The Y-Factor with Christian McLean

More Than It's Cracked Up To Be

I love runny, gooey eggs. I love them on toasted bagels, on rolls, with hash browns, or simply by themselves. Until recently I had stopped eating eggs because I was told they were bad for me. I occasionally ate egg whites, but let's be honest, they're about as boring as breakfast can get, so I gave them up, too. I longed for the Christmas mornings of my childhood when my grandfather would serve up eggs any way I liked.

The egg has gained a terrible rap over the past decade or two. With cholesterol on everyones' minds, eggs are no longer on their plates and it's a shame. According to several recent studies, it is also a mistake. When the population heard that high cholesterol was bad for them, the first step to control their levels was to eliminate food which contained cholesterol. It made sense if you didn't know any better. But as research shows, cholesterol is a little more complicated than simply high and low. Olive oil, for example, is high in cholesterol, but it has helped bring into light that there are also "good" and "bad" cholesterol. Olive oil is high in "good" HDL cholesterol, where hydrogenated vegetable oil is high in "bad" LDL cholesterol. (Simply summed up LDL binds to the artery walls and causes plaque. Enough plaque can cause blockages and lead to serious heart conditions. HDL actually helps remove the LDL from the body by bringing it into the liver where it is processed and expelled.) There is even more to it than that. A third factor is the size of these cholesterol particles. This is where the egg may see a comeback.

According to a study conducted by the University of Connecticut, eggs are not the enemy. Head researcher Christine M. Greene and her group discovered that, while yes, eggs are high in bad LDL cholesterol they are also high in good HDL. But what made their research rather fascinating was that, by consuming three or more eggs a day, there was actually less chance of bad cholesterol buildup in arteries. It comes down to a size issue.

In South Korea, scientists have been doing studies on the importance of cholesterol particle size and its relationship to artery blockage, heart disease and diabetes. The research has shown that people who suffer from the aforementioned ailments generally have a great deal of tiny LDL particles in their bodies and less large particles. They believe that these tiny LDL are more dangerous to your health than larger sizes.

This researches backs up the discoveries done by the group at U. Conn. who believe that while eggs are rich in LDL, eating three eggs a day produces larger LDL particles as well as larger HDL particles which is better than not eating eggs at all. The benefits are twofold. First, the large LDL are less likely to adhere to the artery wall than smaller particles, which means they will eventually pass out of the system. The second benefit is that the introduction of large HDL particles means more cholesterol is removed from the blood stream, so it is eventually eliminated as well. In the end there is less bad cholesterol in the body.

Prior to this study, two studies done around the turn of the century (1999 & 2000) also found that consuming more than one egg a day did not raise risks of coronary heart disease. In fact, one study forecasted the U. Conn study by reporting that cholesterol levels were lower in subjects who ate more than four eggs a day.

Another study, the Ireland-Boston Heart Survey, studied 600 Irishmen who had lived in Boston for over 10 years and compared them to their brothers who had never left Ireland. The brothers in America ate about half the amount of eggs as the one who stayed in Ireland and yet, while consuming an average of 14 eggs a week, the brothers in Ireland showed lower cholesterol and better heart function.

While I am not about to tell you to eat 4 eggs a day, these studies do demonstrate that eggs are not the heart attack in a shell they have been labeled as in past years. They are rich in vitamins and protein and should not be shunned. Something you should note though is that fried eggs are usually cooked in butter or vegetable oil which are high in LDL cholesterol and show no health benefits at all. So if you're gonna fry your eggs use olive oil.

Anyway, get back to eating a great breakfast staple. Just try to avoid adding bacon and sausage to the plate or all the benefits will be lost.

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