Is eating eggs unhealthy? This is a topic that has continuously been debated from a health standpoint. For years now, many people believe that eating eggs is unhealthy because of its high cholesterol content.

Let me share with you some interesting trivia about the health controversy on eating eggs:

• Do you know that there are two kinds of cholesterol, dietary (found in food) and blood (found in our bloodstream; also known as serum cholesterol). Do you also know that it is a misconception that dietary cholesterol becomes blood cholesterol as soon as we ingest an egg. Actually, our bodies manufacture the majority of our blood cholesterol;
• Do you know that the amount of cholesterol one’s body makes differ from one individual to another;
• Do you know that on average, one large egg contains 70 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat and 213 milligrams of cholesterol. Egg whites alone contain no cholesterol;
• Do you know that eggs are rich in protein, low in sodium, easy to prepare and full of vitamins and minerals. In fact, eggs are one of the best dietary sources of vitamin D other than milk. Also, egg contain folate, which helps prevent birth defects and cardiovascular disease;
• Do you know that dietary cholesterol found in animal foods, raises blood cholesterol in only about one-third of people. And, as shown in some egg studies, dietary cholesterol causes the blood to produce HDL (“good”) cholesterol along with LDL (“bad”) cholesterol – thus helping offset potential adverse effects;
• Do you know that in one Harvard study last 1999, of nearly 120,000 men and women, found no association between eggs – up to one a day – and heart disease except in people with diabetes. Nor did it find a link between eggs and strokes;
• Do you know that in a Japanese study of more than 90,000 middle-aged people in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2006, and a study in 2007 from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, USA – both studies found no link between frequent egg consumption and heart disease. In the light of these findings, recommendations about eggs have changed over the years, and cholesterol guidelines, in general, are being rethought; and
• Do you know that studies have shown that it’s the saturated fat-rich foods that usually accompany eggs (like cheese bacon, sausage) and how eggs are often prepared (like frying in plenty of butter or salty ingredients) that are the culprits in raising the blood cholesterol and the risk of heart disease – and not eating eggs per se.

Today, thanks to continuous researches on the health benefits of eggs – we should not feel guilty anymore eating eggs. We should not give up eating eggs. Instead, we should enjoy it. Yes, the so-called cholesterol scare has been rebutted by many studies, reports and researches showing that eating eggs is healthy.

Have a joyful day!