You’ve heard it before, maybe even believe it yourself:
“Eat the egg whites and trash the yolks!”
“Egg yolks are full of saturated fat and cholesterol – they are bad for you!”
The list goes on…
It’s hard not to get caught up in this line of thinking because it seems to be everywhere. After all, nearly every restaurant that serves breakfast has a “healthy breakfast option” that removes the yolks from the eggs.
Thinking this way is doing eggs all wrong. It’s time to stop the egg-yolk-phobia!
Yolk is the healthiest part of the egg!
Look at the image below. From a single egg yolk (17 grams), it’s easy to see yolks are loaded with micronutrients!
These restaurants and their healthy egg options are getting rid of the healthiest part of an egg. Compare the nutrient density of the egg white from a single egg below.
Not much of a comparison. In fact, there are bunch of zeros when it comes to nutrient density of the egg white.
Beyond the direct comparison, the protein in egg whites is more difficult to digest when the fats from the egg yolks are not available to help your body digest them.
But, but saturated fat and cholesterol!
Yes, we all know the drill. Eating saturated fat raises cholesterol, which increases heart attack risk. This is simply not true. Although eating a “saturated” fat like Crisco certainly increases your risk, it’s not really a saturated fat.
Further, study after study after study has repeatedly shown that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat has little impact on your cholesterol levels. Cholesterol levels are internally regulated, when you consume more, your body makes less. And vice-versa.
Finally, studies show that consuming whole eggs improves cholesterol profile, increases HDL and improves metabolic syndrome here, here and here.
Beyond all of that, high cholesterol is (supposedly) a risk factor indicating an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Some would argue against that.
See? Eggs aren’t so bad!
In fact, they are one of the best foods you can eat. Their awesome micronutrient profile means they go a long way to filling your satiety bucket, which means your body will stay full longer.
What about the calories?
What about them? A single, large boiled egg contains 70-80 calories, depending on size. So if you eat two boiled eggs for breakfast, you are consuming 150-160 calories. Compare that to a medium, plain bagel at nearly 300 calories! And the nutrient density in the whole egg completely blows away the bagel. So you are eating fewer calories and doing a better job of feeding your body.
Not much of a comparison!
Tell’em they’re doing eggs all wrong!
The next time someone tells you the egg yolk should be thrown out, tell them they are doing eggs all wrong. Then proceed to recite everything in this article.
And the next time you have breakfast at a restaurant, tell your waiter you want the healthy eggs, those WITH the yolk!
