How is this possible? Were we not led to believe that shellfish have high cholesterol content causing heart disease?
New studies show that high cholesterol foods are super healthy and do exactly the opposite.*
Most of the cholesterol in your blood is produced by your liver. When you eat foods high in cholesterol, your liver produces less.*
For this reason, cholesterol in the diet has only minor effects on cholesterol in the blood.*
Studies also show that eating dietary cholesterol has no link to heart attacks or strokes.*
More importantly, due to the high vitamin B12 content, the body is able to convert homocysteine, a chemical that can directly damage blood vessel walls, into other benign chemicals. Since high levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk for atherosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, it’s a good idea to be sure that your diet contains plenty of vitamin B12 to help keep homocysteine levels low. (1)
In addition to their B12, scallops are a good source of magnesium and potassium, two other nutrients that provide significant benefits for the cardiovascular system. Magnesium helps by causing blood vessels to relax, thus helping to lower blood pressure while improving blood flow. Potassium helps to maintain normal blood pressure levels. (2)
Find our Wild Canadian Scallops in our Seafood Counter.
- He K, Song Y, Daviglus ML, Liu K, Van Horn L, Dyer AR, Goldbourt U, Greenland P. Fish consumption and incidence of stroke: a meta-analysis of cohort studies. Stroke. 2004 Jul;35(7):1538-42. 2004. PMID:15155968.
- Ensminger AH, Esminger M. K. J. e. al. Food for Health: A Nutrition Encyclopedia. Clovis, California: Pegus Press; 1986. 1986. PMID:15210.