The Fifty Year Rehabilitation of the Egg

• Published in: Nutrients Vol. 7; no. 10; pp. 8716 - 8722
• Main Author: McNamara, Donald J
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21-10-2015; MDPI
• Subjects: Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Cholesterol, Dietary - administration & dosage; Cholesterol, Dietary - adverse effects; Cholesterol, Dietary - blood; choline; Diet - history; dietary cholesterol; eggs; Eggs - adverse effects; Feeding Behavior; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; lipoproteins; Nutrition Policy - history; Nutritive Value; plasma cholesterol; Review; United States; xanthophylls; choline; eggs; plasma cholesterol; dietary cholesterol; xanthophylls; lipoproteins
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu7105429

The 1968 American Heart Association announced a dietary recommendation that all individuals consume less than 300 mg of dietary cholesterol per day and no more than three whole eggs per week. This recommendation has not only significantly impacted the dietary patterns of the population, but also resulted in the public limiting a highly nutritious and affordable source of high quality nutrients, including choline which was limited in the diets of most individuals. The egg industry addressed the egg issue with research documenting the minimal effect of egg intake on plasma lipoprotein levels, as well as research verifying the importance of egg nutrients in a variety of issues related to health promotion. In 2015 dietary cholesterol and egg restrictions have been dropped by most health promotion agencies worldwide and recommended to be dropped from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.