Various claims say that most of the dietary cholesterol in Western communities comes from eggs. Mostly found in the yolk of the egg. However, a large study from Harvard in 1999 found no association between eggs and heart disease, except in people with diabetes. Studies since then have similarly vindicated eggs. The unsaturated fats and other nutrients, including B vitamins, in eggs may be beneficial to heart health.
Even the American Heart Association has no specific limit on how many eggs you can eat, as long as you limit your total cholesterol consumption to 300 milligrams a day, on average. Many researchers believe that the AHA guidelines are too restrictive. The egg yolk contains 272 milligrams of cholesterol. That refers to a large egg. Approximately 1.6 grams of the yolk is saturated fat.
A more reasonable goal is 500 milligrams of fat a day (but still 200 milligrams if you have risk factors for heart disease, including diabetes). That would allow for an egg a day, even two on some days, still allowing for other cholesterol containing foods daily.
As for contracting salmonella, well don’t eat eggs raw! Recently eggs were recalled. The concern behind that scare had to do with improper cleanliness at the farms that housed chickens. On average only 1 in 20,000 eggs might contain the bacteria for salmonella (so you might encounter a contaminated egg every 84 years, providing conditions for the health of the chicken wasn’t compromised!
Other facts about eggs are quite interesting. A chicken takes about 26 hours to produce an egg. After 30 minutes of rest, than she starts the process all over again.
Egg shell color is determined by the chicken’s breed. Nutritional values don’t change due to the variation in color of the shell. Always refrigerate eggs. They lose more nutrition in a day at room temperature than a week of refrigeration. But do bring eggs to room temperature to achieve maximum volume in baking.
Store bought eggs are generally edible for about a month when kept in the refrigerator. If your recipe requests only egg whites and you would like to save the yolks, cover them in water in a tight container and refrigerate for up to three days. Egg whites can be stored in a tight container for four days.
All the fat in eggs is found in the yolks. Whites provide protein and riboflavin. While eggs contain protein, from phosphorous and vitamins A, D and E, they are very beneficial for our health plan!
