Q: What prompted you to write your book?
I have worked for years helping people to follow a gluten-free diet. They needed help because most of current information available was difficult and confusing. As I researched health problems, I discovered many of my patients who were suffering from celiac-related problems hadn’t been tested for the disease. Those who were tested often were told they did not have celiac disease but they did. When a dietary change helped my patients so much, gluten-free living really caught my attention.

Q: Today, we hear about many folks eliminating gluten because they think they are allergic. How can someone be sure that it’s really gluten that is bothering them?
Although celiac disease is not an allergy, it does create a range of auto-immune issues, which require the same type of avoidance as an allergy. If you suspect a gluten-intolerance, first try to be tested for celiac disease — you can do this by having a blood work screening done.

If any of the blood tests are positive, you should follow up with a gastroenterologist who specializes in celiac to have an endoscopy (an internal exam that utilizes a camera at the end of a long, flexible tube). If the blood work is negative and you have a family history of celiac disease or have several symptoms, consider further testing.

There are some individuals who do not get diagnosed with celiac disease, but their health still improves on a gluten-free diet. They’re classified as non-celiac gluten-sensitive. In order to get the best direction, work with a registered dietitian who specializes in celiac.

Q: The first few months of going gluten-free can get very frustrating and confusing. Are there any tips you can share with folks who have just started?
This is why I developed the three meal plans in my book: one that uses just supermarket choices, one that covers looking for more extensive choices and one on how to use what’s in your fridge. To make it simple when getting started, try sticking with fresh fruit and veggies, 100% dairy products, and meat, chicken and fish that aren’t marinated in anything. Pick up a few specialized products — rice pasta and snacks, bars and cereals that are labeled gluten-free. Get a gluten-free grocery guide to help you with label reading and calling manufacturers.

Q: I’m not following a gluten-free diet, but let’s say someone in my family suffers from celiac disease and I need to adapt my cooking to suit them. Are there easy suggestions for cooking without having to make two types of dishes at every meal?
If you are not familiar with a gluten-free diet and you are feeding others, the best way to go is to:

• Only use marinades and sauces on main dishes and sides that are labeled gluten-free.
• Don’t use flour, croutons or breading in your recipes.
• Make sure you include gluten-free appetizers and desserts.

Q: My sister-in-law, who has celiac disease, has a tough time eating at restaurants. Any tips for dining out?
As someone who personally follows a gluten-free diet, I find that it can be particularly difficult when dining out — especially when I try to explain all the foods I can and cannot have to a busy waitstaff. To make this easier, I developed gluten-free instructions in 14 different languages for my book. These reproducible dining out sheets take into account ethnic foods and safe substitutes.

Q: Could you share a favorite gluten-free recipe?
Socca is a type of chickpea crepe that comes from southeastern France and northern Italy. The dish, which is included in my book, is quick and easy to make.

Socca
Serves 4 (Makes 2 crepes)

1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup onion or shallots, sliced thin (optional)
Gluten-free cooking spray (or olive oil)
Optional toppings: Parmesan cheese, shredded mozzarella, chopped sun dried tomatoes, roasted or fried garlic

Mix together chickpea flour, water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, rosemary, salt, pepper and shallots.  Let it sit for about 30 minutes, covered, at room temperature. (The mixture will resemble a thick cream.)

Preheat oven to broil. Spray a 91/2-inch round nonstick skillet with cooking spray (or coat with vegetable oil) and heat on a low flame until hot.

Pour about 1/2 cup batter into pan and swirl around to coat pan like a crepe in a nice round shape (use a rubber spatula to loosen up sides).

Cook the socca until crispy on one side, slide onto a cookie sheet or a pizza pan, drizzle with 1/4 tablespoon olive oil and desired optional toppings. Brown under the broiler until crispy. (Note: You can prepare this in a saute pan only at higher heat.)

Cut the crepe into two large pieces or four smaller pieces. Repeat above with rest of the batter.

Nutrition Information:
153 calories, 5.2 grams protein, 14.3 grams carbohydrates, 8.3 grams fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 306 milligrams sodium, 2.7 grams fiber, 14.3 milligrams calcium, 1.2 milligrams iron

For more information on Marlisa Brown, check out www.glutenfreeeasy.com.

Almonds
Almonds contain protein, which gives your hair strength, and the mineral zinc, which keeps it thick (zinc deficiencies can lead to hair loss). Easy ways to add more almonds to your diet: Snack on trail mix, top salads and oatmeal with slivered bits or spread almond butter on apples or toast.

