When people were randomized to consume shellfish with the same amount by protein of meat,

cheese, and eggs, surprisingly, shrimp did not lower their all-dil cholesterol.

Perhaps because shrimp is so high in dietary cholesterol, shrimp is

exceedingly low in saturated fat, like 30 times less of their meat, but has about twice

as much cholesterol, which dietary guidelines recommend we reduce in our diet to as low as

possible. If people are given the same amount of cholesterol in the form of shrimp or eggs, they

get about the same rise in LDL cholesterol, which alone could increase our lifetime risks

of heart disease by about 15 percent.

But there are a lot more people eating two eggs a day than like 11 ounces of shrimp a day.

And eating wild-caught cold-water prawns, a different species of shrimp, doesn't appear to

budge LDL cholesterol much at all. Unfortunately, about one in three shrimp and the grocery

store is mislabeled, so it may be hard to pick and choose. There's another way meat

may contribute to heart disease risk. In certain areas of the United States and around the world, getting

bitten by certain types of ticks can make you allergic to meat. In some parts of the

U.S. where the lone star tick is endemic, as many as 20% of people have allergy-type

antibodies against meat in their bloodstream. But the prevalence of clinically appreciated allergic symptoms is thought to be at

least tenfold less. So they're sensitized to meat, but when they eat it, they don't exhibit

any symptoms. And because of that, they continue to eat meat. But what if that's causing

inflammation inside their bodies, even if they don't feel it? And most concerningly, what if it's causing more inflammation in their artery walls?

Indeed, there were significant greater amounts of atherosclerotic plaque and the individuals

who had detectable levels of the anti-meat allergy antibodies in their system.

So people consume mammalian meat,

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