Research on Eggs, Cholesterol and Health

Research on Eggs, Cholesterol and Health

Remember back when we were told that eggs were unhealthy for you as a breakfast food? It turns out that the study was funded by ... the cereal industry!

Yes, it was the Cereal Institute of America that created a 50s-era study to test DRIED egg yolk powder. Drying out any food can remove its nutrients. Not only that, but eggs are valuable for what is in their WHITES in addition to what is in their yolks. Egg whites don't contain any cholesterol at all. So the study was not very accurate. Still, its advice was followed for decades.

Since that famous study, hundreds of other studies have been done on eggs, finding the many health benefits eggs provide. A study done by the American Cancer Society found, in fact, that those people who ate eggs weekly had fewer strokes and heart attacks than those who avoided eggs! The AHA reported that an egg a day was completely healthy. Unfortunately, while the Cereal Institute had millions of dollars to market their findings, the other studies fell into the knowledge pool with barely a ripple. Even though they were published in the British Journal of Cancer and other reputable magazines, they were quickly hushed up by the food industry.

With the advent of low carb diets, though, this information is finally becoming more widespread - eggs do NOT raise your cholesterol, and in fact there is not just one "bad" cholesterol. There are good HDL cholesterols, and bad LDL cholesterols.... The key is in finding a balance.

In fact, some of the studies have found that eating too many carbohydrates cause your liver to MAKE cholesterol at a rate you could not possibly match in normal eating of anything CONTAINING cholesterol. So low carb diets protect you in many ways - by reducing the cholesterol your liver makes, and increasing the other healthy foods you consume. This includes eggs!

What are some of the nutrients that eggs provide?

Choline
Choline sort of "binds up" cholesterol, keeping it from attacking to your blood vessels.

Vitamins
Eggs are good sources of vitamin B-12, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin E, Riboflavin, Folate and Pantothenic Acid. It also provides many other vitamins and minerals.

Lutein
Lutein is shown to be effective against macular degeneration, which causes eyesight degeneration.