By Laurie Sweig

There’s a bunch of confusing information around whether eggs are good or bad for our health. I love eggs. Scrambled sunny side up or in a sandwich. While I don’t eat meat or poultry I do eat eggs almost daily. My favourite breakfast consists of red pepper spinach (huge handful) and an egg all scrambled together. There was a time when I added cheese to that concoction but I stopped because the extra calories just weren’t worth it. For extra taste I add a teaspoon of really hot salsa. Yum!

Some research has found that those who eat eggs daily (1.5 eggs = approximately 300 milligrams of cholesterol daily) are at a 17 per cent greater risk to develop heart disease than those folks who don’t eat eggs.

An article from the New York Times from March 2019 says:

“The study findings are observational and cannot establish cause and effect. But no matter how heart-healthy the rest of a person’s diet the more eggs consumed the greater the risk for cardiovascular events coronary heart disease stroke heart failure and premature death.”

That all sounds very scary but the article goes on to say that we’re all different so how consuming eggs affects me will be different to how it affects you. As with anything that has to do with our health it’s crucial to get the whole picture especially when it comes to what we’re putting in our mouths. Avoiding eggs for breakfast and then having a cheeseburger and fries for lunch is not the way to go. Eggs are a great source of protein and they contain minerals and vitamins. They are a nutritional powerhouse in one neat little package.

The main message is that we shouldn’t label a single type of food as being “bad” or “good” (not talking about processed foods). There are so many factors that determine good health and it really does vary from person to person. The most important thing is to educate yourself on what is good for you. If you have a cholesterol problem eating eggs too often is not a good idea but chances are there’s a lot of other stuff you shouldn’t be eating either. Balance things out so that you’re left with the best diet for you. Food is nourishment and it should leave you feeling energized.

Something to think about.

Laurie Sweig is a certified personal fitness trainer and spinning instructor. She owns and operates The Point for Fitness. She can be reached at laurie@thepointforfitness.com.