Health Benefits of Eating Shrimp

While shrimp may be small in size, they are huge in terms of nutritional value and the health benefits they offer. Read on to learn how shrimp can help you lose weight, provide you with important beauty nutrients — such as the antioxidant astaxanthin — and add cancer-fighting minerals to your diet.

Weight loss benefits of eating shrimp.

Loaded with protein, vitamin D, vitamin B3, and zinc, shrimp are an excellent, carbohydrate-free food for anyone determined to shed off pounds. Zinc supplementation of zinc deficient subjects has been shown to increase the levels of circulating leptin. Leptin is a hormone that plays a key role in regulating the body's energy expenditure, fat storage, and appetite. Insufficient leptin levels are believed to be the primary cause of food cravings, overeating, and obsession with food. The iodine in shrimp is good for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland which controls the basal metabolic rate, or the rate at which the body consumes energy at rest. Iodine deficiency can result in sluggish thyroid activity which in turn can lead to weight gain or hinder weight loss.