USDA officials are either delusional or they're liars. In either case, they've got a whopper they're trying to sell us: Eggs have suddenly become nutritious.

According to the USDA, changes in chicken feed account for a boost in the vitamin D content of eggs.

Riiiight. For eons, the egg wasn't nutritionally sound. It took the genius of 21st century factory farmers to perfect the imperfect egg. So basically, USDA officials seem to think they know more about balance and nutrition than God.

That sounds a lot like what you find on the floor of the chicken coop.

The USDA also claims that eggs are safer to eat now because they contain less cholesterol. This is wonderful news in the Cholesterol Pretend World where I guess someone still believes the fantasy that dietary cholesterol is some kind of poison.

Outside the cocoon

This sudden USDA egg enlightenment comes four full years after the British Heart Foundation (BHF) acknowledged new evidence about dietary cholesterol in eggs. Previously, the BHF had advised against eating more than three eggs per week.

Victoria Taylor--a BHF dietician--told the BBC: "There is cholesterol present in eggs but this does not usually make a great contribution to your level of blood cholesterol."

Did you get that, USDA? This is an important message from the world outside your fantasy cocoon: That alleged drop in egg cholesterol doesn't even matter!

More recently, University of Surrey researchers evaluated a variety of egg nutrition studies and found that the misconception that eggs raise cholesterol levels is based on outdated evidence.

Professor Bruce Griffin of the Surrey team told the BBC that the idea that egg intake is linked to high cholesterol and heart disease "must be corrected."

So how in the world did eggs get such a bad rap in the first place?

Dr. Spreen explains: "The studies on cholesterol/eggs and heart disease were done using POWDERED eggs! Primarily the problem has always been OXIDIZED cholesterol--cholesterol heated and exposed to air for an extended period...not an issue in a real egg, where the yolk sac insulates the cholesterol from oxidation."

The Surrey researchers and Dr. Spreen are also in complete agreement about the egg's effect on cholesterol levels. He notes that a very small percentage of the population has familial hypercholesterolemia (an inherited disorder of high LDL cholesterol), and those patients need to curb dietary cholesterol intake.

Otherwise, Dr. Spreen argues: "There is no correlation between oral intake of cholesterol and serum levels (I also firmly believe there's no connection between serum levels and heart disease, but that's an argument for another time)."

And here's the real kicker: "If you never eat cholesterol your body will manufacture it (or you die), and the 'manufactured' variety is more readily deposited in vessel walls.

"Eggs are wonderful food, always have been, and that includes the yolk (rare good source of sulfur)."

In addition to sulfur, eggs provide plenty of protein, essential amino acids, vitamins B, D, A, and riboflavin, and minerals, including calcium, potassium, and iron.

Put that on your breakfast plate and eat it!

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