EGGS: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT EGGS AND CHOLESTEROL (Must Read)

EGGS

For years we have been told that cholesterol intake should be kept to
a bare minimum as doing so will help to decrease blood cholesterol
levels and promote overall health.

Although the theory of lowering dietary cholesterol intake to lower
internal cholesterol makes logical sense, the theory doesn’t quite pan
out, as our bodies are, generally, more complex creatures than our
logical minds give them credit for, Joel Marion, Co-Founder, BioTrust
Nutrition Says.

Fact is, when dietary intake of cholesterol is decreased, the liver
compensates by producing more cholesterol, leaving total cholesterol
levels relatively unchanged. In the same way, if cholesterol
consumption is increased, the liver produces less cholesterol, and
again, total cholesterol values will not be substantially altered. Now
that’s not to say that we should go wild with our intake of
cholesterol, but it does mean that one can expect cholesterol levels
to remain relatively stable over a wide range of dietary intake Joel
maintains.

Given this information, you may be wondering why the body would ever
produce more cholesterol if cholesterol is so “bad”, and that’s a good
question. The truth is, cholesterol actually acts as an antioxidant
against dangerous free radicals within the blood and is also necessary
for the production of certain hormones that help to fight against
heart disease. When there are high levels of undesirable substances in
the blood (caused by the dietary intake of damaged fats, highly
processed “unhealthy” foods, and large quantities of sugars),
cholesterol levels rise in order to combat these substances.

Blaming heart disease on high cholesterol is like blaming infection on
high levels of antibodies (special proteins produced by the body in
order to defend against foreign bacteria and infectious agents). If
the body allowed cholesterol to fall in the presence of large amounts
of free radicals, our risk for heart disease would increase, not
decrease, and fortunately our bodies won’t let that happen Says Joel.

So, the answer to decreasing blood cholesterol levels is not avoiding
omelets and not necessarily decreasing dietary cholesterol intake, but
rather improving one's diet overall by eating healthier in general.
Combine that with increased physical activity and both you and your
cholesterol levels will be in even better shape.