In the yellow of health

Is the egg yolk really as unhealthy as doctors say it is?

What’s the common  link between a full English breakfast at a posh restaurant and late night paranthas at one of Delhi’s many dhabas? Here’s a hint — it’s white, it’s yellow and is perhaps the most versatile ingredient used in cooking. Eggs are an inseparable part of the diet of most homes, barring ‘pure’ vegetarian and lately, the vegan ones. But despite its popularity in kitchens across the world, there is also much debate over its health quotient.

My grandfather swore by raw eggs as the perfect health potion — beaten with the yolk in a steel tumbler and gulped down quickly. Today, when you join a gym, the first thing an instructor tells you is to up your egg intake, but limit it to only the whites for protein. This is because doctors say that the yolk contains fat and cholesterol that can prove particularly harmful for blood pressure and heart patients. For lovers of the yolk-rich sunny side up, poached eggs and the perfectly runny half-boiled, this is nothing short of depressing. But Ishi Khosla, clinical nutritionist and founder, theweightmonitor.com and Whole Foods India, suggests that it may be time for the benefits and demerits of eating an egg to be re-examined. “It was reported by the University of Surrey that people who consume one or more eggs a day are at no more risk of having heart disease than non-egg-eaters,” says Khosla.

While one yolk contains about 99 per cent of the total fat content in an egg, it is also nutrient-rich. Besides being rich in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants — totalling 13, according to Khosla — a whole egg is one of the rare food sources for Vitamin D, which like other nutrients, is contained in the yolk. Sanjeev Chintawar, business manager at the National Egg Coordination Committee, says latest studies prove that the cholesterol content of an egg yolk is, in fact,  healthy for the body. “The yolk contains high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol, which is good for health,” he says.

For those watching their weight, eating an egg can be extremely beneficial. “An egg contains choline which has been proven to metabolise fat and help with fatty livers,” says Khosla. Chintawar says that an egg is the only food product in the world that has a 100-point valuation from the World Health Organisation and has almost every nutrient other than Vitamin C. “That’s why we call it the tastiest multi-vitamin capsule in the world,” he adds. On the question of organic eggs, he suggests that though their market share is only 1 per cent, these eggs are far superior in their health quotient. “The poultry is fed fortified feed and the eggs from such farms are definitely healthier for it,” Chintawar adds. The yolk has a orange hue, and the consistency is such that a sunny side up made with organic eggs is definitely tastier.

Neeraj Bhalla, senior consultant and director of cardiology at BLK Super Speciality Hospital in New Delhi, says an egg’s health benefits may be overstated. “One egg yolk contains nearly 300 mg of cholesterol, which is the total cholesterol a person should ideally consume in a day. This makes it harmful for heart patients,” he says. He also suggests that there is no scientific proof that organic eggs are healthier. But he does add that an egg a day is important for a balanced meal, though heart patients and those with high cholesterol levels should limit their egg intake, and the delicious yolk, to every alternate day.

Aren’t vegetarians then missing out on these health benefits so many claim for eggs? Chintawar says that stable eggs, the kind that are most often retailed, are actually vegetarian, since they haven’t yet fertilised. “Vegetarians should treat eggs like milk and honey. They are just another food from an animal source,” he says.