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Shellfish are one of the 12 foods most
likely to cause the classic symptoms of food allergy, including upset
stomach, hives and angioedema (swelling of the lips and eyes). The
others are berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries,
strawberries), chocolate, corn, eggs, fish, legumes (peas, lima beans,
peanuts, soybeans), milk, nuts, peaches, pork and wheat.
Like raw meat, raw shellfish may carry
various pathogens, including Salmonella bacteria. These organisms are
destroyed by thorough cooking. Otherwise, it will cause parasitical,
viral and bacterial infections or food poisoning.
People whose blood-cholesterol levels are
abnormally high are considered at risk for heart disease, but experts
disagree as to the effects of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol.
Patients with hypercholesteremia, a metabolic disorder that influences
cholesterol production in the liver, may benefit from a diet low in
dietary cholesterol, but there is no conclusive proof that lowering a
healthy person's consumption of dietary cholesterol will significantly
change the amount of cholesterol he or she produces. In 1986, the
American Heart Association issued new guidelines suggesting that healthy
adults reduce their consumption of fat to 30 percent of total calories
and limit cholesterol intake to 300 mg per day or 100 mg per 1000
calories, whichever is less (3.5 ounces of squid or octopus have 300 mg
cholesterol).
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