This week I’ve had the pleasure of entertaining some of my closest fitness buddies for a few days here in Tampa, and upon awakening, several of us found ourselves facing the all too common dilemma deciding what to eat for breakfast.
Vinny (Del Monte) chose to go with some left-over lobster and steak from our evening at Shula’s the night before (where, by the way, John Romaniello joined me in being inducted in Shula’s 48 oz. Club, by ordering—and finishing—their signature 48 oz. Porterhouse. Nice work, John), while I decided to go with the more conventional egg.
You see, truth is, I like eggs and tend to eat a lot of them.
Now, I’m sure you’ve heard a time or two before that you should be mindful of consuming too many unhatched chickens as their cholesterol content is rather high.
I’ve even heard the recommendation that eggs should only be eaten once per week to avoid cholesterol issues. If that’s the case, I’m probably due to die rather soon.
Fortunately, it’s not.
You see, for years we have been told that cholesterol intake should be kept to a bare minimum as doing so will help to decrease blood cholesterol levels and promote overall health, and although the theory of lowering dietary cholesterol intake to lower internal cholesterol makes logical sense, the theory doesn’t quite pan out, as our bodies are, generally, more complex creatures than our logical minds give them credit for.
Fact is, when dietary intake of cholesterol is decreased, the liver compensates by producing more cholesterol, leaving total cholesterol levels relatively unchanged. In the same way, if cholesterol consumption is increased, the liver produces less cholesterol, and again, total cholesterol values will not be substantially altered.
Now that’s not to say that we should go hog wild with our intake of cholesterol, but it does mean that one can expect serum cholesterol levels to remain relatively stable over a wide range of dietary intakes.
Given this information, you may be wondering why the body would ever produce more cholesterol if cholesterol is so “bad”, and that’s a good question.
The truth is, cholesterol actually acts as an antioxidant against dangerous free radicals within the blood and is also necessary for the production of certain hormones that help to fight against heart disease.
When there are high levels of undesirable substances in the blood (caused by the dietary intake of damaged fats, highly processed “unhealthy” foods, and large quantities of sugars), cholesterol levels rise in order to combat these substances.
Blaming heart disease on high cholesterol is like blaming infection on high levels of antibodies (special proteins produced by the body in order to defend against foreign bacteria and infectious agents). If the body allowed cholesterol to fall in the presence of large amounts of free radicals, our risk for heart disease would increase, not decrease, and fortunately our bodies won’t let that happen.
So, the answer to decreasing blood cholesterol levels is not avoiding omelets and not necessarily decreasing dietary cholesterol intake, but rather improving ones diet overall by eating healthier in general and avoiding the other harmful types of foods mentioned.
Combine that with increased physical activity and both you and your cholesterol levels will be in even better shape.
Enjoy today’s post? Learn something new? Love eggs? Question? Comment?
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Joel
I have genetic issues with High Cholesterol so proper diet and execise is the key. I have dropped mine by 60 points and changed my LDL/HDL in the right directions. I also eat egg whites mostly (the kind you buy in the small cartons at Costco) and keep a good fish oil suplimentation on a daily basis.
Joel is correct and thanks Dr. Bryan Walsh for your comments as well. ;-)
love scrambled eggs. Ive been eating them daily since early childhood and my cholesterol levels are more than ok. thank you Joel for your revealing posts
Ah eggs natures perfect food . This makes them better. My typical breakfast is 4 egg whites & 2 whole eggs mixed in with about 3 cups of steamed frozen vegetables ( I mix several different mixes so I get a lot of different colors & nutrients) I also mix in alot of spices or spicy sauces. Louisiana Hot Wing sauce is awesome so is Thai Peanut sauce. Or use an Italian tomato sauce. Maximum high quality protein, lots of nutrients, fiber & anti-oxidants in the veggies & the olive oil I cook with adds some good fat. I’m a hard-core 52 year old who has done about 700 reps of crunches , on floor, swiss ball or hanging upside down with gravity boots for 8 years & 44 weeks-without missing a day. I have spent a lifetime lifting weights, practicing martial arts, doing exercises & working hard at manual labor. Eggs have always been one of my preferred protein sources.
I always found interesting that people with high cholesterol levels don’t eat eggs. If you look at 99% of people with high cholesterol , the #1 thing they have in common is that they don’t eat eggs. The #2 is that they don’t do any resistance training. Now were having some kids with high cholesterol levels and parents buying al sorts of crappy foods that say “Cholesterol Free”.
But educating the parents is not as bad as it could be. Thanks to profesionals like you Joel that write some good info.
I have always hated eggs. I never developed a taste for them. I make some pretty good egg dishes for my family and they love them. I would like to eat them. My doctor tells me to eat them. But how does one acquire a taste for them?
I like eggs. Besides, I thought they have been called the perfect protein because they have a value of 1.
Yes Joel,
All you have stated is spot on and the other thing is I am sick of hearing that high Cholesterol is definately bad for you…..the thing is that genetically some people just produce more Cholesterol than what is considered standard and their bodies can handle it. My advise only see the doc if really absolutely necessary…yeh! I know, many will roast me, but its a democratic society so I say what I believe, and by the way eggs are one of natures best foods, full of vitamins and minerals and protein etc…so eat more eggs and live life to the full.
