Egg-cholesterol myth busted: eating eggs every day is OK

“What it comes down to is an understanding that it’s not cholesterol in food that raises blood cholesterol,” says nutritionist Wendy Hiebert. “It’s fat, particularly saturated and trans fat.”

The studies show that the fats present in foods increase blood cholesterol and the risk of heart disease, not the cholesterol naturally found in foods such as eggs, meat, fish and poultry products.

Hiebert explains that eggs are low in saturated fat (there’s 1.5 grammes in one large egg) and do not contain any trans fat. So, this is good news for egg lovers.

She adds that the recently revised Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating considers “a two-egg serving in the meat and alternatives food group. It used to be one to two, but now it is two.”

In fact, says Hiebert, eggs provide a number of heart-healthy nutrients, such as folate, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin B12 and antioxidants, such as lutein. Eggs fortified with additional omega-3 fatty acids are rising in popularity, she says, representing approximately 12% of egg sales in Canada.

She also states that the specialty egg market (which represents eggs other than classic white and brown – e.g., omega 5, free-range, organic) continues to grow in Canada and now represents 14.4% of all egg sales.