A study recently published online in the journal Atherosclerosis claims that consuming egg yolks is about as damaging as daily cigarette smoking. Like many of us who’ve enjoyed a nice three-egg breakfast for years without an imminent stroke or heart attack, you might be wondering are egg yolks bad for you?
New Levels of Eggsageration
This nonsense about egg yolks and cholesterol, and dietary saturated fat being bad for your health has reached new levels of eggsageration. You must understand that cholesterol is an absolutely vital part of every cell of every living animal organism on the planet (plants do not contain cholesterol). This notion that consuming egg yolks and cholesterol will somehow harm you has absolutely no basis in fact. It is true however, that the way the way in which the eggs are cooked could be very harmful. It just takes some knowledge to know how to prepare them so they’re healthy food for your heart.
What did the researchers actually study?
Patients at a vascular prevention clinic filled out a questionnaire about smoking habits and egg yolk consumption amongst other questions. J. David Spence, David J.A. Jenkins, Jean Davignon who headed the study then measured how much plaque had built up in the patients arteries. These pathological changes were seen through an ultrasound test. The researchers then did a statistical analysis and concluded that both smoking and egg yolk consumption were a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The researchers tried to improve the accuracy of their study by taking into account other health related characteristics including having diabetes, high blood pressure and being overweight.
Important Questions with No Answers
The problem with all studies of this kind is that they’re very prone to bias. Bear in mind that the patients involved in this study were part of a clinic set up to prevent vascular disease. Is it possible that the sicker patients “remembered” eating more egg yolks and cholesterol than the healthier patients? Is it possible that the egg yolk eaters also happened to consume more unhealthy products like homogenized milk that can lead to vascular disease? Were the eggs served with bacon filled with poisonous nitrates or nitrites? Were the eggs served with sugar-laden, artery-clogging juice? Worse yet though, the researchers completely neglected a very important question: How were the eggs cooked? Were the eggs fried? Were the eggs cooked in toxic vegetable oil? Were the eggs microwaved? There are so many crucially important questions and no answers.
Are egg yolks bad for you?
Here are the facts.
With the amount of press (and eggcitement) this study is generating, you’re probably still wondering are eggs bad for you? What’s healthy food for your heart? The most unfortunate result of the big fat lie this report is continuing to perpetuate is a cholesterol phobia, while at the same time driving people to over-consume low-fat, high-carbohydrate, “heart-healthy” foods that are anything but healthy food for your heart. Have no fear, enjoy your eggs! But just know how the facts:
- Eggs, especially if organic and appropriately cooked, are perhaps the single best food you can eat for breakfast.
- Eat your eggs poached or boiled (a little on the runny side to be precise) and do not fry them, cook them with vegetable oil or microwave them. These unhealthy cooking methods will transform egg yolk and cholesterol from a vital life-giving substance to a metabolic poison.
- If you insist on cooking your eggs in a pan, use butter or coconut oil, and try to keep the yolks runny.
- Do not consume egg yolks and cholesterol with “cured” meats or sugary sweet drinks or homogenized milk (the process of homogenization releases xanthine oxidase which can be damaging to blood vessels).
So are egg yolks bad for you like smoking cigarettes? Absolutely not. Just stay mindful of these preparation methods, and stay away from these “foods” that are not healthy food for your heart. Otherwise, you might as well take up smoking cigarettes!
