Do Eggs Raise Your Cholesterol?
Eggs have been a debate since before I was born. This little food I swear has sparked more controversy than anything else, maybe even more than coffee. I will address coffee in the future, I promise!
Your liver makes 80% of the cholesterol your body needs to make cells, skin, hormones, and all kinds of other stuff. If you eat zero cholesterol, your liver will make up for it. So the idea that all animal protein is 'bad' is insane to me. As with everything, there is nuance, and everyone needs something different, but overall, animal protein is the most bioavailable (easiest for our body to digest, absorb, and use) plus the most mineral-rich.
Eggs specifically are interesting because people are OK with the white of the egg (the protein) but that tiny yolk you would think was filled with red dye and seed oils. Egg yolk is one of the best (and one of very few) food sources of vitamin D. It is also rich in choline; essential for your liver (who recycles cholesterol BTW), responsible for neurotransmitters in your brain via acetylcholine (it is in your prenatal vitamin for fetal brain development and, like folate, neural tube formation), vitamin B metabolism, DNA creation... choline is that girl. Significant dietary sources of choline? Beef/chicken liver and egg yolk. That's it!
Then, we've got the healthy fat in the yolk. FACT: egg yolks have the highest cholesterol content (~180mg/yolk), so back in the day we thought this is an easy way to cut out cholesterol. But dietary cholesterol is the least important thing to worry about in managing your cholesterol. So while eggs are high cholesterol foods they are still amazing, easy, inexpensive source of protein, vitamins, minerals, omega 3 fats, etc.
What does raise cholesterol?
Sugar.
High fructose corn syrup.
A low fiber diet (fiber pulls it out of your blood and puts it in your bowel movement).
Trans fats from fried food, baked goods, boxed snacks, which increase LDL and reduce HDL, which is not great.
A sedentary lifestyle.
Way too many saturated fats (more than 20% of total calories).
Smoking/vaping.
Alcohol.
Extra body weight.
Genetics.
Stress.
Some medications.
Low estrogen (menopause).
It's giving 'fruit is bad for you because it has too much sugar', and eating sugar-free candy instead.
Like, what? Can we zoom out and look at the rest of your diet? Your lifestyle? Get a particle size test (blood test from doc), calcium score (scan from doc), and lp-a test (blood test from doc) to see if the cholesterol in your body is even a heart disease risk? Eat bitter greens and healthy fats to support your liver, who is the final boss of cholesterol?
So go eat some eggs. Pair them with fiber to pull out some of the extra cholesterol, and for stable blood glucose + energy that lasts all day. Monitor your levels yearly, move your body, and remember: we still believe in science, and science changes with new data + technology.
