Probably no other food item had such a traumatic experience as the egg. And it's not about the "which came first egg or chicken" trick question either. For the past decades, the egg was either hailed as the healthiest of foods available due to its nutrients or as being a demon coming from the deepest part of nutritional hell due to its cholesterol content.
So where does the egg currently stand in the nutritional scale of good and evil? Unlike in the not-so-distant past where the egg is universally condemned as bad, a lot of people as now convinced that egg is not the culprit of the diseases previously associated with it.
This article by Shilpa Arora from NDTV urges people not to throw away the yolk, referring to some dieter's practice of using only the egg whites while discarding the feared cholesterol-laden yolk. It is in the yolk where the benefits of eating an egg come from, Vitamin K, Vitamin B including biotin, thiamine and V12, selenium, Vitamin D and protein.
This view of eggs being a healthy option is likewise echoed in the article by Kris Gunnars on AuthorityNutriotion. Gunnars mentioned that while eggs are high in cholesterol, it must be argued that studies have shown that dietary cholesterol does not necessarily affect blood cholesterol. In fact, Gunnar argues that eggs could actually help elevate HDL or good cholesterol.
In addition, studies have shown that eggs somehow changes the structure of LDL (bad cholesterol) from smaller to larger LDL with a corresponding decrease in risk of heart disease.
On the other hand, current medical viewpoint still varies. Some cardiologists are still adamant in their stance about eggs being inherently bad for health. This is understandable since most of them were indoctrinated in that viewpoint during their training years.
With the absence of consensus even among health professionals in this issue, many adopt a safer stance. A lot are open to the idea of eggs being nutritionally healthy such as this article from Mayo Clinic, but it does come with a caveat at the end.
For now, though the egg is not yet viewed as entirely wholesome, at least, it is no longer considered as the ultimate demon of the nutrition world. Further research will have to decide which way future opinion will go.