Eggs
Eggs offer the healthy hair trifecta: protein, vitamin B-12 and the lesser-known vitamin, biotin. All those nutrients work to give hair strength. Iffy on eggs? Read more about their healthy benefits here.

Tuna
Omega-3 fats from fish such as salmon and tuna helps keeps your scalp (and the rest of your skin) smooth and healthy. A three-ounce portion of cooked tuna packs more than 1400 milligrams of these good-for-you fats – that’s 400 milligrams more than some varieties of salmon. You’ll also get some B-12 — all fish are excellent sources.

Yogurt
Here’s another food with multiple nutrients for hair health. A six-ounce cup of non-fat yogurt will give you seven to 10 grams of protein (Greek yogurt has even more) and cover 25% of your daily need of calcium, a mineral vital to hair growth. Grab a container for a snack or blend some into a breakfast smoothie.

Lean Beef & Poultry
Iron allows red blood cells to carry oxygen to all the cells in the body, including your hair follicles. Lean cuts of beef (flank steak is my personal fave) and poultry such chicken and turkey are our recommendations — our bodies absorb their iron better than what comes from plant sources.

Beans
Beans and other legumes such as lentils are another good source of iron for hair growth. You can get more biotin and proteins from beans, too! Add these little guys to soups, salads and pasta dishes. Or try mixing them into sautéed ground turkey and veggies for tacos and batches of chili during the winter months.

Spinach
Dark leafy greens — spinach, romaine lettuce, kale and Swiss chard — are high in vitamins A and C, which both act to help produce oils that lock in your hair’s moisture.

Whole-Grain Cereals
Fortified with vitamin B-12, iron and zinc, whole-grain cereals are an easy item to add to your daily menu. Check out which packaged whole-grain cereals ranked highest in our recent taste test.

Cottage Cheese
This is one of the best dairy sources of protein. A single cup of cottage cheese has 28 grams of calcium (that’s 15% of your daily need). Mix in some fruit for a power breakfast or try some of our cottage cheese other ideas.

Citrus Fruit
Full of beneficial vitamin C, fruits such as citrus, strawberries, bell peppers and broccoli also help to produce collagen that keeps the scalp and hair follicles firm and strong. Better still, vitamin C enhances our body’s iron absorption, so add orange segments to that chicken-topped salad or sliced strawberries to your oatmeal and cereal.

Here are some things to know about diet sodas (or any diet beverage for that matter).

The Good
The bright side to a diet soda is the lack of sugar-filled calories. Switching from a standard 12-ounce can of regular soda to the diet version will save an average of 100 calories and almost seven teaspoons of added sugar per can! If you’re someone that drinks multiple sodas a day, that can lead to some serious weight loss.

The Bad
If you do opt for diet soda, don’t think you can just drink and drink because it’s calorie-free. There are four good reasons to cut back:

1. In place of sugar, diet beverages use artificial sweeteners — chemicals that should be consumed in moderation. There are theories that these artificial sweeteners might increase cravings for more sweet (and high-calorie) foods
2. Many of these drinks contain caffeine, which may curb appetite temporarily, leading to overeating later in the day. A little pick me up is fine but if your total beverage count for the day comes from coffee and caffeinated sodas, you may want to cut back. Here’s a list of the caffeine content in popular beverages.
3. Many of these drinks (especially colas) contain phosphorus, an important nutrient for bone formation and cell structure. The only problem is, too much can leech calcium from your bones, weakening them.
4. The more soda you drink, the less water you’re taking in — water is free of calories, too!

Bottom Line: If you must have them, consume diet beverages in moderation — one 12-ounce serving a day MAX! If you’re looking to cut calories, make some room for water or seltzer, which you can flavor up with fruit slices or a splash of fruit juice for extra oomph.

TELL US: Are you a soda addict?

As the name implies, you can you get a lot of something (for a reasonable amount) in the bulk aisle, but you can also get just a little, too. How’s that helpful? Well, say you’re making a recipe that calls for an unusual ingredient, you probably just want to buy what you’ll need for the dish rather than an entire package that will likely go to waste (i.e. wasted money).

The bulk aisle works great for when you want to try new ingredients, too. I like being able to weigh out a little bit of a grain or a spice without having to commit to the whole package.  Better still, the bulk aisle always has fresh ingredients.

