an essential factor in the development of red blood cells - is the most common nutrient that children lack."
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