Cholesterol Eggs - The truth explained...

Are eggs good or bad for you?

Eggs are high in cholesterol. A diet high in cholesterol can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels. But, the amount of cholesterol in your diet that can increase your blood cholesterol varies from person to person. One large egg has about 213 mg of cholesterol — all of which is found in the yolk.

Good News About EggsEggs are rich in nutrients, low in fat, and high in protein. They are an excellent source of protein and a solid source of 14 essential nutrients. Healthy adults can enjoy eggs daily without increased risk of heart disease.

Eggs and Cholesterol

Researchers, in their findings consistently indicate that eating eggs every day does not increase levels of "bad" cholestrol in the blood. Cholesterol is essential for life. It is produced naturally in our bodies and forms a basic part of all our cells. Cholesterol helps to regulate our hormones, helps us utilize Vitamin D and helps us digest food.

Most of the cholesterol in our body, about 80% is produced in the liver. About 20% is influenced by what we eat. If you eat more cholesterol than you need, your body adjusts itself, by producing less. It can self regulates.

Are eggs bad for your heart? What are the foods that are contributing to higher cholesterol, and causing heart disease?

Dietitian Sharon Natoli lays the blame at the feet of saturated fats. "Saturated fat is the type of fat that increases the level of cholesterol in your bloodstream. They are found in cakes, full-cream dairy products, fatty meats and takeaways. They cause the body to produce more LDL (the bad cholesterol), the more we produce, the more clogged up our arteries become, and the harder the HDL (good cholesterol), has to work to clean up the mess. Therefore when it gets too hard, a heart attack can result.

Eating eggs can actually lower cholesterol levels because they're high in cholesterol but low in saturated fats. "People who eat a lot of eggs actually shut down their bodies production of cholesterol. So the more eggs somebody eats, the less cholesterol our body produces. So that's why a lot of people who eat a lot of eggs don't get heart disease necessarily.

If you've got a high cholesterol reading, you can reduce it by up to 30 percent in less than six weeks, simply by modifying your diet. By including plenty of high fibre foods, lean meats and low-fat dairy.

So it's all good news for egg lovers. Eating eggs won't give you high cholesterol. In fact, eggs are full of high-quality proteins, vitamins and minerals and should be a part of any healthy diet.

But on a more serious note, if you don't know your blood cholesterol, go and get it checked. It's one of the most important and simple ways to ensure that you prevent health problems in the future.

For your information.......

A mother hen turns over her eggs about 50 times a day, and it's not just for exercise, she actually does it to prevent the egg yolk from sticking to the sides of the shell. All of which is great for us. It means those little beauties slide straight off the shell into the pan.

At the time of the French Revolution, the clever French already knew 685 different ways of preparing eggs (including, of course, the omelet).

White-shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. There is no difference in taste or nutrition between white and brown eggs.

An average hen lays 300 to 325 eggs a year. A hen starts laying eggs at 19 weeks of age. As a hen grows older she produces larger eggs. The egg shell may have as many as 17,000 tiny pores over its surface. Through them, the egg can absorb flavors and odours. Storing eggs in the carton helps keep them fresh.

To tell if an egg is raw or hard-cooked, spin it! If the egg spins easily, it is hard-cooked but if it wobbles, it is raw. The stringy piece of material in the egg is not an embryo but rather a special protein called chalazae, which acts as a shock absorber for the yolk so it doesn't break.

Home