More bulk-aisle basics to know:
• Just because the ingredients are sold/displayed in bulk doesn’t mean you have to buy in bulk. Only weigh out as much as you need.
• Buying bulk ingredients is eco-friendly — there’s less energy and packaging used during manufacturing and you can store your goodies in reusable containers at home.
• Look for hidden treasure and get creative in the kitchen. My grocer carries millet, amaranth, mung beans, split peas and kamut, to name a few.
• Bulk items are of equal or greater quality to their packaged counterparts…especially if you shop somewhere with high turnover.

To give you a sense of the savings, I compared some pantry staples at my local grocer and here is what I found:

TELL US: What do you buy from the bulk section?

Katie Cavuto Boyle, MS, RD, owns HealthyBites, LLC.

Q: How much protein do I really need in a day (and how do I get it)?

A: Less than you think, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.
First of all, here’s some background. The protein you get from foods helps to regulate your metabolism and plays a role in how your immune system functions. Unlike the carbohydrates and fat that come from foods, protein isn’t an efficient source of energy, which is why you don’t want to eat anything but protein — you’ll run out of gas! Also, unlike carbs and fat, your body isn’t able to store protein. Our systems use what up what’s needed from a meal and any extra protein gets shipped on out as waste.

For the average adult, protein should make up about 15 to 20% of his or her daily calories (growing children and serious athletes often need more). This comes out to 75 to 100 grams per day in a basic 2,000-calorie diet. One way to get a ballpark figure for how much you need is to calculate about 0.4 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So a 150-pound person would need about 60 grams per day.

And don’t let those high-protein Atkins-style diets or drugstore shelves packaged with supplements, protein bars and shakes fool you. I’ve seen some supplements with 60 grams per serving. That’s more than a day’s worth for some folks! You can easily get your daily need from protein-rich foods — meat, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, nuts and soy. Whole grains also provide a few extra grams of protein. Since many of these foods are meat-free, vegetarians can easily meet their needs, too.

Here’s an example menu for a balanced day. You just want a small amount of protein with each meal and you’re covered — no need for protein mega-doses from shakes and other supplements.

Breakfast:
2 egg omelet with 2 tablespoons shredded cheese
1 slice whole grain toast

Morning Snack:
Apple with 1 tablespoon peanut butter

Lunch:
3 ounces grilled chicken breast on 2 slices whole-wheat bread with lettuce, tomato and 2 tablespoons hummus

Afternoon Snack:
6 ounces non-fat yogurt
1 granola bar

Dinner:
Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry with 1 cup cooked brown rice

Daily Total: 1,650 calories; 87 grams protein (21% of calories)

1) Eggs
Instead of expensive chicken, fish or beef for dinner, why not cook up a veggie omelet or frittata (my new favorite way to cook eggs!)? An egg-cellent source of protein and the antioxidant lutein (for healthy eyes, skin, and heart), one large egg contains 75 calories and 6 grams of protein. Boil up a few and store them in the fridge for a quick grab-and-go snack. I even pack a hard-boiled egg in my five-year-old’s lunch box at least once a week. A dozen large eggs range from $2 to $3.20. If you buy them in 1.5 dozen packs or larger (bulk warehouses sell seven to eight dozen packs), you’ll pay even less per egg. If that’s too many eggs for your fridge basket, split them with a friend.

2) Oranges
Add affordable fruits to your weekly shopping list — oranges, apples, and bananas. In season now are vitamin C-rich oranges, so you’ll find them at the best price (about 50 cents each). In the fall, fill your cart up with fresh apples. You’ll find bananas at a great price year-round (I’ve recently seen them at 19 cents each). Use these bargain fruits as snacks and cereal toppers (as opposed to some of the more pricey berries and tropical fruits). Frozen bananas also make a tasty addition to healthy fruit smoothies.

3) Oats
The large canisters of plain rolled oats — not those single-serving, sugary ones — will give you the most for your dollar. One serving of oatmeal (made from a half-cup of dry oats) contains 150 calories, 5 grams of protein and 4 grams of cholesterol-friendly fiber — al that for a mere 30 cents. Dress up your oatmeal with those budget-friendly fruits listed above or mix in a tablespoon of peanut butter (another food that deserves honorable mention for being budget-friendly). Add rolled oats to your smoothie or cookies for a little extra fiber.

