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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
Trying to keep cholesterol numbers low using drugs is like having too few beds at a hospital. Get rid of the hospital beds and there will be fewer sick people at the hospital. The beds don’t make people sick! If cholesterol was poisonous the human genome would have developed ways to remove it via our kidneys or some such rather than being preferentially recycled by the liver. The sun can’t make enough vitamin D in our skin if cholesterol levels are not sufficient. BTW, we don’t try to keep the plant sterols artificially low in our favorite rose bush do we?
Any evidence to support your claim that the cholesterol in egg yolks is not oxidized by cooking?
Thanks!
Sarah, you need to tell Dr. Mercola to change some info on this article. He says, “Overcooked scrambled eggs” can cause inflammation. I don’t know what he means by “Overcooked”.
articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx
A wonderful concept “Eat like our great grand parents ate!) rather than let big agro slowly poison us!
I completely understand how extrusion would render eggs toxic. But where is the actual evidence in this article that it’s a myth that scrambled eggs are toxic? All I see is one person SAYING that it’s a myth, but no studies to prove the science behind it. Mercola always references his articles, so I would actually be more likely to believe his info–though I really do love my scrambled eggs! 🙂
Take a close look at table salt,it has sand in it ,scratches the inside of blood veins the bad cholesterol gets built up and ,you know what happens next…..Jim. Sea salt works!
Tricia, what’s your trick to keep them from sticking to stainless steel pans? I’m trying to make the break from non-stick, but I hate feeling like I’m wasting the yummy eggs sticking to the pan. I’ve tried lots of butter, coconut oil, bacon grease — still sticking. What’s your secret?
Stainless steel for me always has some sticking. my favorite egg skillet is a small cast iron about 4 inches across. I try to keep it well seasoned, which you may have to learn. Trick is first to season it well (see internet) and, second (the real key) wash it with spatula and hot water only – no soap
**correction for my last comment**
although this is probably obvious my last sentence should have read “It doesn’t help”. No ability to edit your message? Looks like someone needs to update their forums.
Sarah’s quote: “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!”
It kills me when somebody uses science to argue their point all the way through an entire article and then sprinkles a bit of folklore on the end just to cinch the deal.
it reminds of watching peoples court, and being able to clearly see that whose favor the judge is going to decide with but the winner stills feel the need to open their mouth.
Our grandparents had much less knowledge than we do today. They did what they thought was right because most people ate what tasted good in the old days. Now we eat what we “think” is healthy. I imagine in the old days people smoked, and drank, and slept around without much thought. Please don’t try and make your argument for eating scrambled eggs more credible by telling me my grandparents did it. it does help. 🙂