It's interesting to see that people still associate eating egg yolks with increasing their cholesterol when there has been so much research so show otherwise. More so, we have come to learn that cholesterol can actually be a good thing - as are egg yolks!
I know you think I'm crazy, but bear with me!
Cholesterol has MANY amazing and beneficial functions in the body - it produces hormones, helps build and maintain cell membranes, helps absorption and digestion of fats and so on. This website (although a relatively old article), outlines cholesterol as a whole really nicely!
BUT, I'm gonna focus on the following -
TOXINS & INFLAMMATION:
The body produces cholesterol in response to toxins and inflammation. The best way to explain it is with this analogy: -
Cholesterol is a fire fighter and toxins and inflammation are the fire.
So, where there's more fire, there are (ideally) more fire fighters. Therefore, the more toxins and inflammation caused by our lifestyle, the higher cholesterol will be.
This is the reason cholesterol-lowering medication isn't always the best option - aside from ugly side effects, it doesn't exactly solvethe cholesterol problem. It takes the fire fighters out without putting out the fire.
Anything that has a liver, has cholesterol so don't be fooled by buzzword-laden packaging, claiming pomegranates are cholesterol-free, might as well add wheat- , gluten- , dairy-free and vegan friendly... I mean, it's a fruit!
The cholesterol story is a bit more complex - but sometimes if your total cholesterol is high it's actually fine, if your "good cholesterol" (HDL) is also high. That's why getting just a total cholesterol blood test done without anything else can give false results.
Egg yolks and all the jokes:
As I mentioned, egg yolks are good for you! Actually, they're great for you and I would encourage them to be eaten - along with the whole egg.
The egg white contains mainly protein, which is wonderful, but it is void of other important nutrients, whereas the yolk holds all the micronutrient goodness - not to mention, the all important choline. Choline is an essential micronutrient which affects many vital bodily functions such as liver detoxification, DNA synthesis, cell structure, fat transport and metabolism and lots more!
Other nutrients found in egg yolk that help these processes (and many, many more) are your B vitamins, iron, zinc, selenium and your fat soluble vitamins A, D and E. Let me know which of these you want me to elaborate on - they're all such amazing, important and wonderful nutrients!
Now that I've given you a mini cholesterol-egg crash course, what's the bottom line?
Cholesterol - not bad! But high "bad cholesterol" is a flag for you to see what you're putting into your body.
Egg yolk - good for you! And delicious.
Egg white - also good for you! Best eaten together with the yolk!
Tell me your favorite egg recipes and how you spice up your morning breakfast - I'm always looking for fun ideas!
If you’re interested in knowing your cholesterol status and how to keep that healthy, email me on shavitsachs@gmail.com to set up an appointment for a personalized lifestyle assessment!
Keep smiling!
Yours in health,
Dr Shavit
~ Love Health & Wellness ~