4) Canned Tomatoes
This time of year, fresh tomatoes will cost you a pretty penny. But you can still get plenty of the antioxidants vitamin C and lycopene from the canned varieties. The larger the can, the more you’ll save. A 48-ounce can of crushed tomatoes costs around $1.50 (that’s 5 cents per ounce!). Add crushed tomatoes to soups, stews, chili and pasta dishes. Read up on more ways to cook with canned tomatoes.

5) Non-Fat Yogurt
Full of calcium and a good protein source, this creamy treat is an easy breakfast or on-the-go snack. But the real superstars in yogurt are those healthy, live bacteria called probiotics. They help your body fight off bad bacteria and keep your digestive system in tip-top shape. Choose yogurt made with skim milk and without sugar substitutes. The generic brands cost less, especially if you find them in large 32-ounce tubs. They will save you 20% for the same amount in single-serve containers. If you’re looking to eat less sugar, choose plain yogurt and top with your favorite add-ins — raisins, chunks of fruit or a few tablespoons of granola. Helpful hint: Since yogurts have a  shelf-life of a few months, you’ll often find your favorite yogurt on sale (the stores must get them off the shelves) so check the weekly circular.

More Budget-Friendly Tips:
• Refreshingly Cheap White Wines
• Dressing Up Canned Tuna
• 10 Healthy Foods Under $3
• Cook Now, Freeze Later
• Make It A Meatless Monday

Here, he shares thoughts on this growing threat to our kids and even his favorite heart-healthy burger recipe.

1) We’ve talked lot about heart health this month at Healthy Eats, but folks often assume heart disease only affects older people? What about kids and younger adults?
Kids’ vulnerability to heart disease begins with the obvious: They have hearts and they have blood vessels. Their hearts are smaller and younger than those of their parents, yes, but they are present and subject to injury by the same insults: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, oxidation, insulin resistance, diabetes and so on. Atherosclerosis — the process that gums up coronary arteries with plaque, leading to heart attacks — generally develops over decades, but it can begin at any stage of life. The earlier it begins, the earlier the damage becomes truly dangerous.

Due largely to the epidemic of childhood obesity, we now have rampant type-2 diabetes (which was formerly called “adult-onset diabetes”) in children. When kids succumb more and more to diabetes, it’s just a matter of time before teenagers succumb to heart disease. I know the case of a 17-year-old boy who had a triple coronary bypass, due to obesity and diabetes. Thankfully, such cases are still rare, but they won’t stay that way if we stay on our current trajectory.

2) So it sounds like we need to get the word out. Do you have strategies for making nutrition education fun for kids?
First, for kids and adults alike, my attitude is that we should love food that loves us back! In other words, I don’t expect people to choose between food that’s good and food that’s good for them — they can have both. Kids need to know that they will like what they eat.

But kids also care about feeling well. In my Nutrition Detectives program, I point out that food is the fuel that runs the human body. It’s the fuel that powers all of the activities that are fun! If you like to dance, food is the fuel. If you like swimming, or skiing, or soccer, or basketball, or singing, or whatever, food is the fuel.

I also point out to kids that they’re growing, and they have to build those extra inches of themselves out of something. So I give them a choice: Would they rather be made out of junk or good stuff? When they understand food is, literally, the raw material to build a growing body, “junk” food sounds like a very bad idea.

People can learn to prefer more wholesome foods by gradually eating more of them. Taste buds are very adaptable little fellas — when they can’t be with the foods they love, they learn to love the foods they’re with! Your mom asks you to eat spinach or broccoli not because she wants to torture you, but because she loves you, and wants you to be healthy and happy and energetic; and you’re going to fight with her for THAT?

3) You are involved in the NuVal nutritional scoring system for foods in the grocery store. How does this system help shoppers make better choices?
We all know that spinach is very nutritious and cheese doodles not so much, right? But what about foods that are much more alike: which salad dressing, breakfast cereal, bread, granola bar, pasta sauce, crackers, cookies and chips are best for us? Unless you are a true expert — and maybe even not then — it can be very, very hard to tell.

So we made it easy. The work of some of the top nutrition and public health experts in North America, NuVal is based on a sophisticated algorithm that puts together all of a food’s details to generate a score for overall nutritional quality on a scale from 1 to 100: the higher the number, the more nutritious the food. Period.

We have NuVal in 526 supermarkets in 19 states currently. Since the scores appear on the supermarket shelf right next to the price, it can also tell you where to find the most nutritional value for your buck: a healthy bargain, in other words.

