Are Egg Yolks Really Unhealthy?

As a fitness personal trainer, I have noticed that many fitness enthusiasts are discarding egg yolks and just consume egg whites. They think that it is unhealthy to consume egg yolks. Why is this so?

This is because most if not all health magazines and books claim that the humble egg yolk packs a nasty amount of fat and cholesterol. However but they rarely if ever, tell you that the yolk is the most nutritional part of an egg. Now, before you howl protest at me for going against "conventional wisdom" of not eating egg yolks, let us explore some facts first.

Yes, I reiterate that the egg white far inferior to the yolk in terms of providing you with essential nutrition. By discarding the yolk and eating only egg white of an egg, you are in effect throwing away the most nutritionally dense, antioxidant-rich, vitamin and mineral portion of the egg.

In contrast, egg whites are almost devoid of nutrition when compared to the yolk. I know that you are consuming the egg white for its protein so as to preserve and build your muscles. But do you know that the protein in egg whites are not as formidable without the yolks to balance out the amino acid profile and make the protein more bio-available and therefore more muscle friendly?

Furthermore, not many people know that the egg yolks from free running chickens (instead of caged chickens in factory chicken farms) are loaded with chock full of omega-3 fatty acids. This may shock you further. The humble egg yolk is made up of more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, B12 and panthothenic acid in an egg.

In addition, the yolk also contains all of the fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, E, and K as well as all of the essential fatty acids. This means that you are discarding more than 90% of the nutritional goodness an egg can provide you with. Isn't that such a pity?

You say that consuming egg yolks will shoot your cholesterol level sky high. You know what? That may not be true!

Let me explain. Firstly, when you consume food with high cholesterol such as eggs, your body naturally produces less cholesterol to balance out the equation. However, if you don't consume enough cholesterol, your body will produce more cholesterol because your body needs cholesterol for some important functions.

Initial studies are showing evidence that eating whole eggs actually raises your good cholesterol (HDL) and lowers bad cholesterol (LDL).

So next time your fitness personal trainers tell you that egg whites are superior to egg yolks or that eating egg yolks is unhealthy, you can smugly ask them why and see if they can give you a convincing explanation.

About the Author

Chris Chew is a celebrity fitness personal trainer and author of "Burn Fat Build Muscles Fast". Check out his sites at How To Get A Sexy Butt and Be A Certified Gym Instructor

Author Profile: ChrisChew

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