Egg Yolks For Bodybuilders
Q: If you eat cholesterol molecules (say, egg yolk), do these molecules pass to your blood? If not, what's the process that increases your blood cholesterol?
A: After 40 years of the public being told that the cholesterol we eat goes right to our heart, the tide in publicity may be shifting to a more moderate conclusion. Nutrition News Focus has told readers the link between dietary and blood cholesterol was not particularly strong. In the April 21, 1999, Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from Harvard report that they could find no relationship of egg intake with heart disease.
In other words, the cholesterol content of a food does not necessarily have a direct proportion to your blood cholesterol level. Other factors might be more important. (A large egg contains about 215 milligrams of cholesterol - far more than most other foods with the same number of calories.)
Two large studies of 38,000 men and 80,000 women looked at heart attacks and strokes in eight to 14 years of follow-up asking about dietary habits. There was no difference in risk among people who ate eggs less than once a week compared with those who ate more than one egg a day. The only increase in heart disease risk was seen in diabetics, men and women. Since most diabetes is associated with obesity, this may be a link in how well people handle the cholesterol in eggs.
Despite health warnings to limit eggs to no more than four a week, repeated studies of egg consumption have failed to find increased serum cholesterol or heart disease in most egg eaters. Foods that accompany eggs might be the culprits: bacon, sausage, steak and goetta. Other foods high in saturated (solid) fat include lunch meat, butter, gravy, fried foods, lard, commercial cookies, cakes and other snack-type foods.
To lower cholesterol, eat more fruits and vegetables (at least 2- 4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables) daily. Also eat more whole grain foods such as oats, whole wheat bread, brown rice, rye bread etc. for the fiber. Dried beans (kidney, lentil, black, navy etc.) are also an excellent source of soluble fiber that aids in cholesterol reduction. Soy foods - nuts, soymilk, tofu - have also been found to reduce cholesterol.
If you are not exercising regularly, see your doctor before starting an exercise program. Regular exercise (such as walking 30 minutes three to five times a week) may help you lose weight and lower cholesterol. It also raises HDL ("good" cholesterol), which helps to get rid of cholesterol in the blood.
Answer from Lisa Andrews, adjunct instructor, nutrition sciences, College of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cincinnati. © 2006
