Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Eggs seem to be one of those foods that many folks are perpetually confused about – for a variety of reasons.
On the one hand, you have the egg white omelet eating folks who believe that egg yolks should be avoided as they are loaded with cholesterol and fat.
Earth to fat phobes: A thorough review of the world’s scientific literature published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine in 2009 concluded that eggs and the beneficial cholesterol they contain do not contribute to heart attacks!
Eat those whole chicken, goose or duck eggs and enjoy my friends. Don’t be throwing those egg yolks away! Egg Beaters truly is food for fools!
Does Cooking Egg Yolks Damage Them?
What about folks that love their fat and cholesterol and realize that these nutrients in their natural state are critical to health, but have somehow bought into the notion that breaking the integrity of the egg yolk as would happen during cooking, baking, or scrambling oxidizes the cholesterol which is the form of this nutrient that is health-damaging?
This is also a myth and causes folks to avoid eggs in dishes that would be perfectly healthy to include them. Having a fear of scrambling or whipping eggs into baked goods is a shame. Eating lots of eggs in as many ways as possible is a good dietary practice given that eggs are one of the highest sources of sulfur.
In fact, a sulfur deficiency is increasingly common, and it is a critical nutrient as it helps the body detoxify.
What actually does cause cholesterol in foods like egg yolks to oxidize?
It’s not simple cooking, baking or scrambling like what happens in our humble kitchens!
Rather, it is the spray drying of foods that occurs when they are forced through tiny holes at obscenely high temperatures and pressures in factories to powderize them for use in a variety of processed foods that are the problem.
This process called extrusion is completely denaturing to the cholesterol in all foods – not just eggs. It also negatively alters the fragile proteins that are present which is why extrusion is so damaging to cereal grains and why boxed cereals are highly toxic, allergenic foods.
How to Best Eat Your Eggs
The bottom line is just to eat your eggs!
Eat them however you enjoy them be it sunny side up, over easy, or scrambled. Egg yolks do not need to be consumed raw and intact to be healthy although eating them this way is fine too! You can even eat eggs that have a blood or “meat” spot!
One caveat on consuming raw eggs. While the egg yolk is fine to consume raw, the egg white is best cooked. According to Chris Masterjohn, an expert on the subject, raw egg whites have the following problems:
They contain inhibitors of the digestive enzyme trypsin, which are destroyed by heat. Consuming 100 grams of raw egg white with one egg yolk compared to consuming the same food cooked was shown in one study to reduce protein digestion from 90 percent down to 50 percent.
Raw egg whites also contain an anti-nutrient called avidin. Avidin is a glycoprotein that binds to the B vitamin biotin, preventing its absorption. Biotin is necessary for fatty acid synthesis and the maintenance of blood sugar, and is especially important during pregnancy when biotin status declines.
The next time a bizarre, modern notion like eating a simple bowl of scrambled eggs is dangerous comes along, just think about what your Great Grandparents ate.
If they scrambled their eggs, chances are good that you can safely eat them too!
More Information
Cardiologist Speaks Out Against Low Cholesterol
The High Risks of Low Cholesterol
Cholesterol Myths to Wise Up About
Trying to keep cholesterol numbers low using drugs is like having too few beds at a hospital. Get rid of the hospital beds and there will be fewer sick people at the hospital. The beds don’t make people sick! If cholesterol was poisonous the human genome would have developed ways to remove it via our kidneys or some such rather than being preferentially recycled by the liver. The sun can’t make enough vitamin D in our skin if cholesterol levels are not sufficient. BTW, we don’t try to keep the plant sterols artificially low in our favorite rose bush do we?
Any evidence to support your claim that the cholesterol in egg yolks is not oxidized by cooking?
Thanks!
Sarah, you need to tell Dr. Mercola to change some info on this article. He says, “Overcooked scrambled eggs” can cause inflammation. I don’t know what he means by “Overcooked”.
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx
A wonderful concept “Eat like our great grand parents ate!) rather than let big agro slowly poison us!
I completely understand how extrusion would render eggs toxic. But where is the actual evidence in this article that it’s a myth that scrambled eggs are toxic? All I see is one person SAYING that it’s a myth, but no studies to prove the science behind it. Mercola always references his articles, so I would actually be more likely to believe his info–though I really do love my scrambled eggs! 🙂
Take a close look at table salt,it has sand in it ,scratches the inside of blood veins the bad cholesterol gets built up and ,you know what happens next…..Jim. Sea salt works!
Tricia, what’s your trick to keep them from sticking to stainless steel pans? I’m trying to make the break from non-stick, but I hate feeling like I’m wasting the yummy eggs sticking to the pan. I’ve tried lots of butter, coconut oil, bacon grease — still sticking. What’s your secret?
Stainless steel for me always has some sticking. my favorite egg skillet is a small cast iron about 4 inches across. I try to keep it well seasoned, which you may have to learn. Trick is first to season it well (see internet) and, second (the real key) wash it with spatula and hot water only – no soap
**correction for my last comment**
although this is probably obvious my last sentence should have read “It doesn’t help”. No ability to edit your message? Looks like someone needs to update their forums.
Sarah’s quote: “The next time a bizarre, modern notion like eating a simple bowl of scrambled eggs is dangerous comes along, just think about what your Great Grandparents ate. If they scrambled their eggs, chances are good that you can safely eat them too!”
It kills me when somebody uses science to argue their point all the way through an entire article and then sprinkles a bit of folklore on the end just to cinch the deal.
it reminds of watching peoples court, and being able to clearly see that whose favor the judge is going to decide with but the winner stills feel the need to open their mouth.
Our grandparents had much less knowledge than we do today. They did what they thought was right because most people ate what tasted good in the old days. Now we eat what we “think” is healthy. I imagine in the old days people smoked, and drank, and slept around without much thought. Please don’t try and make your argument for eating scrambled eggs more credible by telling me my grandparents did it. it does help. 🙂