WHICH CAME 1ST THE CHOLESTEROL OF THE EGG?
By Eve Prang Plews, Licensed Nutrition Counselor

Reprinted from Natural Awakenings Magazine
Sarasota, FL                                 March 2008

The egg came first. Every beginning has its egg. The universe had the "Big Bang." From dinosaurs to you, an egg started life. It is hard to imagine that this small, comprehensive package of proteins and fats could get such a bad reputation as food, as something potentially unhealthy when its form is the life giver.

Long before chickens showed up (actually about 300 million years before) eggs were around to provide food for initial growth and support new critters until they could find food for themselves. There are only three gifts of nature that were designed to be food: milk, plant seeds and eggs. It’s a pity that in the cholesterol fear that began in the 1970’s, the egg has received unwarranted bad press. They are not only one of the most superior foods available, their yolks are the single best supply for the critical fats that make up animal cell membranes. Why should you care: Because the health of the cell wall or membrane is what allows all cell-to-cell communication in the body and brain. Your body can’t function unless cells can talk to each other through the cell membrane. Thus the critical choices of fats in the diet, in part, determine our future.

There is an old argument against the egg as a perfect food. The popular myth is that since eggs are high in cholesterol, they raise your blood cholesterol levels. Yet, barely one fifth of your serum cholesterol levels are affected by your diet. The other 80 plus percent is manufactured by your liver to make hormones, insulate nerve fibers and create cell membranes.

When we look at the relationship of blood cholesterol and eggs, no proof has ever been found that there is even a little influence on the blood serum levels. It’s the amount of saturated fat that more powerfully raises blood lipid levels. Remember sat fats are virtually the exclusive property of animal fats, which are commonly half saturated and half unsaturated and are solid at room temperature. Even beef and lamb fats are harder or more saturated than poultry and pork fats. Unsaturated fats exist upwards of 85% in plants and are liquid at room temperature, like olive oil with 13% sat fats compare that to butter at 62% sat fats.

A January, 2007 study of 9,500 subjects published in Medical Science Monitor concluded that eating one or more eggs per day does not increase the risk of either coronary disease or stroke. A review of 30 years of research on eggs came to the same conclusion. Happy news for those of us who love these little health bombs of high quality, nutrient dense, inexpensive protein food. Actually, egg protein is second only to mother’s milk for human nutrition. It contains all nine essential amino acids and is highest in the biological or useable value of all protein foods including milk, fish and meat.

But the best part of the egg is the yolk. The nutrient, choline, is an enhancer of memory function and necessary to every cell signaling in the body. There are few other sources of choline in the American diet. Consuming the liver, heart, kidney and brain of any animal is not competently recommended due to risks of toxic exposure, even if they do contain lots of choline. Plus, eggs offer from 30 to 100 mg of beneficial omega -3 fatty acids that reduce inflammation everywhere in the body.

With nearly half of its total protein of 6.6 grams, contained in the egg white, a three egg whites omelet provides a low calorie, high protein meal. But don’t miss out on the other 2.7 grams of protein in the yolk. It contains the enhanced benefits of the omega fats and choline in addition to all he vitamins (A, D, E, K B1, B5, B6 B12 and Folic Acid.) Leaving the yolk in is a better choice. Not to be overlooked is the increased eyesight protection we receive from eating the whole egg with its protective anti-oxidants lutein and zeaxanthin that guard against cataracts and macular degeneration. WOW! Now that is an astounding food for only 75 calories each! 

Yet there are folks who react poorly to eggs, either as allergy or simply food intolerance. Reaction occurs most often to the protein ovalbumin, the most plentiful egg protein in the white. It is good advice to not give babies younger than a year any egg white, since sensitivity forms early in life. Yolks are far less allergenic and are safe even for infants.

Enjoy your eggs in all the 300 ways they can be prepared, but NOT raw. Repeated use of raw eggs causes deficiencies in the critical B vitamin, biotin. Eating raw or lightly cooked eggs ups the risk of Salmonella bacterial food poisoning. Always cook eggs to sufficiently kill bacteria that might be present. Egg yolks can still be soft and juicy if cooked at 140 F for 5 minutes. Cooking at 160F for one minute kills bacteria but the yolk will harden.

The benefits of buying organic eggs may not be in the nutrient differences but in the benefit to the planet and in the treatment of the beneficial birds that give us these great, healthy eggs. The natural, varied diet of the chicken provides richness of flavor that the commercial meals don’t provide. Support the smaller scale flocks that allow birds access to the outdoors (as Swiss law dictates) and you’ll enjoy a more humanely raised egg producer.

Eggs don’t just relate to Easter. The Egyptian Book of the Dead, Indian Upanishads, Greek Orphic mysteries all speak of the egg as the symbol for the origin of humans, animals, gods, the earth and even the entire cosmos. The egg does embody the chain of creation. Welcome eggs in all their many forms into your food choices and create a healthier you.