Eggs and Cholesterol

1. All of the Facts Are Not In

Eggs have gotten a bad rap. In reality, eggs are a low-fat excellent source of protein. It's their cholesterol that's the problem. Eggs contain on average 213 mg of cholesterol. For a healthy person with a balanced diet, eating one egg a day still falls well below the recommended level of 300 mg of cholesterol a day. For those who want to continue enjoying their eggs but may be at higher risk for heart disease, there are a number of low-cholesterol egg substitutes on the market. As long as you take steps to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the rest of your diet, there's nothing wrong with having eggs.

2. There Are Two Parts to Every Egg

When deciding whether or not you'd like to include eggs in your diet, it's important to consider the two parts of the egg: the white and the yolk. While it's true that the yolk contains almost all of the cholesterol contained in an egg, it also contains many nutrients that the egg white doesn't. For instance, egg yolks contain 100 percent of the egg's carotenes, essential fatty acids and vitamins A, E, D and K. It also contains the majority of its potassium, riboflavin, amino acids, copper and manganese. Finally, the yolk contains the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, the same fatty acid that's found in salmon and plays a vital role in preventing heart disease, cancer and arthritis.

3. Different People Have Different Needs

No two people are alike and neither are their dietary needs. If you love eggs and want to keep them in your diet, start out with an honest assessment of your health. If you're at average risk, have no symptoms, no family history of heart disease and your cholesterol values are within the normal range, it's perfectly alright to eat one egg per day as long as the rest of your diet is low in cholesterol. If you are at high risk for heart disease and your doctor has told you to limit the amount of cholesterol in your diet, opt for some of the commercially available egg substitutes or stick with the egg whites that are low in cholesterol.

4. There is No Reason to Eliminate Eggs From Your Diet

If you love eggs and can't imagine a Sunday brunch without an omelet, you'll be pleased to hear that there's no reason to eliminate eggs completely from your diet. Like any other food, you need to keep your egg consumption in perspective with the rest of what you eat. The average egg contains around 213 mg of cholesterol, with all of it in the yolk. According to the American Heart Association, if you're at low risk for heart disease, you can safely consume up to 300 mg of cholesterol a day. What you will have to consider is swapping that cheeseburger at lunch for a heart-healthy salad or turkey sandwich with no mayonnaise. It's all a matter of making good choices.

5. Keep Things in Perspective

The secret to eating a balanced, low cholesterol diet that includes eggs or your other favorite foods is to look at the big picture. If you are at low risk and have no family history of heart disease, then eating eggs shouldn't represent a problem as long as you watch the amount of cholesterol in your total diet. Even more important than what you eat on any given day is how it all averages out over the course of a week. If you rarely eat eggs and your total cholesterol consumption is within dietary guidelines, celebrate and have a three egg omelet on Sunday.