Striving4Zen

We'd only recommend routine consumption of shrimp in its natural, wild form - not the farmed version. Sometimes the shrimp may already be labeled as "wild" or "non-farmed," but you may have to ask some questions and be persistent in order to find out from your grocer whether or not the shrimp you intend to buy have been farmed.

Key problems with shrimp farming involve use of antibiotics and pesticides in the raising of the shrimp. One particular disease - called White Spot Syndrome Virus - can be particularly deadly to shrimp, and for this reason, many shrimp farmers use antibiotics in an attempt to protect the shrimp. Because very small amounts of shrimp entering the U.S. are ever tested for antibiotic residues, their presence is a definite concern in farmed shrimp that have been routinely given antibiotics.

Wild shrimp are very nutrient-rich and low in calories - two of the reasons that we included shrimp on our website as a World's Healthiest Food. It's also very unusual to find a food that is rich in the same combination of nutrients as shrimp - selenium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. Because this particular list of nutrients is often deficient in the U.S. diet, shrimp could play a unique role by "filling in the gaps" for all three nutrients all at once.

That being said, and even if a person was deficient in selenium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12, we would not be sure whether eating shrimp every day would be a good thing. We think balance is important, whether it be because it adds variety to a diet, allows you to enjoy a range of nutrients, and/or reduces the potential for an allergy to form (sometimes people develop a sensitivity to a food when consuming it too much, the reason why corn and wheat are two of the top food allergens in North America).

The other thing about shrimp is that they do contain cholesterol; four ounces of cooked shrimp contains about 220 milligrams of cholesterol. For some people, this isn't an issue, but for others it is. Therefore, we would suggest that while you may want to include wild shrimp in your meal plans as a healthy addition and one that may support healthy weight loss, you may not want to include it every day, but rather alternate it with other nutrient-rich protein sources such as fish and legumes/beans.

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Labels: healthy diet, nutrition, selenium, shrimp, Vitamins