It’s Eggtastic!

Hey Everyone!

When a friend, family member, or restaurant cooks eggs for you, you probably get asked, “How would you like your eggs?” They are a cost effective food that you have probably prepared and consumed in numerous ways. Although eggs are easy on the pockets and versatile, their cholesterol content often raises concerns.

As a very young child, I ate boiled eggs for breakfast fairly regularly. There was great concern regarding an egg’s nutritional content because of their cholesterol content when I was a young child in the 80s. One day in my second grade class, my teacher was reviewing the food groups during the health portion of our school day. As she was discussing the dairy group, she mentioned, “Eggs will kill you”. I was very distraught because I had eaten boiled eggs regularly up to that point. Although my mother tried to explain to me that eating eggs in moderation would not kill me, I was skeptical. My mother later talked with my teacher about what she had said to us regarding eggs. Many years later, I learned that my teacher said that to us because she was an older woman who suffered from heart issues. My teacher believed that eggs were deadly based on information from her doctor. I did not eat eggs for a very long time after that. Moral of the story: Make sure any nutrition information (or any information) you receive is accurate by looking into many reputable sources!

First, I would like to discuss cholesterol. Back when cholesterol in eggs was a huge concern, it was not widely known that the cholesterol made by your body (blood cholesterol) and the cholesterol in food (dietary cholesterol) are different. Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced by your liver that is needed to make hormones, make vitamins, and build cells. Dietary cholesterol comes from animal sources, which also tend to be high in saturated fat. Saturated fat makes the liver produce more cholesterol than necessary, which can be detrimental to some people’s health. Dietary cholesterol does not affect most people adversely the same way blood cholesterol affects people. Some current studies believe that dietary cholesterol itself does not cause heart issues in most healthy people.

Compared to other foods, eggs do have a high cholesterol content. One large egg contains 212mg of cholesterol, which is 71% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). However, the egg is chock full of other nutrients as well. The egg white is a protein powerhouse. The egg yolk contains Vitamin D, all of the B Vitamins, zinc, and calcium among other nutrients.

I hope this entry alleviates any apprehension you may have had regarding egg consumption. Like I have said before, most foods have a place in your eating regimen as long as they are consumed in moderation. As always, I recommend you talk with your medical professional about what is best for you in your nutritional journey.