In Defense of Eggs

After years relegated to the do-not-eat list for fear of cholesterol-raising effects, the humble egg was finally making its way back into mainstream acceptance as a heart-healthy food full of healthy fats and protein.

While it is true that eggs are high in cholesterol, and a diet high in cholesterol can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels, how much the cholesterol in your diet can increase your blood cholesterol varies from person to person. Some people are good with eggs. Others less so.

Although eating too many eggs can increase your cholesterol, eating four egg yolks or fewer on a weekly basis hasn’t been found to increase your risk of heart disease. Four eggs per week? That’s a lot if you ask me.

According to the Mayo Clinic,

If you are healthy, it’s recommended that you limit your dietary cholesterol to less than 300 milligrams (mg) a day.
If you have cardiovascular disease, diabetes or a high low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) blood cholesterol level, you should limit your dietary cholesterol to less than 200 mg a day.

One large egg is already around 186 mg of cholesterol, so you really should stick to just one egg per day, if you are in the risk group. Since all the  cholesterol is found in the yolk, those in the risk group should use only the egg whites for omelets. Otherwise if you are healthy like me, you can have 2 medium sized eggs pe day, but no more than 4 per week.

Eggs are excellent for muscle building by the way. The protein in eggs has the highest biological value – a measure of how well it supports your body’s protein needs – of any food, including our beloved beef. Calorie for calorie, you need less protein from eggs than you do from other sources to achieve the same muscle-building benefits. So eggs over beef.. not bad!

But to get the maximum muscle building effect, you have to eat the yolk. In addition to protein, it also contains vitamin B12, which is necessary for fat breakdown and muscle contraction.

And in defense of eggs, they are actually vitamins and minerals over easy.

They’re packed with riboflavin, folate, vitamins B6, B12, D, and E, and iron, phosphorus, and zinc.

Now if you will excuse me.. I’m gonna go fix me some eggs;)