Cholesterol is good for you

By Poultry World staff

CHOLESTEROL is now moving into the list of nutrients in the diet that are good for you, the worlds egg producers have been told.

It has taken more than 20 years to refute the “cholesterol conspiracy” that has cost the egg industry bilions of pounds in lost sales, according to Norwegian egg safety expert Dr Hilda Kruse.

Now at last scientists are putting emphasis on the value of this essential nutrient, she told her audience at the Internation Egg Commission conference in Bergen, Norway.

Kruse, head of the Norwegian Zoonosis Centre, was charged with speaking about the safety of eggs.

Naturally, she covered salmonellas, where the concern in her country is, mainly coming from visits abroad than farms within.

But in reviewing the nutrients from eggs she stressed that cholesterol is good for you.

It is an essential nutrient for healthy cell membranes, the hormone and immune systems.

Dr Fabien De Meester of Belovo, Belgium, went further with his analysis of extracting egg bioactives that can be used as functional foods or as dietary supplements to promote health.

He sees a role for cholesterol which has gone from culprit to essential, from kills to helps. His slogan is “Eat cholesterol or die!”

He stressed that cholesterol had no relationship to heart disease, while it helped to prevent infection and cancer.

Quoting a recent study from Japan, he said that people with higher blood cholesterol were living longer.

He believes that in promoting health, nutraceuticals will replace pharmaceuticals and many could be extracted from eggs in what is termed “yolk cracking”.

His company is working towards this long term project, meanwhile it has developed Columbus eggs with enhanced levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

These designer eggs are now marketed under licence in nine countries, including the UK by Deans Foods.