How many eggs are you currently consuming in one day?  Are you tossing the yolks and doing just egg whites or are you eating them whole?

I personally eat 3 - 4 eggs a day.  Usually two with the yolk, two without and I use egg whites from the carton as well.  But for some of you, even two a day could be too much, and for others 5 -6 a day is ok.

In this video I discuss the reasons for both situations and can finally put your EGG question to rest!

i dont like too much but i feel i have to eat medium/large 2 eggs in breakfeast. i try to buy organic/netural eggs.

Nation,

As you know and this forum knows, the whole Lipid Hypothesis from the late 1970's and the McGovern Report that started this whole cholesterol-and-fat-cause heart disease bullshit is something I do not support. I eat 7-8 whole eggs every day and my blood lipids and cholesterol levels are withing the rediculous levels currently being touted by the American medical establishment. I say rediculous because the vaunted and highly quoted Framingham Heart Study found that those with the highest cholesterol levels (above 200mg) had the lowest mortality rate from ALL diseases. The 180-200mg target is used simply because there was some correlation with this level and the reduction of heart disease - but NOT all diseases like cancer, diabetes, dementia, etc. Correlation IS NOT causation but the AHA and AMA have been pushing this figure to help sell highly profitable cholesterol lowering drugs (Statins). The animal studies you refer to that started this whole thing were done on rabbits. Rabbits eat only plants which have NO cholesterol. Their liver and metabolisms are not designed to handle exogenouse cholesterol from the diet as they are not carnivores they are herbivores. Rabbits get all the cholesterol they need from their livers. When you feed an herbivore animal exogenous cholesterol, it has no means to deal with it and it collects in the blood leading to arterial blockages. The boneheads who did this study correlated this affect with humans who are OMNIVORES and have the biological mechanisms to deal with exogenous cholesterol ingestion. Therefore the study results were meaningless.

I need to make some clarifications in terminologies: LDL, HDL, and Triglycerides are NOT cholesterol and are not cholesterol molecules. This is a major mistake everyone makes in trying to understand their cholesterol numbers. As you stated, cholesterol is vital to life - without it we die. This is why the liver manufactures 70% of what the body needs. Cholesterol is a waxy substance and is not soluble in blood plasma. The body needs a way to transport the cholesterol to and from the liver. This is what HDL and LDL are. They are lipoproteins - a fat and protein molecule - that carries cholesterol in the blood to and from the liver. LDL brings cholesterol out to the cells from the liver (bad) and HDL brings any unused cholesterol back to the liver for processing (good). This is why they get the bullshit terms of "good" and "bad" cholesterol. They are both "good" as they are both vital to transporting cholesterol throughout the body to keep us alive. Triglycerides are true fat in the blood. Triglycerides are made by the liver and come predominately from the processing of fructose and ALL MAN-MADE sugars like high fructose corn syrup. It also is one of the metabolites of alcohol metabolism. Triglycerides cause inflammation of the internal walls (the endothelium) of your blood vessels. It also contributes to oxidation of LDL particles into a smaller more damaging form.

Here are the basic facts about cholesterol and how cholesterol is implicated and contributes to heart disease but does NOT cause it:

1) The cholesterol we eat is not in a form that is readily bioavailable so not all of the cholesterol you eat makes it into your blood stream. Most of the cholesterol from food is reabsorbed bile salts from the liver which are used to breakdown fats and cholesterol in the small intestines. A small amount of the actual cholesterol from the digested food is absorbed into the bloodstream.

2) High fiber diets prevent the absorption of most of the cholesterol found in foods. When cholesterol levels from food increase, the liver decreases its own production (unless you have Hypercholesterolemia which is a rare genetic disorder). Americans eat some of the lowest fiber amounts of most industrialized nations.

3) The albumin protein in eggs can not be 100% absorbed by the body without the nutrients found in the yolk. A whole egg builds a whole chicken not the egg whites. For those of you eating just egg whites, you are pissing and shitting out about 45% of the total protein you are eating because the body can't fully absorb the protein without all the nutrients found in the egg yolks. Vince Gironda, the Father of Modern Bodybuilding and a trainer of Arnold and some of the other great champions at 30 WHOLE EGGS a day. He had no blood lipid isssues whatsoever after eating this way for decades. I am not suggesting someone does that but I personally eat 7-8 whole eggs everyday and have been doing so for over 5 years. My blood lipid profile is consistently fine - however as many of you know, I eat a very strict nutritious diet unlike most Americans.

