Cracking the Egg Myths

Much Maligned Food
Do you like eating eggs? Are you holding back, eating them only infrequently or tossing out the yolks–––because you’ve heard that cholesterol and saturated fat are bad for you, that they’ll increase your risk for heart disease?

Eggs have taken a beating over the past 30 years. The poor yolk has been blamed for elevated cholesterol levels, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and more minor crimes. Eggs used to be considered one of nature’s most perfect foods, rich in the highest quality protein and other important nutrients, most of which are concentrated in the yolk.

The idea that egg yolks are an unhealthy and a threat to our  health and longevity is deeply ingrained in the minds of a majority of Americans. But there’s no solid evidence to support this cracked theory. 

It’s all a big fat lie
What happened? It all started with a theory called the lipid hypothesis proposed in the 1950s to explain the development of atherosclerosis. This hypothesis received a lot of attention despite it’s flaws and despite evidence to the contrary. The medical community accepted it without proof and we’re living with the consequences of this outdated belief today. Eggs have been charged with a crime they didn’t commit.

We’ve been erroneously led to believe  saturated fat and cholesterol are bad for us and that eating cholesterol rich foods, including eggs, will elevate our serum cholesterol levels increase our risk of developign heart disease. Yet numerous studies have disproven this hypothesis.

Since 1990, Dr. Uffe Ravsnkov, M.D., Ph.D. has published more than 30 critical articles and letters addressing the alleged link between saturated fats and cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in peer-reviewed Scandinavian and international medical journals. In The Cholesterol Myths Dr. Ravsnkov shows that despite millions of dollars spent on research, scientists have repeatedly failed to produce good evidence that diets rich in saturated fats or cholesterol promote heart disease or cancer.

Eggs were framed!
The famous Framingham Heart Study found that dietary cholesterol has no influence on serum cholesterol.  In the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1992, the director of that study, Dr. William Castelli (Director of the Framingham study) wrote:

“In Framingham, Massachusetts, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower people's serum cholesterol...we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active."

For an easy to understand overview of the lipid hypothesis and the lies we’ve been fed about fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, check out the comedy documentary, Fathead: You’ve been fed a load of bologna.

For a more technical explanation about why the cholesterol-heart disease theory is wrong, click here

Mother Nature didn’t make a mistake
 Cholesterol is a vital substance in the human body. Our bodies use cholesterol to create stress-combating hormones and sex hormones, to build healthy cell membranes, to protect nerve sheaths, and as a structural component of our brains, adrenal glands, and other organs. We require it for the development of our brains, eyes, and nervous systems. Cholesterol is so important to our health and survival that every cell in our bodies has a mechanism to manufacture its own supply.

Egg are a super food
The protein in eggs is so high in quality that it has been used as the standard against which all other proteins are measured.  Eggs are rich in potassium, phosphorus, folic acid, pantothenic acid, vitamin B12, biotin, thiamine, niacin, the fat soluble vitamins A, D and E, the amino acid methionine, and, in some cases, omega-3 essential fatty acids.

That golden yolk 
All of the vitamin A and D, 84% of the vitamin B12, 87% of the pantothenic acid, 81% of the folic acid, 92% of the calcium, 45% of the protein, and 23% of the potassium in an egg are concentrated in the yolk!  The unsaturated fats, essential amino acids, folate and other B-vitamins in eggs may even help raise HDL levels.

The whole of it
The parts make up the whole. Nutrients in the yolk help you digest and assimilate the whites, and vice-versa. Vitamin A in the yolk boosts  assimilation of protein in an egg. Lecithin in the yolk aids in the assimilation and metabolism of the fat and cholesterol found in the egg. Choline in the white emulsifies fats in the yolk. These fat soluble nutrients also carry vitamins A and D into your cells.

