Cholesterol and prawns

Question
Are prawns high in cholesterol?  If so is the cholesterol found mainly in the head or evcnly distributed throughout the prawn.? I have a friend who assures me that this is so.
Thank you in advance for your time answering this question.
Regards Jan

Answer
Hi Jan!

  Thank you for your nutrition question.  People are confused by the message that prawns contain high levels of cholesterol. Cholesterol is only found in foods of animal origin and liver, egg yolk and shellfish are the major sources of dietary cholesterol. However, the level of blood cholesterol is affected more by the amount and type of fat in the diet than the amount of dietary cholesterol. A high intake of saturates, and fat of all types, can increase the amount of cholesterol produced in the liver and so the amount in the blood. This increases the risk of heart disease. Prawns are naturally low in saturated fat, 100g contains only 0.2g.

Prawns have only 99kcal per 100g while other proteins such as beef mince contain 209kcal and 13.5g of fat and grilled sausages contain 294kcal and over 22g of fat. Prawns are even lower in calories and fat than chicken. As well as being high in protein, prawns contain magnesium, which plays a role in bone development and nerve and muscle function; Zinc, which is good for growing bodies, and selenium, an important antioxidant. Hope this helps.
-George

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