Is Eating Whole Eggs Healthier Than Egg Whites?

For many years, eggs have been considered a bit less than healthy, or at least the yolks have. Eggs offer a lot of nutritional value but unfortunately, their yolks have gotten a bad rap. Many believe that egg yolks are so filled with calories, fat and cholesterol that they cannot possibly be a healthy food choice and so they eliminate the yolks. Many fast-food restaurants have even begun to offer egg white versions of some of their most popular breakfast sandwiches. The simple truth is that eggs are filled with good things, even the yolks.

“Not only are eggs a fantastic source of lean protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but they contain some pretty important nutrients.” – Jillian Michaels

A large egg contains a little more than 180 milligrams of cholesterol. All of the cholesterol is found in the yolk. Because dietary cholesterol was believed to have been the root cause of unhealthy cholesterol levels in the blood, egg yolks have been cast out of the healthy food list. The truth is that there is plenty of room for both egg whites and yolks in a healthy diet. The real reason blood cholesterol levels rise is due to trans fats and saturated fats. Cholesterol found in the diet is not the real cause. Now that this is known, many doctors have begun to even recommend that their patients eat whole eggs as opposed to sticking with the whites.

Eating an en egg in its entirety, including the yolk, can actually help to improve blood lipids. Studies have been done by the University of Connecticut that show eating whole eggs can have a significant positive effect on the lipoprotein profiles in patients who have metabolic syndrome. Eating whole eggs can also aid in weight management.

“Eating egg yolks was actually associated with enhanced health benefits in these high-risk individuals. Subjects consuming whole eggs had greater increases in HDL cholesterol and more significant reductions in the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio than those who ate the cholesterol-free egg substitute.” – Medical News Today

Just one large egg will provide 13 nutrients that are critical for good health. Whole eggs contain 64 percent more vitamin D than was previously believed. They contain good doses of choline and other nutrients including zeaxanthin which helps to protect against certain diseases like macular degeneration.

A report published in the Food and Function magazine shows that eating egg yolks every day can help to increase beta carotene and plasma levels in patients who are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. While it is acceptable to choose whole eggs on some days and egg whites on others, health experts recommend eating whole eggs more rather than less.

“Whole eggs have a long nutritional history of being good for you, then bad for you (during the low-cholesterol craze), and then good for you again.” – Shape.com

The main reason that whole eggs were recommended against in the first place was because of their high content of fat and cholesterol. Those numbers are not nearly as high as researchers first believed and because it is now known that dietary cholesterol does not has as massive an effect on blood cholesterol levels, egg yolks have gotten a bit of a break. Egg lovers can now enjoy those whole eggs without worries of contributing to heart disease and other conditions as was originally thought.