The McRib sandwich is back, and it may just be better for you than a single egg yolk.
Three physicians want you to know egg yolks are bad for your health. They're spreading their message by comparing the amount of cholesterol in a single egg yolk to popular fast food creations.
One egg yolk contains 215-275 mg of cholesterol, depending on size, more than the Double Down's 150 mg and the Thickburger's 210 mg. The resurgent McRib has 70 mg of cholesterol.
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U.S. and Canadian health programs that advise people at risk of heart disease to limit their cholesterol intake to less than 200 mg/day.
For those who were not familiar, the KFC Double Down consists of bacon, cheese and mayo sandwiched between two bread-like slabs of fried chicken. Hardee's Monster Thickburger contains two-thirds of a pound of beef, three slices of cheese and four strips of bacon. The McRib is a pork sandwich shaped to look like a short slab of ribs.
The researchers did not compare sodium, saturated fat or other nutritional information.
Their article, published in the current issue of The Canadian Journal of Cardiology, argues that the danger of cholesterol in egg yolks should not be ignored.
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The physicians, J David Spence, David Jenkins and Jean Davignon, also take aim at what they characterize as the undue influence of the egg industry on public opinion.
They claim the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Heart Month brochures quote directly from egg propaganda. The authors also cite two recent studies in the U.S. and the U.K. that promoted positive effects of eggs: one in not disrupting weight loss and the other in generating heart-healthy enzymes. The authors said these studies were funded by egg marketing agencies.
The negative effects of excessive cholesterol intake from egg yokes -- inflammation, atherosclerosis, new-onset diabetes -- is a concern to everyone, the physicians suggest, no matter if they have been at risk for cardiovascular disease or if they are on statin drugs.
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"In our opinion, stopping egg consumption after myocardial infarction or stroke would be like quitting smoking after lung cancer is diagnosed: a necessary act, but late," the authors write.
Some of the researchers disclosed speaker's fees and support from pharmaceutical companies that manufacture lipid-lowering drugs.
Photo credit: iStockphoto
Tags: Food Unwrapped, Health, Healthy Foods, Nutrition
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