4) Triglycerides are the main culprit in heart disease, NOT cholesterol and LDL and HDL. The only ratios that matter and are HIGHLY predictive of heart disease is the ratio of your HDL to Total Cholesterol and the ratio of your Triglycerides to HDL. All other numbers are meaningless and are not strong predictors of heart diesease. They are only important if you have the rare familial genetic disorder called hypercholesterolemia which runs in families and is what Erica has as Scott mentioned. The reason being is triglycerides truly are the fat in your blood. HDL is a transport mechanism for cholesterol out of the blood and back to the liver. Your LDL number is meaningless unless you know the particle type and density you have (which no standard blood test gives you). Your total cholesterol number is meaningless because it is the total of your LDL + HDL + 1/5 your triglyceride numbers. If you have very high HDL and moderate LDL levels this number will be high. If your LDL and HDL numbers are "high" but your triglycerides are low you are in better heart shape than someone with low LDL and HDL but high triglycerides - even if both person's numbers are below 200.

5) LDL comes in two sizes - large fluffy molecules and small hard molecules. The large fluffy molecules are heart protective. It is when LDL becomes oxidized and turns into the small hard molecules does it contribute to heart disease. Oxidation of LDL cholesterol is caused by high blood triglycerides and insulin resistance (Type 2 diabetes) because SUGAR in high amounts in the blood causes inflammation and oxidation. LDL only contributes to the problem if it has been oxidized and your triglycerides are high.

6) Saturated fat INCREASES HDL levels and hormone levels.

7) Unless you have a particle test and a particle density test for your LDL levels (which are very expensive), the only highly predictive blood lipid numbers for heart disease you have to refer to are the ratios I described in point #4 above.

8) If your HDL levels are below 40, the probability your LDL particles (regardless of if they are below 130 or not) are the very dangerous oxidized type is very high. This is why numbers alone without knowing the actual LDL particle type and density you have are not accurate predictors of heart disease potential. Having low LDL but being of the oxidized type is MUCH MORE dangerous than having high LDL (Above 130) but they are the big fluffy type.

The bottom line, as Scott pointed out, is cholesterol and its metabolism in the body is a complex process. Since the McGovern report from the 1970's and the whole low fat/no cholesterol phenomenon began in the early 1980's, Americans are fatter, sicker, and we have the largest increase in diabetes ever in the history of man. The food and drug companies make billions of dollars producing highly processed cheap foods which leads to the myriad of chronic health problems the drug companies have no problem selling a pill for that you have to take for the rest of your life. Cholesterol and saturated fats were never a problem for humans until we used flawed research and science to create highly processed sugar ladden foods. Make your own decisions about how and what you eat but at least look at the facts. As Judge Judy always says "If it doesn't make sense, it's not true".

John

Does it matter if you eat 1 egg/per day or 2 eggs 3 days per week?.

Who are you addressing this questio to brotha? Did you watch the video in my post?

Hey @jmboiardi, I think I have been asking you to write me an article about this for a while now.... :-D

What say you?! LETS DO IT! :-D

Scott,

I did an article on this awhile back. It was either the 2nd or 3rd article I did.

John

John,

Eat as many eggs as you want over whatever time period you want.

John

But john i eat about 10 egg white per day and if ieat this amount with yolk i will have gastric upset issues ..secondly i will have to limit my consumtion from other fat sources that l love to eat

In my opinion ur article is very logic cuz it must be a reason that the egg yolk was created with the egg white but for bodybuilder they i ate alot of egg so i think the majority of them will not have the appetite or ability to eat all this of egg yolk

I also take your advice about whole milk and i quit using the zero fat one i found that all zero or low fat product have more processed carb on them

@scott_herman According to Gaston, we should all be eating 5 dozen eggs!

Lol, Gaston was a beast (pun). I feel so inferrior eating only 4 whole eggs and a cup of liquid egg whites a day. I know most of that movie word for word.

It is better you eat 5 whole eggs instead of 10 egg whites. You are not absorbing all the protein in the egg whites without the yolks. You don't have to go crazy with whole eggs but one must understand the egg is meant to be eaten as a complete food not just the whites. As for fat levels, 1 egg contains only wholesome natural fats and there isn't as much fat in one egg as people think.

Obviously, you need to have a nutrition plan that does not cause gastric issues. However, consuming large quantities of egg whites is not "protein efficient" for the reasons I have stated. Better to eat a small amount of whole eggs versus a bunch of egg whites.

John

Oh yes.... you did haha.. I need to stop replying when I am tired :-D

haha I had to watch the entire video :-D