According to the Egg Nutrition Center, when dealing with eggs, a majority of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients can be found in the yolk. Both fat and cholesterol are only contained in the egg yolk. Eggs are considered high in cholesterol, but eating eggs every day may not have a large effect on your blood cholesterol levels. Harvard Medical School states that in most cases, only a small fraction of the cholesterol people eat actually gets in the blood and raises cholesterol.
Cholesterol
The National Institutes of Health defines cholesterol as a soft, waxy substance found among the fats in the bloodstream and in all your body's cells. Your body needs some cholesterol to remain healthy. In the body, cholesterol works to build cell membranes and hormones. While cholesterol is important for health, high cholesterol levels can lead to heart disease. The American Heart Association states that cholesterol comes from both your body and the foods that you eat. Cells in the body actually make close to 75 percent of blood cholesterol.
Cholesterol in the Diet
One of the causes of high cholesterol is the food that people eat. The American Heart Association states that approximately 25 percent of total cholesterol comes from food. Cholesterol is only found in foods that come from animals or animal products. Cholesterol-containing foods include meat, seafood, cheeses, milk, ice cream and butter. That would also include any foods made with these ingredients.
Eggs
The Egg Nutrition Center reports that whole eggs contain 72 calories, 6.3 g protein, less than 1 g of carbohydrate, 4.8 g of total fat and 186 mg of cholesterol. The yolk makes up 55 of the calories and all of the fat and cholesterol. Of the 4.8 g of fat in the yolk, 2.8 g come from good fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, whereas more than 1.6 g of the fat comes from saturated fat.
Egg Alternatives
While eating one egg a day should be OK, according to the Harvard Medical School, it is important to be aware that alternatives are available for eggs that may help to decrease the amount of cholesterol and saturated fats in your diet. Try using egg substitutes that are made of only egg whites. PETA recommends other egg alternatives for use in recipes including tofu, banana or 1/4 cup of applesauce in place of eggs. Other alternatives include 2 tbsp. potato starch, 1/4 cup canned pumpkin or 1/4 cup pureed prunes.
Recommendations
The American Heart Association recommends limiting daily cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg for most people. For those with heart disease, it is important to further limit cholesterol intake to less than 200 mg. This means that if you plan on eating eggs for breakfast, you will need to monitor the rest of your cholesterol intake for the day. The National Institutes of Health also notes that saturated and trans fat intake is acknowledged as the primary dietary cause for high cholesterol levels. In other words, eating high levels of cholesterol will not affect your cholesterol levels as much as saturated fat intake will. Because of this, saturated fat intake should be limited to 10 percent of daily calories.
