Eggs provide a large source of dietary cholesterol. Your total cholesterol is a combination of the cholesterol you eat and the cholesterol your body makes. While consuming high-cholesterol foods such as eggs might increase your total cholesterol, several other factors affect it as well. The extent to which foods such as eggs affect blood cholesterol varies from person to person. Consuming a moderate amount of eggs can fit into a healthy, well-balanced diet.
Cholesterol in Eggs
The average chicken egg contains 185 mg of cholesterol, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This level is 14 percent lower than previously recorded, showing that eggs are a lower-cholesterol food than was once thought. However, eggs remain a significant source of dietary cholesterol. All of this cholesterol is in the egg yolk. The egg whites have no cholesterol. Eating egg whites, therefore, does not affect your dietary cholesterol, while eating egg yolks might.
Recommended Cholesterol
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends healthy people consume less than 300 mg a day of dietary cholesterol. Because one egg contains about 200 mg, each egg consumed provides about two-thirds of the daily recommendation. If you choose to eat eggs one day, you might consider choosing low-cholesterol foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains for the rest of the day, and avoiding high-cholesterol foods such as meat, high-fat dairy and other animal products.
Eggs' Effect on Cholesterol
The degree to which blood cholesterol is directly related to dietary cholesterol varies from person to person. Eating eggs does not mean your blood cholesterol will increase. As a general rule, only a small portion of dietary cholesterol passes into the blood. Saturated fats and trans fats affect blood cholesterol much more than dietary cholesterol. If you are watching your cholesterol intake, consume eggs in moderation and choose egg whites over whole eggs.
Eggs in Moderation
One egg a day provides essential nutrients such as choline, Vitamin D, protein, iron, lutein and unsaturated fats. To moderate the amount of cholesterol, choose egg whites or egg substitutes over whole eggs. Substitute two egg whites for one whole egg in recipes such as pancakes and breads, or swap some of the whole eggs for egg whites in recipes such as omelets and scrambled eggs.
References
- MayoClinic; Eggs: Are They Good or Bad for My Cholesterol?; Thomas Behrenbeck, M.D., Ph.D.; December 2009
- CBS News; Eggs Lower in Cholesterol than Thought: Study; February 2011
- American Dietetic Association: Keep an Eye on Eggs
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- Harvard Health Publications; Egg Nutrition and Heart Disease: Eggs Aren't the Dietary Demons They're Cracked Up to Be; July 2006
