Egg is Healthful — FNRI

MANILA, Philippines — The controversy whether or not egg is healthful has been settled as far as the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) of the Department of Science and Techology is concerned.

A study made by the FNRI proved that the egg is actually healthful and harmless despite claims that it poses risk to a person's health considering is a cheap source of cholesterol.

It clarified that though eggs are indeed rich in cholesterol, “eating one egg a day is unlikely to have substantial increase in blood lipid.”

Food Scientist Celeste C. Tanchoco, head of the FNRI team that conducted the research, eating egg would render no risk as long as the one eating has no cholesterol problem.

“If you have elevated blood cholesterol levels, eating less saturated fat may be even more important than cutting back on cholesterol from food,” she advised.

Tanchoco said a single egg supplies about 10 percent of the protein needed daily — along with healthy doses of vitamins A, B12, D, K and riboflavin.

She said stronger attention to other aspects of lifestyle such as weight maintenance and regular exercise in disease risk reduction should instead be given more focus.

Eggs have been caught in controversy for its cholesterol content, which was said to be an element that could clog the arteries through the blood stream and eventually cause heart attack.

It was gathered though that the type of cholesterol found in eggs are actually dietary or good cholesterol as it does not automatically become blood cholesterol.

A form of blood cholesterol called Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) is actually the type of cholesterol that flows into the artery wall and could clog the arteries to cause heart attack.

The other type of blood cholesterol is the High-Density Lipoprotein, a good cholesterol which helps bring cholesterol back to the liver for processing.

The FNRI maintains that eggs are cheap source of high-quality protein and vitamins B12, E, riboflavin, folate and minerals such as iron and phosphorus, which could help make muscle firm and strong, keep skin healthy, make blood red, keep good eyesight, make infants and children grow fast, and give energy for work and play.

Gabriel Mabutas, Manila Bulletin