The Truth About Eggs
What's in an egg? Well, eggs are an excellent source of a complete, high-quality protein, essential fatty acids, and 13 essential vitamins and minerals. The following is just a partial list of nutrients provided by a boiled egg and you can see that it looks more like a low-dose multivitamin than a heart attack waiting to happen.
| Boiled Egg | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 68.20 |
| Protein | 5.54 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1.44 g |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1.79 g |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.62 g |
| Trans Fatty Acids | 0.00 g |
| Cholesterol | 186.56 mg |
| Vitamin A | 246.40 IU |
| Riboflavin - B2 | 0.23 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.49 mcg |
| Biotin | 7.04 mcg |
| Vitamin D | 22.88 IU |
| Vitamin E | 0.69 IU |
| Folate | 19.36 mcg |
| Pantothenic Acid | 0.62 mg |
| Iodine | 23.76 mcg |
| Molybdenum | 7.48 mcg |
| Selenium | 13.55 mcg |
One stand-out in this chart is the amount of cholesterol provided by a single egg (60% of the recommended daily allowance), which proves that we should avoid eggs because cholesterol is the enemy, right? Not exactly.
The Truth about Cholesterol
Eggs have been vilified as a food that raises 'harmful' cholesterol levels, thereby increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. But the truth is that cholesterol is so important the body will compensate by producing cholesterol itself if you do not consume enough. The liver will synthesize up to 80% of the cholesterol required by the body if necessary.
Cholesterol's functions:
- Necessary for the synthesis of all steroid hormones, and without it there is no testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, or any of the remaining metabolites
- Used by every cell in the body to form and maintain the structure of cell walls
- The brain contains vast quantities of cholesterol, and without it there is no memory
- Cholesterol is converted to vitamin D when the body is exposed to sunlight
- Cholesterol is essential for the production of bile acids. Without bile acids, essential fats cannot be digested. Bile acids are crucial for the assimilation of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E & K
- Anti-inflammatory
- Protects against pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi [1]
We have been taught to believe that cholesterol is responsible for heart disease but the truth is that heart attacks occur regardless of whether people have high or low cholesterol levels.
Heart surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBakey, compared medical records for more than 1700 of his patients and found no relationship between cholesterol levels and heart disease.
As a matter of fact, people with the highest cholesterol levels tend to live longer than those with low levels. [2]
Cholesterol and the Brain
Cholesterol has even been shown to play an important role in brain function. In a Boston University research study, it was concluded that not having sufficient dietary cholesterol can cause a measurable decline in cognitive function.
When the lowest-cholesterol group was compared with the highest-cholesterol group, as many as 80% of the "low" group were likely to perform poorly on tests of similarities, word fluency, attention, and concentration.
The Truth About Eggs and Cholesterol Levels
Ironically, the much-maligned egg doesn't appear to raise cholesterol levels anyway. At least not the "bad" ones. In a six-week study, researchers at the Yale Prevention Research Center found that consuming two eggs daily does not adversely affect cholesterol levels. [3]
This means that there was no increase in "bad" cholesterol, or LDL. However, when eggs are consumed with a low carbohydrate diet, the "good" cholesterol, or HDL, actually increases.
The Truth About only Eating the Whites
In the 1980's public concern about cholesterol reached epic proportions. Patients were told en mass to avoid eggs, and for a while, a popular trend emerged to eat only the white of the egg and toss out the yolk.
This was terrible advice to say the least, since the yolk contains most of the nutrition while the egg white only has protein to offer. When eaten raw, the egg white without the yolk can lead to a biotin deficiency. Biotin is a B-vitamin essential for many metabolic functions, such as formation of fatty acids and glucose. Most notable is for the developing fetus, in which biotin is needed for rapidly dividing cells.
The Truth about Salmonella
Salmonella may be a media darling but it is not life-threatening and, in fact, generally mild. The actual infection rate from standard store-bought eggs is a mere 0.003 percent and farm fresh eggs will have an infection rate of 0 percent.
It is important to note that salmonella is only found on surface of the eggshell, unless the egg has a crack. A thorough washing of any eggs before use should eliminate the already slim chance of infection.
The Truth About Quality Eggs
Unless you're buying eggs directly from a farmer, the "organic" variety may differ in quality. However, there's an easy way to tell if you're getting what you paid for. The color of a high-quality yolk will be a bright orange and the yolk itself will be firm and round. Cheaper, low-quality eggs will have paler yellow yolks that are flat and easily broken.
If your expensive organic eggs seem low-quality, try switching to another brand or discuss it with the store manager. The quality of the egg can make a big difference nutritionally.
References
[1] Eur J Clin Invest. 2007 Jul;37(7):573-9.
[2]. Age Ageing 29, 69-74, 2000
[3] Int J Cardiol. 2005; 99:65-70.
The information presented is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure disease. Please speak with your doctor before starting any diet, exercise, or supplement program.
Comments (4)
The concept goes for almost every food source - don't throw out any part, as biological components usually act and evolve in concert. This is a great article! I liked the tip at the end on how to check for a good egg...its been a while since I saw an orange-ish yolk!
You and me both. I buy organic from Trader Joe's, which have a better color than the standard supermarket egg, but it's tough to find the really orange ones.
I read on a health blog that the author was "cut back on eating eggs because of their high methionine content." and they then state "'m still figuring out whether methionine restriction makes sense in humans"
Any thoughts on this?
methionine restriction is purported to provide calorie restriction benefits, raising glutathione levels and keeping homocysteine in check.
However, to me methionine restriction isn't necessary.
Eggs contain choline and other B-vitamins that manage homocysteine. Eggs also contain cysteine, which is used to make glutathione.
Calorie restriction can be mimicked without having to worry about calories or methionine by taking resveratrol (200 to 300 mg per day) and
taking enough Vitamin D3.
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