From the reading I've done, though I could be wrong or not remembering right, it seems to be that the whole cholesterol issue rests with the individual (as does so much with food.)
That is, some people will produce cholesterol from sources in their diet--and other people won't--and some will produce lots--and some only a little.
So it really depends on you. Eat as many eggs as you want, I'd say. Then get your numbers done again in six months. If your cholesterol isn't good, then you know you are one of the ones who has to be careful with your dietary cholesterol.
I eat an egg a day practically five days a week. I should get my numbers done, too.
by the by--about feeling full--a few nuts on that oatmeal will go a long way to help! Generally, any combination of protein and fat and a teeny amount of carb will do it. So, the yogurt, kashi and berries? Do the yogurt and berries and nuts and just a sprinle of Kashi. OR since there's protein in the yogurt, make sure it isn't non-fat--just low fat. (no more than 100 calories per 1/2 cup--but there's no need for it to be less, either.)
2% Cottage cheese, berries and Kashi would be another fantastic meal.
Play around with the proportion of fat to protein to carb in your meal. I find that I have to have a little of each.
Really, it's actually fat which helps make me feel full--almost more than the protein. But YMMV.
Good luck!
Last edited by Alana in Canada; 09-19-2009 at 12:57 AM.
Reason: typos
My cholesterol nubers were great. 57 good, 117 bad is better than normal. I eat eggs all the time, sometimes 2X twice a day when I feel like it. Cholesteral is a nescessary and valuable cell type. It is created by your own body by your liver. The cholesterol in eggs is no longer considered bad for you, and you can eat as many as you want. They say that if you have a propensity for high cholesterol, you should limit your egg intake. Eggs are now consididered an important source of low fat protien. (And believe me, the fat in eggs is nothing like the fat in a steak). Great news in these hard economic times.
Eggs are a perfect food. Just because a food is high in cholesterol doesn't mean it's going to make your HDL levels go up. Fish and shellfish can be high in cholesterol but they are also considered healthy foods. Saturated fats are more of a concern when it comes to HDL, so you should choose lower fat red meats and dairy. Honestly, if you have two eggs a day I don't think it's a big deal.
BTW, the cholesterol is found in the yolk, so you could just eat the whites and still get good protein and calcium.
I gave up on the eggs, haha I really appreciate everyone's advice though. It's good to know incase ai get the sudden urge to try SB again! Fiber is apparently the key for me. I switched the Kashi to fiber one in the morning and holy cow! So now 2 servings of fiber one, chobani 0 fat yogurt, and mixed frozen berries. Fewer calories, and what a difference!
You could add egg whites to one or two eggs and try that. Lower calorie, with less cholesterol - since the cholesterol is in the yolk, I believe.
It seems to me that eggs have both good and bad cholesterol. And there are studies that say the good and bad balance one another. They are also a PERFECT protein, having every amino acid we need.
If you want to keep the cholesterol down, add egg whites to your eggs, but I wouldn't add fake stuff like egg beaters instead, when eggs are so good for you. I would also go for free range / organic eggs instead of the regular kind.
I have read they have a higher level of nutrition.. and honestly that makes perfect sense. The less stress the chicken is under, the higher quality egg it can produce. I am really skeptical about what the literature says about what causes heart disease (mainly due to the weston price foundation)... however there are a lot of studies out there that support a correlation- I think it is possible there is a missing link to the research (which explains why in countries where the people eat huge levels of saturated fat they still have lower heart disease than us.)
I am like geoblewis, I need to have some protein in the morning, otherwise I would eat the dry wall by 10:30 am. I typically have an egg each day with a generous dose of egg whites (from the carton). I usually make them scrambled but sometimes I make an omelete. I also add turkey bacon, that helps.
Even white mushroom are suprisingly high content of protein.
Carbs in the morning don't work for me. Sure, I will have some carbs with the protein (i.e. an whole wheat english muffin or something like that) with the eggs, but oatmeal (and I used steel cut oats) sweetened with PROTEIN POWDER did nothing for me in terms of hunger.
I have 1 or 2 eggs every morning for breakfast, and sometimes another if I want a light protein packed dinner. When I eat eggs, I stay on plan and seem to have fewer cravings. As far as I'm concerned, regardless of what any study good or bad says, an egg or two a day (yolk and all) is certainly better cholesterol-wise than a double bacon cheeseburger for lunch and pizza for dinner!
Some of the early research on eggs found a correlational relationship between eggs and choloesterol - that is the people who ate the most eggs had the highest cholesterol levels - but what was not accounted for at the time (I believe in the 1950's) was that (at least in that era) the people who ate the most eggs - were also eating fatty meats WITH their eggs (which may have been just as responsible for the choloesterol issues) - bacon, sausages, ham, steak....
Newer research has found a much weaker correlation between eggs and cholesterol (presumeably because they're controlling for or accounting for the separate affects of the meat products).
I always eat a lot of eggs, but today I tried a product from costco called "real eggs" which is just egg whites in a carton. It was fluffy, yummy, and 0 grams of fat and only 30 kcal per 1/4 cup, and NO cholesterol. Of course I won't give up whole eggs, but If I stick with these on most days I think it will keep my calorie, fat, and cholesterol intake low while still enjoying the tastes and many uses of eggs. Today I made a BREAKFAST BURRITO with them. Yuuuum!!
I say that if you find it satisfying and it helps you meet your weight loss goals --- then the risk of the cholesterol in the eggs will be trumped by your overall health... just imho
