Each morning at the retirement community, the healthy 88-year-old man received a delivery of 25 soft-boiled eggs, which he would consume during his day. This had been his way for many years. He’d had one experience of chest pain that might have been angina, but aside from that, he had a healthy cardiovascular system. He recognized that his only problem was psychological: “Eating these eggs ruins my life, but I can’t help it.”
I think of the Eggman, a brief case report from 1991 in the New England Journal of Medicine, whenever “news” of cholesterol’s unsuitability as a one-size-fits-all biomarker resurfaces, as it does every few years and did again just last month.
Source: The Man Who Ate 25 Eggs a Day (Or, Why Cholesterol’s Not All Bad)
Just 25 eggs? My man can eat 50…
The article paints an interesting picture of the state of health care with relation to pharmaceuticals and doctor education. It’s along the lines of a recent post suggesting caution about trusting a physicians recommendation – they are only human. I had a similar experience with a previous doctor pushing for cholesterol medication, and subsequently encountered other family members with similar experiences. My most recent test demonstrated a dramatic improvement in my HDL & LDL levels, though as the article points out – these aren’t considered to be truly indicative of cardiovascular health. But everyone is different, so you’re best to find out for yourself.
FYI: Bodybuilders and powerlifters routinely, especially when adding weight, eat a dozen or more eggs/day. From a $/gram of protein and $/calories perspective, eggs are fantastic. Even from a macronutrient perspective, eggs are quite good for you- depending on size, you get 60-80 calories, 5-7 grams of protein, and 5-7 grams of fat, to no carbohydrates.
My Warfarin Diet 