no eggxaggerations

Eggs are an interesting concept.  When you think about what they are, they seem like a strange thing to consume.  The nutrient content is also intriguing.  Let's take a look at the breakdown of nutrients in one large egg, white, and yolk:  

	Large Egg	Egg White	Egg Yolk
Calories (kcals)	70	16	54
Protein (g)	6.3	3.6	2.7
Carbohydrate (g)	0.85	0.24	0.61
Fat (g)	4.8	0.3	4.5
Cholesterol (mg)	185	0	185
Vitamin A (IU)	245	0	245
Vitamin D (IU)	37	0	37
Vitamin B12 (mcg)	0.36	0.03	0.33
Folate (mcg)	24	1	23
Sodium (mg)	63	55	8
Potassium (mg)	73	54	19
(info from USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference)

As you can see, most of the fat, and ALL of the cholesterol is in the yolk.  But so are all of the fat-soluble vitamins (makes sense for fat-soluble vitamins to be found in fat).  The USDA recommends that you limit your cholesterol intake to 300 mg daily, so if eggs were your only source of cholesterol, it would be totally fine if you ate one whole egg each day (and as many egg whites as you want!)  But if you are also eating butter, steak, bacon, etc etc then you're probably exceeding your cholesterol limit without the eggs.  -But- eggs are more nutrient-dense than butter, bacon, etc, so they should be chosen more often.

Eggs do have some eggcellent qualities:

• The are versatile:  can be fried, scrambled, boiled, poached, made into omelets, the list eggxtends on and on..
• Ineggxpensive! (I can see you rolling your eyes, so I'll stop the egg jokes)
• They are a good source of protein, which is important in building and maintaining muscle mass, and repairing tissue (and lots of other stuff...details on another post)
• Long-lasting:  they can be stored and maintain good quality for several weeks (when refrigerated)
• They contain choline, which is an important component of the cell membranes in your brain.
• They contain lutein, which has been linked with the prevention of macular degeneration.  

Bottom line: eggs are/can be part of a nutrient-dense, balanced eating pattern, just don't over-do it on the yolks, folks.