Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Does cooking egg yolks oxidize the cholesterol and make it damaging to the body, as is commonly believed?
Eggs seem to be one of those foods that many people seem perpetually confused about, for a variety of reasons.
On the one hand, you have the egg white omelet-eating folks who believe that egg yolks should be avoided as they are loaded with cholesterol and fat.
This nutritional myth persists despite multiple studies showing that the beneficial cholesterol in eggs does not contribute to cardiovascular disease, even in those with Type 2 diabetes who eat 12 or more 12 eggs per week. (1)
Eat those whole chicken, goose, or duck eggs and enjoy my friends…and don’t be throwing those precious yolks away!
Egg substitutes like Egg Beaters are the truly dangerous foods to avoid!
Does Cooking Egg Yolks Damage Them?
What about the notion that breaking the integrity of the egg yolk, as would happen during cooking, baking, or scrambling, oxidizes the cholesterol, turning it “bad”?
This is also a myth.
Sadly, this incorrect perception causes more than a few folks to avoid eggs in dishes that would be perfectly healthy to include them in.
Having a fear of scrambling or whipping eggs into baked goods is a shame.
Eating lots of eggs in as many ways as possible is a good dietary practice, given that eggs are one of the highest sources of immunity-boosting sulfur that many today are deficient in.
The True Source of Oxidized Cholesterol
What actually does cause cholesterol in foods like egg yolks to oxidize?
It’s not simple cooking, baking, or scrambling like what happens in our humble kitchens!
The real egg processing villain is commercial processing when eggs are forced through tiny holes at obscenely high temperatures and pressures in factories to powderize them for use in a variety of processed foods! (2)
This process is called extrusion, and it is completely denaturing to the cholesterol in all foods, not just eggs.
Incidentally, extrusion also negatively affects proteins, which is why factory processing is so damaging to cereal grains and the top reason to avoid any brand of boxed cereals, even if organic!
How to Best Eat Your Eggs
The bottom line is this: just eat your eggs!
Eat them however you enjoy them best, be it sunny side up, over easy, or scrambled.
You can even eat eggs that have a blood or “meat” spot!
Yolks do not need to be consumed raw and intact to be healthy, although eating them this way is fine if the eggs are high quality.
Most notably, raw egg yolks contain the Wulzen “anti-stiffness” Factor.
One caveat on consuming raw eggs…
According to Dr. Chris Masterjohn, an expert on the subject, raw egg whites have the following problems:
They contain inhibitors of the digestive enzyme trypsin, which are destroyed by heat. Consuming 100 grams of raw egg white with one egg yolk compared to consuming the same food cooked was shown in one study to reduce protein digestion from 90 percent down to 50 percent.
Raw egg whites also contain an anti-nutrient called avidin. Avidin is a glycoprotein that binds to the B vitamin biotin, preventing its absorption. Biotin is necessary for fatty acid synthesis and the maintenance of blood sugar, and is especially important during pregnancy when biotin status declines. (3, 4)
The next time a modern notion claims that a traditional practice, such as eating a simple bowl of scrambled eggs, is dangerous, think about what your Great Grandparents ate.
If they scrambled their eggs, chances are good that you can safely do the same!
(1) Effect of a high-egg diet on cardiometabolic risk factors
(2) FAQ-Miscellaneous Food Questions
(3) Digestibility of Cooked and Raw Egg Protein in Humans as Assessed by Stable Isotope Techniques
(4) The Incredible, Edible Egg Yolk
More Information
Cardiologist Speaks Out Against Low Cholesterol
The High Risks of Low Cholesterol
Cholesterol Myths to Wise Up About
Yes, real eggs are one of the most beneficial foods we can eat, and most of the benefit is in the yolk. I am stunned by the number of people who only eat “egg beaters”, which include no yolk.
I remember, when I was a child, watching the three stooges as they would break eggs, throw out the egg itself, and put the shells in the frying pan. I would have never dreamed that people deluded by marketing and bad information would avoid the best part of the egg, the yolk.
Thank you for the great nutritional info, once again!
Has anyone noticed the difference in texture between pastured eggs and battery farmed eggs? I love my omelettes, cooked in pastured ghee. The pastured eggs are soft when cooked this way. Once, I ran out of pastured eggs and bought some eggs from the supermarket which were supposedly high in Omega 3. I cooked them the same way, but they turned out so much firmer than my pastured eggs.
Yes, I had noticed this too! Even from eggs that were “pastured” and organic. They just seemed rubbery, and didn’t taste nearly as good.
Oh! With the headline the way it was, I thought it was going to be an article about the different kinds of eggs (turkey, chicken, duck, goose, quail, etc.) lol… I have had all of these except the quail eggs… they are wonderful.. my fave being goose eggs.
@TerriAnn don’t burn them .. things that are burned (black/brown) indicates carcinogens that have formed. This is with anything though not just eggs.
I’ve found the best scrambled eggs come about when you scramble the eggs well, slowly sauté onions first, use LOTS of real butter, and slowly cook the eggs. Never had such good eggs. They’re also a good way to get herbs in your diet: parsley, cilantro, etc.–whatever the farmers’ market has that week.
….friends taught me some great ideas for getting the coconut oil and butter I need, along with the green veggies…..so I saute onion, squash, and a varied mixture of greens (swiss chard, kale, spinach—these need to be slightly cooked to not be a goitrogen to me) then add eggs and scramble….finish by adding turmeric and himalayan salt.
Great post! We love our eggs here. Sunny-side up, scrambled, hard-boiled, etc or in other dishes/baked goods. Yum!
Thank you so much for this post! I was actually just talking about this with my husband because I had read an article by Dr. Mercola that was stating scrambling eggs are one of the worst ways to cook them. I was very confused, so thank you! It also makes me feel better since I make scrambled pastured eggs for my 13 month old.
Cook eggs for your children however they like them! Get those eggs into your children .. their developing brains need the choline and the wonderful brain building fats.
Thanks, Loriel for your comments. I was just thinking about Dr. Mercola and his talk about eggs being oxidized etc which got me really annoyed because eating eggs should be a simple thing to do.
Sarah, big big hugs to you for CLEARING up the air on how to eat eggs. God bless.
Should eggs be eaten with butter for better nutrient absorption?
There is plenty of fat in the yolk for nutrient absorption. Eggs are a perfect and complete food all on their own. However, if you would like to cook them in butter, go for it. Butter makes everything taste better!
i love butter….i just love it!!!! thank you cows!!!!
So, this mean I can cook my raw milk in a pinch to get a more thick yogurt?
Thanks for this wonderful post.
Best wishes Sarah!
Yes you can 🙂 Have you tried making raw milk yogurt in a slow cooker though? I make mine this way and it stays raw and gets very thick. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/slow-cooker-yogurt/
#The next time a bizarre, modern notion like eating a simple bowl of scrambled eggs is dangerous comes along, just think about what your Great Grandparents ate. If they scrambled their eggs, chances are good that you can safely eat them too!# -well put Sarah!
So anything my grandparents did I am supposed to assume was healthy? Is that the logic were using here? *sigh*. What if my grandparents died at a really early age from cancer…do I really wanna do the exact same things they did?
We live in the information age people. We know a lot more than our grandparents did. Please put on your thinking caps for a few moments. You don’t decide if something is healthy or unhealthy because your grand parents did it.
so even over cooked eggs do not have oxidized cholesterol?
I think cooking eggs at high temperatures will oxidize the cholesterol, vs over-cooking. I prefer to cook my eggs in the oven, at 350, over a bed of bacon for 10-15 minutes.