Cholesterol is one of the main health problems after a certain age, which can cause a variety of other serious problems. What about eggs? Is it a myth or a reality that they are banned from your diet? Some foods contain cholesterol but surprisingly, they do not make a big difference to the level of cholesterol in your blood – eggs do not have a significant effect on that.

In order to clarify the matter, the egg yolk has around 250 mg of cholesterol. If you have blood cholesterol issues, you should limit the amount to 300 mg cholesterol per day. But you should keep in mind that the most important think to limit is the saturated fat you eat, which can raise the cholesterol in your blood. So, if you eat 3-4 eggs per week, but overall you have a healthy diet low in saturated fat, they should be fine! If you have familial hypercholesterolaemia, you should limit your dietary cholesterol to 200-300 mg a day – but you should focus more on the saturated fat. Here is why:

• Eggs are full of protein, energy, minerals and vitamins. There are some special eggs fortified with omega 3s. If the yolks are the issue, remove them!
• Eggs yolks have cholesterol, but not fat! There is hardly 4.6 g of fat in an egg. Only a quarter of this is the saturated which raises the cholesterol. Cheese should also be controlled regarding cholesterol.
• Eggs contain a good source of important vitamins like vitamin B12, D, folate, and other B vitamins, which are hard to find at appropriate levels in other food products.
• Eggs are a good source of choline, which is important for brain health and memory
• Egg allergies are very uncommon, in contrast with other allergies. I note that because a myth does circulate that says that egg allergies are common.

In conclusion, the foods that high cholesterol AND saturated fat are dairy, animal fats, and fatty meats. Foods that contain cholesterol but are low in saturated fats are lean meat, eggs, prawns, squid etc. SO, next time be careful with which food you blame!

* The above is not medical advice but mere suggestions for improving your diet. Before reach herbal use you should consult your doctor, especially those who have health issues, are pregnant or are under the age of 6.

Evropi-Sofia Dalampira holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics and an MSc in Botany-Biology.