REDUCING CHOLESTEROL: EGGS AS A FOOD YOU HAVE BEEN MISLED ABOUT
Eggs traditionally have a very bad reputation for promoting heart disease. Most people who are conscious of reducing their cholesterol either avoid eggs altogether, or limit their consumption to once a week. It is a myth that eating eggs will raise your cholesterol level. It is true that eggs contain cholesterol (approximately 215mg per egg) and saturated fat. However, most cholesterol in your body was made in your liver, and the cholesterol you consume in your diet has very little effect on your blood cholesterol level. A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that significantly reducing your dietary cholesterol consumption will only lower serum cholesterol levels by an average of one percent! That’s definitely not worth the hard work!
Many studies have shown that egg consumption is not related to risk of coronary heart disease or stroke in men or women. Both the Framingham and Tecumseh long term studies have shown that those people who ate the most cholesterol had roughly the same blood cholesterol level of those who ate the least. Prominent heart researcher Ancel Keys had the following to say about dietary cholesterol: “There’s no connection whatsoever between cholesterol in food and cholesterol in blood. And we’ve known that all along. Cholesterol in the diet doesn’t matter at all unless you happen to be a chicken or a rabbit”. Ancel Keys, Ph. D., professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota 1997.
Eggs can become problematic if the cholesterol inside them gets oxidized. This can occur if eggs are cooked at high temperatures where the yolk is broken; examples of this include frying and omelets. The cholesterol in eggs should not become oxidized if you boil or poach them. Eggs are an excellent source of protein, and are a useful addition to a low carbohydrate diet. Eating eggs for breakfast will help to keep hunger at bay for hours, and will reduce cravings for sweets mid morning. Eggs are also high in the nutrient betaine, necessary to keep blood homocysteine levels low.
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