Eggs for breakfast seem promising

Originally Posted by dressed4it

Ok, this is a question that has been on my mind for a little while now. I know that the vitamins and minerals are contained in the yolk, but is most of the protein(what I am really after when eating eggs) not contained in the white? Is it worth getting a little extra iron and vitamins to consume the massive amount of cholestrol found in egg yolks? Maybe massive is an exxageration but, according to the packaging nutrition info, 89% of RDA of cholestrol is present in one large egg. I usually eat 3-4 eggs for breakfast, isn't consuming 3x the RDA of cholesterol in one sitting a little bad?

It isn't as bad as you think, but that is no excuse to go overboard with egg consumption either:

Schnohr et al. 1994. Egg consumption and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. J. Intern. Med. 235:249-251.

"To determine the effects of egg consumption on plasma HDL cholesterol levels, twenty-four adults added two eggs per day to their usual diets for six weeks. Total cholesterol levels were increased by 4% while HDL cholesterol levels increased 10%. The dose adjusted response to the change in dietary cholesterol was 2.4 mg/dl per 100 mg/day. The authors concluded that "a moderate egg intake should not be rigorously restricted in healthy individuals."


Lichtenstein et al. 1994. Hypercholesterolemic effect of dietary cholesterol in diets enriched in polyunsaturated and saturated fat. Dietary cholesterol, fat saturation, and plasma lipids. Arterioscler. Thromb. 14:168-175.

Studies in fourteen men (n=8) and women (n=6) fed either corn oil (polyunsaturated fat) or beef tallow (saturated fat) with or without addition of 197-226 mg cholesterol per 1000 kcal, documented little effect of dietary fat saturation on the plasma cholesterol response to dietary cholesterol. In the corn oil fed group the addition of cholesterol increased plasma cholesterol 11 mg/dl (dose adjusted: 3.9 mg/dl per 100 mg/day) and in the beef tallow group the increase was the same, 11 mg/dl (dose adjusted: 3.8 mg/dl per 100 mg/day). The findings are consistent with other studies which indicate that with a 30% fat diet, the plasma cholesterol response to dietary cholesterol is independent of the fatty acid composition of the diet. The study also provides evidence which suggests that resistance to the effects of dietary cholesterol occurs in older men and women and is not limited to only young, healthy volunteers.