4) Your website has some fabulous recipe. What’s your favorite heart-healthy dish?
My wife, Catherine, is an amazing cook, who can combine the creative flare of a chef with the systematic experimentation of a research scientist (which, in fact, she is). The result is that over the years, she has methodically blended the best cuisine with my very demanding nutrition standards and so the Katz family eats food we love, that loves us back, every day!

Our Super Bowl Sunday is a great example. While many households may have had burgers, we made burgers from a blend of lean, ground turkey and cooked, mashed lentils (see the recipe below). Here’s the amazing thing: The lentils, while adding enormously to the nutritional benefits, actually make the meat taste richer! We don’t eat red meat, and these burgers almost looked and tasted TOO much like beef for my palate. But not quite. They’re delicious. They’re also super-nutritious, low in saturated fat and rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Katz Family Turkey Burgers
Makes 6 burgers (1 burger per serving)

1 pound extra lean ground turkey
1/2 cup pureed cooked lentils
20 whole-grain crackers
2 tablespoons flaxmeal
2 eggs
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place crackers in coffee grinder and grind finely to make crumbs; pour the cracker crumbs in a large bowl, add flaxmeal and mix.

Add the ground turkey, pureed lentils, eggs, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder and salt to the bowl with the cracker crumbs/flax meal mixture and combine together using a fork (or you can dig in with your hands, clean of course!) until well blended.

Form into 6 patties and spray lightly with olive oil mister (do not do each individually, or you will tend to spray too much and add unnecessary fat).

Spray olive oil cooking spray in a large cast iron grill pan (you can also grill on BBQ) and heat over high heat. When hot, grill the turkey patties on each side until cooked through (8-10 minutes).

Nutrition Information (1 burger):
Calories: 189
Total fat: 4 grams
Saturated fat: 0.5 grams
Carbohydrates: 12 grams
Cholesterol: 118 milligrams
Sodium: 348 milligrams
Protein: 24 grams
Fiber: 3 grams

Have a Game Plan
Most of us don’t exercise for a living or spend hours every day in the gym. Achieving a successful diet and exercise routine is all about time management. Too often people try the “all or nothing” approach and find it too hard to maintain. Two sensible tactics are:

1. Plan your meals and snacks for the week ahead of time
2. Set realistic exercise goals — be honest about how often you can exercise. You don’t have workout seven days a week.

Go for the Real Deal, Not the Bottle
Don’t rely on supplements to the nutrition or energy boost that you need (many supplements are actually off-limits to professional athletes). Our bodies always absorb nutrients better when they come from food. Plus, you don’t have to worry about many of the dangers associated with overdosing on vitamin and mineral pills. Sometimes you might fall short in some of the harder-to-get nutrients (like omega-3 fatss or vitamin D). That’s the time to talk to a registered dietitian or doctor, who will provide sensible vitamin recommendations to go along with your healthy diet (that’s why they’re called “supplements”).

Drink Up
One of the leading causes of fatigue during exercise is dehydration. Avoid a workout slump by carrying a water bottle (preferably a reusable one) with you at all times.

If water’s not exciting enough, check out our tips for flavoring up your water, and find out how much water you really need in a day.

Stretch It Out
Eating only three large meals a day can lead to peaks and valleys in your blood sugar and energy levels (and can also lead to over eating). Many athletes keep their metabolism firing and energy levels high throughout the day by eating small meals and snacks. Aim to eat something every three to four hours.

Don’t Be Carb-Phobic
Athletes know they’d never be able to keep up with their exercise regimen if it wasn’t for energy-producing carbohydrates. While most folks don’t need as many carbs as Olympians such as Lindsey Vonn and Apolo Ohno, make sure about half of your daily calories come from whole grains, fruits and veggies.

TELL US: What are your winning diet and exercise strategies?

Cholesterol Basics
Ideally, you want the artery-clogging “LDL” cholesterol to be low (less than 130 mg/dL) and the clog-reducing “HDL” to be high (above 60 mg/dL). You want to keep triglycerides (a measure of certain type of fat in the blood) low for a healthy heart.

Cholesterol comes from animal-sourced foods (meat, dairy and eggs, for example). While many cholesterol-containing foods are good for you, experts recommend that you keep the daily amount of cholesterol you eat to about 300 milligrams per day. Foods high in saturated fat and trans fats also negatively affect cholesterol levels, so avoid those.

