Eggs!

About a week ago I saw an episode of History channel's Modern Marvels all about eggs. It was a really cool segment about the production and use of one of our most affordable protein sources. If you happen to see the episode on hulu or History's website, I definitely recommend checking it out. Anyways, I wanted to talk about eggs because it seems that everyone in the gym has their own theory about them. Some people stay clear from them, others throw out the yolk, and some just eat as many as they can. My take on them? Well, I absolutely love them because of their taste and value and usually eat 3 full eggs almost every day of the week (If I eat more, after 3 I generally get rid of the yolk). I had my lipid profile checked monthly for about 6 months and in my case, my cholesterol and triglycerides were just fine. I'll also note that I have no family history of diabetes or coronary heart disease. In other words, I'm not too worried about my cholesterol rising from so many egg yolks. This is because I am considered a compensator meaning my liver compensates for the increase in dietary cholesterol by suppressing endogenous cholesterol (the liver usually produces about 1,000mg/day). In one journal article, researchers estimated that as many as 2/3 of Americans are able to compensate for the increase in dietary cholesterol. (Howell)

So What About EGGS?

Despite the various opinions, one thing is for certain - eggs are an extremely good source of affordable, high-quality protein. Not to mention, they are an extremely versatile food that can be consumed anytime. One large egg contains 6 grams of protein and 97% of that protein is in the form of readily available amino acids - including all of the essential AAs. If you throw away the yolk though, remember you are only getting 3.6g of protein from the egg white. The yolk also contains all of the fat and cholesterol found in eggs. The average large egg yolk contains about 5.6g of fat and 210mg cholesterol (The DRIs suggest less than 300mg/day). Before that scares you, it is important to note that of this fat, only 1.6g of it is saturated. The rest is mono- and poly- unsaturated (considered the good fats). If you are only eating 1-3 eggs/day, I am a big advocate for eating the yolk. Obviously if you have high cholesterol and respond well to a low cholesterol diet, or have a family history of heart disease, this many whole eggs may not be recommended in your diet as the American Heart Association recommends no more than 3/week. As for the rest of us, 2 eggs/day has not been shown to increase your risk of heart disease (Katz et al)

References

Howell W. Diet and Blood Lipids. Nutrition Today. 1997 June;32(3)

Katz, D, et al. Egg consumption and endothelial function:
A randomized controlled crossover trial. International Journal of Cardiology 2005 March;9(1)