Are Eggs Bad for Cholesterol?
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in North America. Every 25 seconds someone has a heart attack or stroke. That’s a pretty scary number!
Clients have often voiced that they don’t eat eggs to help control their cholesterol levels. Well let me say…”Cholesterol doesn’t make cholesterol”. Harvard University studied 100,000 people and their dietary habits, and found that healthy people consuming eggs daily had no increase in LDL or an increased risk of heart disease.
Eggs pack a whooping 200mg of cholesterol per serving (essentially the limit of recommended intake on ‘heart healthy diets’) making eggs the elimination food when it comes to reducing dietary and thus blood cholesterol levels.
But the good news is...for most of us consuming foods high in cholesterol, it doesn't have that much of an effect on the levels in our blood. Research shows that only 30 percent of people experience significant increases in cholesterol levels after following a diet high in cholesterol.
Eggs truly are the wonder food. After years of being touted as the culprit to steer clear of, with better research they have finally escalated from the depths of shame to be recognized as a true power food. Researchers at the University of Connecticut found that men who ate three large whole eggs per day increased their HDL or good cholesterol by 20 per cent.
Not only do eggs provide you with healthy cholesterol, they also pack a powerhouse of other nutrients including being the gold standard in protein.
When protein quality is measured, researchers compare the protein food that they are measuring to eggs.
One egg contains 6-7 grams of the best protein that you will find; full of essential amino acids that are readily absorbed.
Whole Eggs or Egg Whites?
It became popular to eat egg whites only from the trend to eat less fat and cholesterol in our diets and all of sudden become thin. How’s that working so far? :{
Eggs whites are great but they are nutritionally a one trick pony - protein. An egg white contains all protein ~3 grams; the rest of the nutrients, protein and fat are hiding in the yolk.
Egg yolks also contain key fat soluble vitamins A, D, and E, a muscle building nutrient. If you buy omega-3 rich eggs, they can give you as much as 150mg of the long chain omega-3 fat DHA.
Egg yolks also contain, leutine, and zeaxanthin and Choline. Leutine and zeaxanthin are two potent antioxidants necessary for eye health as you age, and Choline is an essential nutrient for brain health.
So What Exactly is Cholesterol?
HDL is responsible for removing toxic fat and cholesterol molecules from your blood vessel walls and returning them to your liver to be processed.
These toxic molecules are the root cause of the plaques in your blood vessels which lead to heart attacks. This is why HDL cholesterol is called the good cholesterol. The more HDL cholesterol you have, the better your body can remove these molecules, and the healthier your blood vessels will be. ?
5 Ways to Increase Your Good Cholesterol and Protect Your Heart
Eat Omega-3 Fatty Acids Daily
• Eat 2-3 servings of fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, etc.) every week.
• Supplement with high quality fish or krill oil capsules daily. Research your source, as many products may be rancid, contaminated with mercury or the level of fish oil may be questionable.
• Look for a higher EPA over DHA to lower cholesterol levels. Mayo Clinic Professor of Medicine Dr. Stephen Kopecky recommends a 3:2 ratio of EPA to DHA.
Eggs, Fats & Cholesterol
Yes, alcohol is definitely good for the heart…but in moderation!
According to research, it doesn’t matter what you choose to drink, whether it be red wine or whiskey. Any alcohol will increase your HDL (the good one!). However, you need to max out at 5 drinks a week in order to reap the benefits.
Here’s the serving size: 12 oz of beer, 4 oz of wind and 1.5 oz of spirits. Enjoy!
Exercise
We all know that regular exercise is healthy for us and increases longevity. Well, it also helps maintain optimal HDL cholesterol levels.
Keep The Weight Off.
Stop the Yo-Yo dieting! When you lose weight, your HDL cholesterol will actually go down. But losing weight, and then keeping the weight off, will cause your HDL cholesterol to rise to levels higher than before you started your weight loss journey.
Eat Fat!
Dietary fat is a powerful modulator of your HDL cholesterol. Low fat diets will ruin your HDL levels.
Aim to eat a diet that is 30% of calories from fat. This will support healthy HDL cholesterol levels while optimizing other risk factors of heart disease. You also need to eat fat to lose fat! Go figure!
Yours in Health!
