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For years, eggs took the blame for raising bad cholesterol levels. As more research is performed, however, health professionals are finding that eggs are not the evil culprits they were once believed to be. Here’s the skinny on eggs and cholesterol.
First, a little background. There are two types of cholesterol—dietary and blood. Dietary cholesterol is present in many of the foods we eat namely meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and dairy products. The American Heart Association recommends a daily intake of no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol (eggs have 213 mg per yolk). Blood cholesterol is made by your body, but can be elevated by a high amount of dietary cholesterol in the body. However, it must be pointed out that research does NOT show that food cholesterol significantly boosts blood cholesterol levels in everyone. The truth is, not every body reacts the same to dietary cholesterol.
Blood cholesterol levels are affected differently by the three types of fats: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Saturated fat raises blood cholesterol more than any other element in the diet. A large egg contains 4.5 grams of fat, most of which are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which may lower blood cholesterol levels when they replace saturated fat in the diet.
So we’ve learned that eggs contain good fat, high-quality protein and a variety of vitamins. Although they do contribute to dietary cholesterol, which impacts blood cholesterol, healthy individuals can consume eggs without worry.
No yolk = no cholesterol
As an added bonus, it’s incredibly easy to cut the cholesterol out of an egg. Just use egg whites as a cholesterol-free substitute.
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