Eggs and brains are the two most concentrated sources of cholesterol in the diet.
Avoiding Cholesterol is a No-Brainer
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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
The egg industry would rather blame the bacon or hash browns, railing against this myth that eggs are the most concentrated source of dietary cholesterol. And it’s true, they’re right. It is a myth. According to the official USDA nutrient database, in a list of the most concentrated cholesterol sources, eggs are not #1; they’re #2. Brains are #1. Veal brains, cow brains, pig brains, lamb brains, raw pig brains, more veal brains, and then eggs. Then more brains, eggs, brains, brains, eggs, brains, eggs, and eggs. The take-home message? If you’re going to do veal brains? Pan-fried, definitely; not braised.
What about omega-3-rich eggs? “The new type of eggs containing omega-3 fatty acids are still loaded with cholesterol,” the Director of the Stroke Prevention & Atherosclerosis Research Centre notes. “The answer is not to feed flax seed to the chickens, but rather to put it on the cereal and leave the chicken out of the meal!”
The devastating new review published last year implicating egg consumption did not go over easy with the egg industry. They countered that the overly restrictive 200mg upper safety limit for cholesterol intake, that wouldn’t even allow a single egg, is only for people at risk for heart disease—to which the lead researcher replied, “[Most everyone is] at risk of vascular disease—the only ones who could eat [an] egg yolk regularly with impunity would be those who expect to die prematurely from nonvascular causes…” In other words, his famous “The only [people] who should eat eggs regularly are those [dying of] a terminal illness”—because at that point, who cares? You’re going to drop dead anyway.
In their landmark review, they conclude that waiting until your first stroke, heart attack, or diabetes diagnosis to avoid eggs is too late. They conclude: “Stopping egg consumption after a [heart attack] or stroke would be like quitting smoking after [a diagnosis of] lung cancer: a necessary action, but late.”
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- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2010. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page
- Spence JD. Fasting lipids: the carrot in the snowman. Can J Cardiol. 2003 Jul;19(8):890-2.
- Spence JD, Jenkins DJ, Davignon. Reply to Letters from Dr Maria Luz Fernandez, Eddie Vos, and Dr Niva Shapira. Can J Cardiol. 2011 Mar-Apr;27(2): 264.e7-8.
- Spence JD, Jenkins DJ, Davignon. Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: not for patients at risk of vascular disease. J. Can J Cardiol. 2010 Nov;26(9):e336-9.
Image thanks to Andreas
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
The egg industry would rather blame the bacon or hash browns, railing against this myth that eggs are the most concentrated source of dietary cholesterol. And it’s true, they’re right. It is a myth. According to the official USDA nutrient database, in a list of the most concentrated cholesterol sources, eggs are not #1; they’re #2. Brains are #1. Veal brains, cow brains, pig brains, lamb brains, raw pig brains, more veal brains, and then eggs. Then more brains, eggs, brains, brains, eggs, brains, eggs, and eggs. The take-home message? If you’re going to do veal brains? Pan-fried, definitely; not braised.
What about omega-3-rich eggs? “The new type of eggs containing omega-3 fatty acids are still loaded with cholesterol,” the Director of the Stroke Prevention & Atherosclerosis Research Centre notes. “The answer is not to feed flax seed to the chickens, but rather to put it on the cereal and leave the chicken out of the meal!”
The devastating new review published last year implicating egg consumption did not go over easy with the egg industry. They countered that the overly restrictive 200mg upper safety limit for cholesterol intake, that wouldn’t even allow a single egg, is only for people at risk for heart disease—to which the lead researcher replied, “[Most everyone is] at risk of vascular disease—the only ones who could eat [an] egg yolk regularly with impunity would be those who expect to die prematurely from nonvascular causes…” In other words, his famous “The only [people] who should eat eggs regularly are those [dying of] a terminal illness”—because at that point, who cares? You’re going to drop dead anyway.
In their landmark review, they conclude that waiting until your first stroke, heart attack, or diabetes diagnosis to avoid eggs is too late. They conclude: “Stopping egg consumption after a [heart attack] or stroke would be like quitting smoking after [a diagnosis of] lung cancer: a necessary action, but late.”
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2010. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page
- Spence JD. Fasting lipids: the carrot in the snowman. Can J Cardiol. 2003 Jul;19(8):890-2.
- Spence JD, Jenkins DJ, Davignon. Reply to Letters from Dr Maria Luz Fernandez, Eddie Vos, and Dr Niva Shapira. Can J Cardiol. 2011 Mar-Apr;27(2): 264.e7-8.
- Spence JD, Jenkins DJ, Davignon. Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: not for patients at risk of vascular disease. J. Can J Cardiol. 2010 Nov;26(9):e336-9.
Image thanks to Andreas
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Title
Avoiding Cholesterol is a No-Brainer
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Want to know more about cholesterol? Check out these videos:
Optimal Cholesterol Level
Cholesterol Crystals May Tear Through Our Artery Lining
Switching from Beef to Chicken & Fish May Not Lower Cholesterol
I guess only zombies are at higher risk than egg-eaters :)
To learn more about the egg industry’s misleading claims concerning eye health, check out my blog posts: Bad Egg, and Egg Industry Blind Spot.
For more context, be sure to check out my associated blog posts: The Most Anti-Inflammatory Mushroom; Stool Size and Breast Cancer Risk; and Eggs, Cigarettes, and Atherosclerosis.
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