In the 50's and 60's, athletes used to drink raw eggs to build strength. In the 70's, there was a backlash against the egg, and people were told to stop eating eggs, or cut back due to the spike in heart disease. Cholesterol in the eggs was blamed for this spike. In the 80's, eggs got a reprieve (I pulled the little slogan that I modified for this post's title from the 80's, although it has recurred in egg advertising throughout the years).
And so it goes. Every decade it seems, the egg switches from one extreme to the other. Eat it, don't eat it... Right now, it happens to be enjoying another good period. I recall Dr. Oz telling millions of unsuspecting people to eat an egg a day. I shudder to think of the devastation his advice on this point will cause.
As the court of public opinion with regards to nutrition is generally based upon expert opinion, let me explain why experts can't figure out where exactly to place the egg.
The problem is, that in the opinion of most experts, protein is good, but is the amount of protein in the egg worth the amount of cholesterol that it contains? So experts with differing views argue back and forth.
Now for the problem with the problem: the experts are completely ignoring some very important facts. Many of them are aware of these facts, but because of various interests (financial is one, trying to appear mainstream is another), they choose not to tell the public. This puts you at some risk.
I am going to tell you the truth as I see it based upon research that has been done. I believe in this so much that I choose to follow my own advice in my diet, to tremendous result. You can choose to believe what I write, or not, but at least please read it and give it a chance. I just want to improve your health. I have no financial interest in this situation, and I don't care what the mainstream thinks about what I have to say.
Let's start with cholesterol. The USDA sets a limit of 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol as what you should consume daily. As I already said, the egg has about 70% of that. What is this number based upon? Nothing at all. It is the consensus of a group of experts. Since all animal fat contains cholesterol, they had to pick a number that allowed for what they considered adequate amounts of animal foods in the diet. As you can imagine, this was heavily influenced by the egg, dairy, and meat industries.
Jake, you might ask, how much cholesterol does your body actually need? Great question. The answer is none. Zero. Zip. Cholesterol is a very important fat, and is found in virtually every cell of your body. Here's the rub: your body can easily make all the cholesterol you need, from other nutrients you intake. There is absolutely no need to take any in at all. On the other hand, cholesterol intake does have some other significant consequences. In multiple studies, a blood cholesterol level of greater than 200 was associated with double the heart attack risk of a level under 200. In medicine, we set the "normal" value for cholesterol at 200. This is incomplete data, however. In other studies, a cholesterol level of less than 150 was associated with a 5 times smaller risk of heart attack than a level of over 150. The cholesterol level of your average meat eater? 150-200. Your average vegetarian? 150-175. Your average vegan? 136.
Faced with these numbers, you might be wondering if all that protein is worth the risk that the cholesterol brings. Now we will deal with the protein issue.
Based upon multiple sources, including The China Study, animal protein intake has been linked to the following diseases:
Heart disease
Stroke
High Blood Pressure
Diabetes
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Colon Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Breast Cancer
Esophageal Cancer
Obesity
Osteoporosis
This list is not all inclusive, but is a good sampling. It should be enough to give you the gist. It is becoming more apparent that the protein is just as bad as the cholesterol, if not worse. To top it off, you don't really need the protein anyway. The USDA recommends that protein make up about 20% of your daily calories. That is double the 10% of daily calories recommended by the World Health Organization, and four times the 5% that multiple studies have shown are necessary for survival and muscle growth. The USDA's number is heavily influenced by experts who were taught the same fiction that you have been taught (and that I was taught in medical school), and by lobbyists for various groups who farm the animals that produce the protein.
The bottom line: the experts who tell you to eat or not eat eggs were trying to balance what they considered to be the good (protein) vs the bad (cholesterol). What they didn't tell you is that both nutrients go on the same side of the balance scale. They are both bad. Eggs are edible, but unless you happen to be a snake or a mongoose, you probably shouldn't eat them, unless you want the diseases on the list above.
M. Jacob Ott, M. D.
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