The Incredible, Edible Egg

Eggs are perhaps the best example of the way the shifting winds of the nutrition media influence our perception of a food. For twenty-plus years, eggs were the poster child for high-cholesterol foods, which were to be avoided unless you dared to risk clogging up your arteries and developing heart disease. Despite the American Egg Board’s earworm-inducing jingles, eggs were a nutrition scapegoat in the eyes of the public.

Of course, that’s changed. Eggs are now viewed as a genuine health food, and we now understand that strictly limiting the cholesterol we eat doesn’t provide the benefit we once believed. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines validated this by removing the recommended limit on dietary cholesterol consumption.

Eggs do offer a wide variety of nutrients, including fat-soluble vitamins (A and D), water soluble vitamins (B2, B12, and folate), and minerals (phosphorus and selenium). In addition, they’re a high-quality protein source that most people find to be satisfying and filling.