Lobster salad: shellfish cholesterol, mayonnaise sodium

The worry people bring to lobster is cholesterol, and the closest trials used prawns and shrimp, never lobster. In a randomized crossover trial in 23 healthy men, 7.9 oz (225 g) of cold water prawns a day for 12 weeks produced no significant change in total or LDL cholesterol relative to a control diet of fish sticks. In a separate crossover trial, 11 oz (300 g) of shrimp a day raised LDL cholesterol by 7.1% and HDL cholesterol by 12.1% against a low-cholesterol baseline diet, and its abstract does not say how many people took part. So the answer for shellfish is a small, mixed shift in blood lipids. What a lobster salad mostly adds is dressing. The USDA survey recipe has 15.4 g fat and 508 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), so a 182 g cup carries about 925 mg sodium and 340 calories, from a single standard recipe where the amount of dressing drives both numbers.

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• In the USDA survey recipe, lobster salad has 15.4 g fat, 508 mg sodium and 85 mg cholesterol per 3.5 oz (100 g), so a cup carries about 925 mg sodium. — US dietary survey food composition (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  Fat 15.4 g; sodium 508 mg; cholesterol 85 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g); per 182 g cup: fat 28 g, sodium 925 mg, cholesterol 155 mg

What a real portion looks like

• USDA counts a cup of lobster salad as 182 g, about 340 calories and 18.7 g protein, and an unspecified serving as 91 g. — US dietary survey portion database (n = 1 record) Evidence E source
  187 calories and 10.29 g protein per 3.5 oz (100 g); 1 cup 182 g = 340 calories, 18.7 g protein; quantity not specified 91 g

What cooking and storage change

• Laboratory tests on blood from crustacean-allergic people showed cooked prawn and crab extracts bound more allergy antibody (IgE) than raw extracts. — Blood cells and sera of crustacean-allergic and non-atopic adults, prawn and crab extracts Evidence D source
  Cooked extract IgE reactivity higher than raw (mud crab p<0.05, other species p<0.01); tropomyosin heat-stable
• A meta-analysis of 11 cohort studies in fish and crustacean allergic patients found simply cooked meat used in oral immunotherapy raised the rate of tolerance 2.36-fold. — Patients with fish or crustacean allergy in oral immunotherapy cohorts (n = 11 studies) Evidence C source
  Oral tolerance IRR 2.90 overall; simple cooking IRR 2.36 (p = 0.01)

Safety, limits and interactions

• FDA monitoring found a mean of 0.107 ppm mercury in northern American lobster, with a maximum of 0.23 ppm across 9 samples. — FDA monitoring samples of northern (American) lobster, 2005-2007 (n = 9) Evidence E source
  Mercury mean 0.107 ppm, median 0.086, max 0.23 ppm
• A systematic review of 61 studies found shellfish allergy prevalence from 0% to 10.3% depending on the method of diagnosis. — Population-based cross-sectional and cohort studies worldwide, 61 studies (n = 61 studies) Evidence C source
  Shellfish allergy 0-10.3% depending on the method of diagnosis
• Sera from shrimp-allergic patients also reacted to cricket protein through tropomyosin, the major shellfish allergen they share. — Sera from 9 shrimp-allergic and 6 non-allergic individuals (n = 15) Evidence D source
  Shrimp and cricket specific IgE correlation rs = 0.99 (P < 0.001)

What people believe that the data does not support

• In a randomized crossover trial, 11 oz (300 g) of shrimp a day raised LDL cholesterol by 7.1% and HDL by 12.1% against a low-cholesterol baseline diet. — Normolipidemic adults, crossover diets with 300 g shrimp a day vs low-cholesterol baseline and two eggs a day Evidence B source
  LDL +7.1% (P = 0.014); HDL +12.1% (P = 0.0001) vs a fat-matched baseline diet with 107 mg cholesterol/d
• In 23 healthy men, 7.9 oz (225 g) of cold water prawns a day for 12 weeks produced no significant change in LDL or total cholesterol relative to a control diet. — 23 healthy normolipidemic men, 12-week crossover, prawns vs fish sticks (n = 23) Evidence B source
  No significant change in total or LDL cholesterol, triacylglycerol, HDL or apolipoproteins

Who this works differently for

• FDA and EPA list American and spiny lobster among Best Choices, with 2 to 3 servings a week advised for pregnant or breastfeeding people. — People who are or may become pregnant or are breastfeeding, and children Evidence E source
  Lobster in Best Choices; 2 to 3 servings (4 oz each) a week
• A scoping review of 46 studies found mollusc and crustacean intake in pregnancy and early childhood linked to higher contaminant biomarkers, mercury most strongly. — Pregnant and lactating women and children 0-2 years, 46 articles 2000-2022 (n = 46 studies) Evidence C source
  Higher contaminant biomarkers (mercury strongest); association with iodine status; preterm birth not associated