Hey Joel,
Thanks for yet another interesting post. The fact is, I eat any where between 18-24 eggs a day. Most of these are hard boiled, except for the 3-4 eggs I eat during breakfast which are sunny-side up. I’ve had this routine for a few months now. Primarily, I took to this diet to cut down on the excess fat and lose inches on my waist-line and I coupled this with your recommended car-protein-fat ratio diet. it has worked wonders for me but I do frequently contemplate if I am over-doing my egg intake. Any inputs as to the max. intake in a day (except the cheat day) would be really very helpful and would be the missing link in my diet I feel.
Thanks
I guess i have been fooled by the so called medical experts around,that egg is only good for children. hum
It is really a great and nice piece of information. I personally like to eat organic eggs and use to eat a lot.
I love eggs – especially the chocolate ones at easter time ;)
The most important statement in your blog is “When there are high levels of undesirable substances in the blood (caused by the dietary intake of damaged fats, highly processed “unhealthy” foods, and large quantities of sugars), cholesterol levels rise in order to combat these substances”. That is important information. Thanks!
“Now that’s not to say that we should go hog wild with our intake of cholesterol”
— So many whole eggs per day could be considered moderate or within limits?
Spot on Joel, eggs are a perfect balance between protein and fat. If fact they are a perfect food. I eat 6 to 8 every day and have done for ages. I had my blood profile done the other week and every marker is the same or better than 2 years ago. That clinches it for me, not that there was any doubt in my mind. Keep up the good work.
Alan.
This information is good to hear but it does not surprise me. As a 54 year old bodybuilder, and an avid egg eater, I have been eating eggs all of my life. There was a time that I consumed 150+ per week. Concerned about the quantities that I was ingesting, I had my blood serum levels checked on a number of occasions and it was always in the normal range. Eggs are almost the perfect food. Good job Joel.
Joel,
Thanks for the post. It finally explains to me in human words what cholesterol is and what it does.
I do eat eggs quite often (as they are also used in your cheat your way thin program) and now I can do this without having to worry about cholesterol (needless to say I did not really worry too much since I do eat them a lot).
Thanks again.
Thanks for that information Joel, I have always been a little anxious about high cholesterol , the medical media inform us that cholesterol is a bad thing and that we should do all that we can to eliminate cholesterol . They never really give you all the facts . But seen in your perspective it makes a lot more sense ,now I can enjoy my eggs again , as I have ration myself in the past in belief that they were high in cholesterol and were contributory to high cholesterol level’s. Yours Sincerely.
Thanks alot Joel, I stopped eating eggs because of their “High Cholesterol” now, thanks to you, I know that they’re not bad at all. I hate bad, decieving media; unfortunately, I have to read your postings before I find out I was listening to some of that bad media.
Sincerely.
wow that really clears all my confusion and it will help me to make my father understand in a better way.
Thanks a lat.
Hello Joel, this maybe a little off topic. But I am curious about the comment on sugar and high cholesterol. I seem to struggling with my choelsterol level, each time I get it checked the doctor explains to me that my level is getting high, but my bad cholesterol accounts for most of it. I would say that my diet is fairly good, not perfect, weight is good, stay active, Omega3 fish oil every day. BUT, I seem to have a sweet tooth, getting worse the older I get, I am 46. The doctor has never mentioned sugar to me????
Confused,
My level was always less than 200 except for a time I bumped up my workout routine from for a couple of weeks. The test came back at 207. The thing was the LDL had gone up 3 points and the HDL had increased 17 points. Triglycerides went up to 37. Heredity plays a big part in cholesterol levels. The only person in my family that has a problem is my sister, probably because of her lack of activity due to other health problems. I grew up on cereal, bacon and toast with real butter for breakfast and we had meat or seafood for every meal for dinner. I was fortunate to work at a place that had two gyms and a fantastic cafeteria so I just had to have a breakfast of eggs, scrapple, creamed chipped beef and home fries(!) nearly every day after my workout.
All I can say is yeah! I was told to only eat egg whites and only every other but I cannot bear to take out that yummy yellow yoke – it just feels wrong. I think I will continue to enjoy be bi-daily intake of eggs – all free range of course.
This post puts me to think about this: Why do we get so often unreliable and confusing healthcare information?
People who are responsible of spreading this kind of information should be much more serious about their job and provide us with something to really rely on!
Thanks Joel…
So where does the idea of ‘only eating egg whites’ stand?
There’s alot of training/nutrition advice out there that recommends cutting down on the yoke (i.e. 1 yoke per 2-3 eggs) or just not eating the yoke at all…as “most cholesterol is stored in the yoke”.
But with the info you’ve blogged -this certainly makes me wonder?
i came across a great delicious morning egg recipe to have in my CHEAT DAYS…not in my diet days…its too fatenning for ur diet days.
I butter the internal sides and base of a ramekin or mold and pour a TBSP of single cream, a tiny slice of bacon or any smoked meat, a small peice of amercian or swiss cheddar, crack open an egg and then finish it off with a little more cream, approx a tsp of cream, salt and pepper…bake it in a water bath in a 400 degrees oven for 8 minutes….the most delicious creamy egg bake ever…eggs are delicious and i never cared about their cholesterol content cuz i read mike’s book…and i have knowledge about the truth behind cholesterol…in my diet days, i have them boiled…fried in evoo…or scrambled in coconut oil….delicious
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...read more