I was shocked to see an article in The Vancouver Sun today putting down the egg – yet again. They compared the wonderful and much maligned egg with the KFC Double Down – saying that the egg has more cholesterol than this KFC sandwich (or can we even say sandwich, as it has no bread).
Although the writer of the article does say that the sandwich has 540 calories and 30 grams of fat (all of which would be saturated, artery clogging fat), and over 1700 milligrams of sodium, nowhere is the fact that the egg only has 80 calories, 5 grams of fat and 60 mg of sodium. Nor does it state the wonderful nutritional properties that the egg yolk has, like Vitamins A, D and E and iron, while the egg white provides the best quality protein in a food.
A high fat fast food sandwich is not a healthier alternative to eggs as suggested in the news media, and the authors of the review cited in the article acknowledge that they are only pointing out that eggs can provide a high intake of dietary cholesterol. They also acknowledge that eggs are an excellent source of high quality protein. Additionally, the search criteria for inclusion/exclusion of studies were not published in the article. Instead, the authors highlighted key studies to support their argument that dietary cholesterol (including egg yolks) is harmful to arteries.
It is articles like this one that confuse people and also make people believe that nutrition experts are always changing their minds – please continue to eat eggs (and the whole egg) for nutrition and health!
Look for our Vegetable Frittata in our Healthy Recipes – enjoy it while doing your heart some good!
