eggs, safe enough to eat every day?

[Ming Loyalist]

so i'll preface this question with some background on me:

i don't eat meat, but eat lots of fish, and dairy. i have a history of heart disease on both sides of my family, so i try to be careful with my diet, i exercise regularly, and am in general in good shape (5'7" 155-160lbs.)

i have been eating 2 eggs for breakfast every day for at least 3 years at this point (not that it really matters for the purposes of this discussion, but i get the free range eggs that claim to be high in omega 3s and all that jazz.)

i tend to eat a large breakfast to try to load up for the day ahead: 2 egg omlette with lowfat cheddar and onions, coffee (milk, no sugar), whole wheat toast with butter + 100% fruit jelly, and a glass of fresh OJ.

last night, i was having dinner with some family (one of whom is a registered nurse, and whose opinion i usually respect in terms of nutrition) and she was appalled at my breakfast routine, and claimed that i was getting far too much cholesterol in my diet, and should reduce my egg intake to 1x week. this would of course require me to find more protein to replace it with, and i would rather not. in fact i was thinking of eating ANOTHER egg (hard boiled) later in the day when i don't think i'm getting enough protein on that day.

my impression was that she is using old data, and that there have been no scientific studies to show that eating eggs leads to high cholesterol. my approach has been to keep eating the same way, and at my yearly checkups make sure that my cholesterol levels are ok (they have been just fine, my doctor gave me a shitload of tests last year and i passed with flying colors.)

i am curious what the bullies have heard and if any of you can cite any studies that actually show that i should be concerned.

[E-Van]

I beleive she is using old data. I had a talk with my boss about this same subject last week.

I have the same family history you do and I am terrified of heart disease. My boss saw my protien shakes one day and laughed and said "What do you take that for?"

I explained that I take protien shakes because I want to work out alot and other then chicken, I dont know where to get my protien from without getting lots of fat and cholestoral. We have talked alot about this subject before because he had MAJOR heart surgory a few years back.

He then whent on to explain that there are different types of cholestoral. There is LDL wich is bad, and HDL wich is good. Eggs contain a high amount of HDL. As long as you are not frying your eggs in a ton of butter, I dont see the problem. And as a fellow bully with a family history of heart problems, I eat a couple of hard boiled eggs as a snack every day.

[Ming Loyalist]

thanks for the reply... one thing that i should probably add is that i am 37 years old.

[E-Van]

Yah im 27 but my grandfather and father both died before they were 50 from heart conditions.

Cutting your red meat and fatty food is the best advice. Obviously dont smoke and keep drinking to a minumum. Eating eggs should not be a big factor in your diet if you are working out and living a healthy life style.

Have you been to a doctor recently to check your cholesterol?

[HappyOldGuy]

HDL versus LDL is something that happens in your blood, and the ratio has to do with how much cholesterol you eat and how well your body processes it. Particular foods don't have more HDL or LDL.

The link between dietary cholesterol and the small dense LDL cholesterol that forms plaque is fuzzy. For most people it's not a major deal, but with a family history of heart disease you may have a genetic predisposition to some sort of problem with the way your body metabolizes fats. Eggs are necessarily worse for you than any other source though, and it doesn't sound like your total diet is high in cholesterol.

ob proviso that internet medical advice is worth what you pay for it.

[cuatro76]

I use Egg Beaterz. They have the same amount of protein but no cholesterol. 1/3 cup = 1 egg.

[TheRuss]

gaining weight without the cholesterol? - No BS Martial Arts

Also,

i have been eating 2 eggs for breakfast every day for at least 3 years at this point

at my yearly checkups make sure that my cholesterol levels are ok (they have been just fine, my doctor gave me a shitload of tests last year and i passed with flying colors.)

If your serum cholesterol levels are currently acceptable, then there are only two other questions to be asked:
1) Are they okay now but deteriorating?
2) Are there other health risks of eating two eggs each morning?

My guesses are:
1) No, although to be sure, you'd need to compare cholesterol levels over time. Either find the results from two tests you've taken and compare them, or get another one done at some point in the future and compare it to your last one.
2) No.

[honesty]

AS has already been said dietary cholestoral is not equivalent to blood cholestoral, and I have not seen a convincing study that shows that dietary cholestoral increases blood cholestoral.

If you are worried though, just dont eat the yokes, its where all the cholestoral is.

[Ming Loyalist]

Have you been to a doctor recently to check your cholesterol?

it's been about a year. i'm due for a checkup (and a new doctor, come to think of it, i'm not that happy with the guy i'm with now.)

I use Egg Beaterz. They have the same amount of protein but no cholesterol. 1/3 cup = 1 egg.

i actually was using them a couple of years back, then i decided that they don't taste good and decided to go with real eggs until there was a reason to stop.

If your serum cholesterol levels are currently acceptable, then there are only two other questions to be asked:
1) Are they okay now but deteriorating?
2) Are there other health risks of eating two eggs each morning?

My guesses are:
1) No, although to be sure, you'd need to compare cholesterol levels over time. Either find the results from two tests you've taken and compare them, or get another one done at some point in the future and compare it to your last one.
2) No.

yeah, i'll have the new doc compare the results with the last ones.

sorry about missing that thread when i did my search for egg threads, the title didn't mention eggs so i didn't read it. my bad. sometimes the search engine fails us because the title of the thread doesn't give us enough info.

If you are worried though, just dont eat the yokes, its where all the cholestoral is.

yeah but the yolks are the best part! that's where flavor country is!

[KO'd N DOA]

I always wondered about salmonella poisoning being a health risk for people who eat lots of eggs, especially raw ones. Statistically speaking 1 in every 1000 has it. Most are on the surface, but some actually are inside the egg.

These eggs are cooked yes? And stored in the fridge? Then you should be fine.