Lecithin and other phospholipids found in egg yolks help emulsify fats, keeping them suspended in the blood and body fluids and along with cholesterol are vital constituents of cell membranes. Eating foods rich in natural phospholipids help maintain the health and integrity of cell membranes. Many symptoms of age-related decline found in modern man are the result of insufficient phospholipids, due to an insufficient intake of nourishing animal-source foods such as egg yolks.  

Frequency of use
Although many health organizations caution against eating more than three eggs per week, there is absolutely no scientific justification for such restriction.  Researchers have noted an inverse relationship between egg consumption and death from heart disease. A 1996 analysis of world wide of egg consumption found that France, Spain, and Japan all have a high per capita consumption of eggs the lowest rates of death from heart disease! 

Do you really know how to cook an egg?
Here’s a simple recipe you can incorporate into your weekly cooking routine. You might think you know how to boil and egg…..and you may be surprised at the directions below. How long do you boil eggs? More than a minute and you’re cooking ‘em too long. Do you find the yolks tinged with a greenish hue? Do they give you odiferous gas? Many people find eggs cooked with this method easier to digest and less likely to cause intestinal gas.   

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
Prep: 1 minutes/ Cooking: 1 minute (plus 25 minutes to rest)/ Yield: 6 eggs

You might think you know how to hard boil eggs. However, most people boil eggs far too long, resulting in dry, greenish tinged, difficult-to-digest yolks. What’s too long? If you boil them for more than 1 minute! This recipe is quick and easy to prepare, only the instructions are long. You’ll learn it by rote after a few tries. Consider cooking half a dozen or a dozen eggs at one time, so they're ready for breakfasts on the go, quick snacks, egg salad, or for garnishing green salads. 

Ingredients:
Filtered water
6 medium to large pastured or at least omega-3 chicken eggs or duck eggs
4 to 6 ice cubes
Ground black pepper, lemon pepper or hot sauce, optional
Toasted Dulse leaf or crumbled or dulse flakes, optional

1.  Arrange eggs in a 2-quart saucepan. Cover with 1 to 1 1/2 inches of cold water. Cover pot and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Cook 30 to 60 seconds. (That’s right, SECONDS!) Remove from heat, and allow eggs to rest in covered pot for 15 minutes. 
2.  Drain, and cover eggs with ice water for 10 minutes, then drain and refrigerate them in the shell. Or, tap lightly and peel, or roll eggs between your palms to free shells and skin.
3.  Refrigerate peeled eggs in tightly covered container. A wide mouth Mason jar or Pyrex container works well. Use peeled eggs within 1 week, unpeeled eggs within 10 days.

2 medium chicken eggs: 128 calories,12 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, 44 mg calcium, 110 mg sodium

2 large chicken eggs: 146 calories, 12 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate,10 g fat, 50 mg calcium, 126 mg sodium

Source: The Garden of Eating: A Produce Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz & Don Matesz. For more information or to order your copy, click here

Comments

[Don Matesz]

Egg-cellent article!

"A 1996 analysis of world wide of egg consumption found that France, Spain, and Japan all have a high per capita consumption of eggs the lowest rates of death from heart disease! "

I haven't read of that. Got a link?

Don

[Vin]

Great article Rachel! I love eggs! Unfortunately I can't eat them, at least for now, because I have a sensitivity to them.

It's unfortunate that they've earned such a bad reputation, they're so nutritious. As you said, most of the nutrition is in the yolk and so many people intentionally avoid it!

Dr. Ravnskov's book is a great resource and I'm glad I read it before it became insanely expensive. Another great book about cholesterol and heart disease is $29 Reasons to Lie About Cholesterol by Justin Smith. I wrote an article about cholesterol and heart disease based on these two books.

[Chef Rachel]

Thanks for the book recommendation. There are so many books out now about diet deception and the whole cholesterol hoax. I do hope more people wake up and smell the money trail and realize that natural fats and cholesterol rich animal products are not the cause of our modern diseases. Sugar, refined carbs, and vegetable oils rarely get singled out as the culprits they are!

Thanks for commenting. I'd like to read your article.