The bottom line

The caution that matters most is shellfish allergy. A systematic review of 61 studies put it anywhere from 0% to 10.3% depending on how it was diagnosed, mostly from self-report and with no pooled figure. In laboratory tests on blood from crustacean-allergic adults, cooked prawn and crab extracts bound more IgE than raw ones. That is reactivity in a test tube, with no lobster tested, and it says nothing yet about clinical reactions. Tropomyosin is the major allergen in shrimp, and a lab study of sera from 9 shrimp-allergic people identified the same protein as the major allergen in cricket. A meta-analysis of 11 cohort studies found that simply cooked fish or crustacean meat raised the rate of tolerance 2.36-fold in oral immunotherapy, a supervised and non-randomized clinical setting far from a salad at home. FDA monitoring found a mean of 0.107 ppm mercury in northern American lobster, with a maximum of 0.23 ppm, from only 9 samples taken in 2005 to 2007. The FDA and EPA advice for people who are or may become pregnant, are breastfeeding or feed children is 2 to 3 servings a week from the Best Choices list. That advice concerns the meat and does not cover the sodium and fat a dressing adds. A scoping review of 46 studies linked mollusc and crustacean intake in pregnancy and early childhood with higher mercury biomarkers, as an association. We found no study of how the body absorbs nutrients from lobster or other crustacean meat.

Sources

1. lbsl-r6-02 · dataset
   FNDDS 27450020 Lobster salad: Total lipid (fat) 15.4 g; Sodium 508 mg; Cholesterol 85 mg per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 27450020, FDC 2706825 Lobster salad · checked 2026-10-02
2. lbsl-r6-01 · dataset
   FNDDS 27450020 Lobster salad: Energy 187 kcal per 100 g; Protein 10.29 g per 100 g; 1 cup 182 g; Quantity not specified 91 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 27450020, FDC 2706825 Lobster salad · checked 2026-10-02
3. lbsl-r6-08 · laboratory study
   For each crustacean species, the cooked extract had greater IgE reactivity than the raw (mud crab p<0.05, other species p<0.01).
   PLoS One, 2017 · checked 2026-10-02
4. lbsl-r6-09 · meta-analysis
   Subgroup analyses for fish meat (IRR = 2.79, p < 0.01) and a simple cooking treatment (IRR = 2.36, p = 0.01) also demonstrated a substantial increase in the incidence rate of OT.
   Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-10-02
5. lbsl-r6-03 · monitoring data
   LOBSTER (NORTHERN / AMERICAN) | 0.107 | 0.086 | 0.076 | ND | 0.23 | 9 | FDA 2005-2007
   FDA, Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2012) · checked 2026-10-02
6. lbsl-r6-07 · systematic review
   The prevalence of fish allergy ranged from 0% to 7% and the prevalence of shellfish allergy from 0% to 10.3%, depending on the method of diagnosis.
   Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 2016 · checked 2026-10-02
7. lbsl-r6-11 · laboratory study
   Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis identified the major allergen in shrimp and Gryllus to be tropomyosin.
   Mol Immunol, 2019 · checked 2026-10-02
8. lbsl-r6-05 · randomized controlled trial
   In a randomized crossover trial, a diet containing 300 g shrimp/d, which supplied 590 mg dietary cholesterol/d, significantly increased low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by 7.1% (P = 0.014) and high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol by 12.1% (P = 0.0001) when compared with a baseline diet matched for fat content but containing only 107 mg cholesterol/d.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 1996 · checked 2026-10-02
9. lbsl-r6-06 · randomized controlled trial
   The consumption of prawns produced no significant effects on the concentration of plasma total or LDL cholesterol, triacylglycerol, HDL cholesterol or apolipoproteins A-I and B relative to the control, or within each intervention group over time.
   Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand), 2010 · checked 2026-10-02
10. lbsl-r6-04 · agency advice
    This advice can help those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeeding as well as parents and caregivers who are feeding children make informed choices when it comes to the types of fish that are nutritious and safe to eat. ... Eat 2 to 3 servings a week from the "Best Choices" list
    FDA/EPA, Advice about Eating Fish · checked 2026-10-02
11. lbsl-r6-10 · scoping review
    Overall, shellfish consumption was associated with higher biomarkers of environmental contaminants, with mercury being the most studied and having the strongest evidence base.
    Nutr Res Rev, 2025 · checked 2026-10-02