by Moe Zilla

Created on: January 26, 2008   Last Updated: August 16, 2008

There's 213 milligrams of cholesterol in an egg. Doctor's recommend less than 200 milligrams of a cholesterol a day for people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or high levels of "bad" cholesterol. This number is based on guidelines from the American Heart Association.
But that's not the whole story. They've supplied some good news, too...

If you're not in one of those categories, the recommended daily dose of cholesterol is 300 milligrams a day. One egg still falls below that limit, as long as all the remaining meals of the day contain no more than 75 milligrams of cholesterol. And there's an easy work-around. All of that bad cholesterol is in the yolk, so eating only the egg whites is perfectly healthy. This is the secret used by most egg substitutes, and most restaurants also let their customers request yolk-free eggs.

But after these guidelines, there's an important caveat. Scientists can't say exactly how much cholesterol in your diet really contributes to the cholesterol in your bloodstream. Currently the American Heart Association believes that only 25% of it comes from diet. This is supported by the fact that even vegetarians who eat no meat (and consume no cholesterol) can still end up with very high cholesterol levels. The remaining 75% of the bloodstream's cholesterol is being produced by the body itself. And one theory says that it's saturated fat in our diets which ultimately creates the cholesterol, and not the cholesterol that's consumed. If so, that would also be true for the cholesterol in eggs, and doctor's will instead recommend a reduction in animal fats. (Maybe it's the one case where the chicken comes before the egg!)

In fact, the American Heart Association currently recommends that three substances be reduced from diets: cholesterol, but also saturated fat and trans-fatty acids. Of the three, they've acknowledged that saturated fat is the biggest culprit in raising body cholesterol. And they also report that some scientists think that trans-fatty acids are even more harmful.

Consulting a doctor will reveal the real truth about eggs and diet: there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Different bodies produce different amounts of cholesterol, leaving some people with high cholesterol levels while others have normal cholesterol levels. Their diet plays a small role in their total body cholesterol - responsible only for 25% - and the cholesterol in the diet may represent only a small portion of that 25%.

So people trying to watch their cholesterol should look at the bigger picture - and stop blaming eggs!

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