Are eggs bad for my health? Should I eat eggs if I’m trying to lose weight? The answers are not so straightforward and we have collected perspectives from 5 different sources for answers: Protein-based diets, Harvard Medical School, Cardiovascular Health Research, Whole-foods plant-based diet, and veganism.
A Brief History
Chicken eggs have always been a cheap and convenient source of protein, but research papers published in the 1960s have started noting the connection between high levels of cholesterol and poor heart health, which has led to the egg, specifically, the yolk’s, notoriety. But as we understand how the body functions better, researchers have found that it’s the levels of saturated and trans fat we consume that is primarily responsible for the cholesterol in our body, and not the cholesterol level of the food we ingest.
Keto and Paleo: Eat Away & Eat the Whole Egg!
With cholesterol no longer the main focus, diets based on high-protein intake such as Keto and Paleo are championing the egg. Take away the cholesterol and what you have is a food low in saturated fat and calories, but high in protein and nutrients.
The message: eat the WHOLE egg, and eat lots of it. In fact, Keto diet has a 5-day egg fast that suggests eating at least 6 eggs a day for 3-5 days in a row.
Harvard Medical School: Moderation
But some doctors, however, are not as enthusiastic about the overall benefits of the egg. One has to take into account if they already have heart disease or are at a high risk of getting cardiovascular diseases before eating eggs so liberally. From the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Komaroff acknowledges that:
“for most people, an egg a day does not increase your risk of a heart attack, a stroke, or any other type of cardiovascular disease. No more than three eggs per week is wise if you have diabetes, are at high risk for heart disease from other causes (such as smoking), or already have heart disease.”
Cardiovascular Research: Eat Egg Whites, NOT the Yolks
Dr. Spence, a professor of neurology at the University of Western Ontario, conducts research on arterial plaque, and has found a correlation between high cholesterol build-up in the arteries and yolk consumption. His findings:
“consumption of egg yolks should be avoided by persons at risk of heart disease.” Gleaning on a Mediterranean diet, Spence points out that egg yolks are not considered a good source of protein, but egg whites are.
Source | The Daily Beast.
An egg has 186 mg of cholesterol, found in the yolk (egg whites have 0 mg. of cholesterol).
Critical of the overhyping of eggs as a superfood, Spence sees a similarity between “Big Egg and Big Tobacco in its loose interpretation of scientific data in the interest of profit” (npr). It’s important to note a study that correlates daily egg consumption with lower risk of stroke was funded by the American Egg Board (AEB).
Whole-Foods Plant-Based: Ditch the Egg
For the “whole-foods plant-based” (WFPB) diet, these nutritional debates about eggs are irrelevant, since the philosophy is to avoid animal products all together.
The diet “centers around whole, unrefined (or minimally refined) plant foods instead of animal products and highly processed foods.”
(Forks Over Knives | Winter 2019)
The WFPB diet emphasizes taste and treats weight-loss not as THE end-goal, but the result of a healthy body nourished by plants. Eat well, and the weight loss will follow. Moreover, there are no counting calories or focusing on individual ingredients, since the pleasure of eating tasty food leads to a long-term path to health (Forks Over Knives | Winter 2019). This philosophy is quite contrary to the 5-day egg fast suggested by the Keto diet.
Veganism: Part of Your Health is Taking Care of Our Planet
A plant-based diet is not just healthier, it’s better for the rest of the world. For vegans, alternative poultry production systems such as “cage-free” or “free-range” fail to address the main problems that come with livestock, which are animal abuse such as chick culling, greenhouse gas emissions from livestock raising activities, deforestation (80% of all Amazon deforestation is due to cattle raising), and water pollution and consumption.
Comparatively, while WFPB focuses solely on individual health, vegans take into account the indirect effects of how our food is produced, and whether that harms a sentient animal or the environment.
YOUR health, in this case, is not just what you directly eat but the air you breathe and the overall health of your planet.
The Lesson
Psychologically, diets helps us simplify what we eat and don’t eat. Each diet is anchored on a central thought process, whether your focus is on a dietary component such as protein, on the quality of ingredients, or on the process involved in what we consume.
The science on food is never straightforward. And that’s how it should be as we advance our knowledge and we improve the instruments we use to understand how our bodies function and what makes up the food we eat.
The egg and the controversies around it is a good example of how the diet we choose tells us what we prioritize and believe in. It’s a process of mindfulness.
The Facts
How are eggs produced?
Hens (females) will lay an egg between 24-48 hours even if the hen did not mate with a rooster. This is the egg you buy in the store. If a rooster (male) does fertilize the egg, then it becomes a chick.
What happens to male chicks, since you don’t need them for the hens to produce eggs?
Since we can’t tell an egg’s sex before it hatches, currently, male chicks are killed, either through electrocuting, gassing, or grinding, a process known as chick culling.
With DNA technology, the egg industry hopes to be able to tell a chick’s sex before it hatches so the egg can be terminated before it hatches.
How much cholesterol is there in one egg?
An egg has 186 mg of cholesterol, found in the yolk (egg whites have 0 mg. of cholesterol).
I Google the word “egg” and 16 out of the 20 images have eggs in them. Narrow it down to “healthy” breakfast, and 15/20 images have eggs.
How ingrained are eggs in your culture’s menu?
Google | January 2019
