What’s the real deal with egg yolks? Do they really raise your cholesterol and your risk for heart disease?

Great news…the answer is No!

Although it was once though that egg yolks were the equivalent of a heart attack on a plate, we now know that dietary cholesterol doesn’t play much of a role in plasma cholesterol…or heart disease for that matter.

First, we want to make it clear that there are two types of cholesterol: 1- dietary cholesterol (cholesterol you consume from your diet/food) and 2- serum cholesterol (the cholesterol within your bloodstream).

Egg yolks raise do not raise your serum cholesterol. This is great news!

In fact, the main dietary culprit for raising your blood cholesterol is saturated fat, not dietary cholesterol. This means that although eggs yolks are high in cholesterol (210 mg; you should aim to get less than 300 mg of cholesterol a day), they are fairly low in saturated fat (1.5 g). So this means that although egg yolks are higher in calories than the white of the egg, they do not lead to cardiac problems and heart disease! In fact, eggs may even be good for your heart in some ways!

The bottom line: Eggs are a fantastic source of lean and satisfying protein. You can have 6 egg whites with your breakfast for 90 calories of pure, filling protein! Or you could have one whole egg and one white for the same amount of calories and you could take advantage of the nutrient-rich yolk. You’ll notice how satisfied you feel hours later when you include eggs as part of your breakfast. Eggs are a good and delicious food. Most people can eat one or two a day. Just don’t mess them up by preparing them with fatty, salty ingredients or serving them with unhealthy side dishes!