1) Oatmeal
This is the one you probably know about. The soluble fiber in whole grain oats helps lower LDL and total cholesterol. Try topping plain oatmeal with a little dried fruit, a sprinkle of nuts and a hint of maple syrup or honey for some sweetness.

2) Salmon
The omega-3 fats in salmon and other fatty fish such as tuna and sardines help lower triglycerides and increase HDL. Aim for two servings of fish a week.

3) Olive Oil
The monounsaturated fats and antioxidants in olives and olive oil help to lower LDL (they don’t really affect HDL levels). Use olive oil for sauteing, marinades and salad dressings. Heads up: oil has 120 calories per tablespoon so watch those portions.

4) Flax
According to David Grotto’s book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, women who eat 50 grams of ground flaxseed a day for four weeks lowered their LDL by 18%. Try adding these omega-3-rich and fiber-filled seeds to salads, smoothies, oatmeal and even baked goods.

5) Plant Sterols
Fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds naturally contain compounds called sterols that block the absorption of cholesterol and help keep LDL low. Along with being in fruits and veggies, you can get more potent doses of these sterols from certain brands of yogurt and yogurt drinks, cereals, granola bars and spreads such as Smart Balance, Promise Activ and Benecol (they all add extra sterols). The downside is that you’ll need a pretty hefty amount (about 2 grams a day) to reap sterol’s cholesterol benefits.

6) Oat Bran
Another way to take advantage of the soluble fiber in oats is to bake with oat bran (available at health food stores). Add it to cookies, breads and these multigrain muffins.

7) Almonds
Eating 1.5 ounces a day (about 30 almonds) as part of a diet low in saturated fat can help reduce the risk of heart disease and help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Almonds are also high in vitamin E, too — an antioxidant that boosts heart health.

8 ) Soy
Soy products such as edamame, tofu and soymilk are plant-based proteins, so they’re naturally cholesterol free. Use these foods to replace animal proteins (like swapping soy milk for cow’s milk) — it can help reduce your cholesterol levels.

9) Alcohol
There’s research that supports the theory that a few cocktails can actually improve your HDL levels, but don’t hit the booze too hard — too much can raise triglyceride levels. Keep it to a maximum of one drink a day for women and two for the guys.

10) Citrus Fruit
Fruits such as oranges and grapefruit are not only good sources of soluble fiber, but research from the USDA finds that a compound found in orange oil can help to lower LDL. A 2006 study from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that eating a red grapefruit a day resulted in lower LDL and improved triglyceride levels. (Note: Grapefruit juice may interfere with some medications so check with your doctor or pharmacist.)

What Are Shellfish?
When someone says “shellfish,” they usually mean clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, shrimp, crab and lobster. Ranging in size, species and price, these sea creatures are served raw, steamed, grilled, baked or fried in various cuisines around the world.

Bad Reputation
When we started zeroing in on cholesterol in our food, shellfish (and eggs) made it on the do-not-eat list. Nutrition analysis has since revealed that this seafood doesn’t contain as much cholesterol as we once believed.

Shellfish contain a combination of dietary cholesterol and similar compounds called sterols, which won’t negatively affect your heart. Since it’s okay to get some cholesterol from food, enjoying sensible portions of lobster, shrimp or other shellfish is fine — even if you’re watching your cholesterol.

Of course, it’s common to dip shellfish, especially lobster, in melted butter. Well, that will certainly increase the unhealthy fats and negatively impact your diet. Instead, opt for freshly squeezed lemon juice or dip your shellfish pieces in some cocktail sauce.

Good News for Seafood Lovers
In general, the daily amount of cholesterol you should get from food is 300 milligrams. While shellfish has more cholesterol than other animal proteins, their numbers are definitely doable in your daily diet — 3 ounces of lobster or 19 small clams have about 60 milligrams and 15 large shrimp weigh in at about 166 milligrams.

Plus, shellfish have lots of other benefits that can outweigh that. They are high in protein, very low in fat (and especially low in saturated fats, which can affect cholesterol levels in an unhealthy way) and contain good omega-3 fats, which can actually help lower your cholesterol.

Bottom Line: Steamed, baked or grilled shellfish make terrific lean protein options. Pass on the butter and fried stuff, and enjoy shellfish in moderation and there’s nothing to fear.

Healthy shellfish recipes:
• Rhode Island Style Clam Chowder
• Shrimp Salad With Cucumber & Mint
• Lobster Roll
• Sauteed Sea Scallops
• Crab Cakes