Wild-caught shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic aren’t just packed full of delicious flavor, they’re also filled with a variety of nutrients that can improve your health.

This includes a key macronutrient that helps you build and maintain muscle mass: protein!

It seems that everyone is always trying to find new ways to incorporate protein into their diets – from getting creative with keto to going all-in on an all-meat diet. However, people often forget to walk down the freezer aisle to the shrimp section rather than the meat counter to find a healthy alternative protein source for their diets. After all: shrimp are made almost entirely of protein and water! Once in the freezer section, just make sure to read the labels to find the delectable tasting wild-caught American shrimp!

As noted by Healthline, when you eat shrimp, you can rest assured that you’re getting plenty of protein packed into small, poppable bites. They’re not only high in protein, but also they’re low in calories, carbs and fat! As part of an average meal, three ounces of shrimp contain 12 grams of protein and only 60 calories. This means that if you’re looking to cut down on calories while still getting a sufficient amount of protein in your diet, wild-caught, American shrimp may just be what you’re looking for!

As discussed in a previous blog post, the 2020 USDA Dietary Guidelines Committee recommends that Americans consume two to seven ounces of protein foods per day and that they should also be eating eight ounces of seafood or more per week. However, they found that most Americans don’t meet this benchmark and, thus, are not intaking a sufficient amount of protein.

The Committee also found that choosing lean meats over red meats leads to an overall healthier life, with the Committee finding that individuals who replace more of their red meat with lean meat have a reduced risk of all-cause mortality (death by any cause). Of course, shrimp are a perfect lean meat substitute for red meat!

Any way you slice it (or peel it), shrimp are a perfectly packed source of protein for your everyday diet!

Visit our Nutrition Facts page for even more ways wild-caught, American shrimp can improve your health!