The Great Egg Redemption: How Science Saved Breakfast (But Not Your Wallet)

For decades, the humble egg was treated like a ticking time bomb for your arteries. Nutrition guidelines told us to avoid them, doctors warned us about cholesterol, and many Americans swapped their morning omelet for a sad bowl of processed cereal. But here’s the kicker—those recommendations weren’t based on strong science. Instead, industry interests heavily influenced them, outdated theories, and a lot of fear-mongering.

Now, eggs are back on the menu. Science has finally caught up, and experts agree that dietary cholesterol isn’t the villain it was made out to be. But just when we thought we could enjoy eggs guilt-free, bird flu struck, prices skyrocketed, and suddenly, eggs became the new luxury item. So, how did we get here? Let’s crack open the truth.

The Food Pyramid: A Big Business, Not Big Science

If you grew up in the 90s, you probably remember the Food Pyramid. It told us to eat 6-11 servings of bread, pasta, and cereal every day, while foods like eggs, meat, and fats were placed at the top—basically labeled “Eat Sparingly.”

But was this pyramid built on solid science? Not exactly.

The grain industry played a huge role in shaping these guidelines. In the 1970s and 80s, low-fat diets became the gold standard for heart health. The idea was simple: eating fat leads to heart disease, so cutting out fat would make us healthier. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

Instead, food companies removed fat from products and replaced it with sugar and processed carbs—because, let’s face it, fat-free food tastes terrible without something to make it palatable. As a result, Americans ended up eating way more refined carbs and sugar, leading to a spike in obesity and type 2 diabetes (Ludwig et al., 2018).

Meanwhile, eggs—one of nature’s most nutrient-dense and affordable foods—were put on the naughty list.

The War on Eggs: How a Bad Idea Became Dietary Dogma

The real egg panic began in 1968 when the American Heart Association (AHA) declared that dietary cholesterol was a major cause of heart disease. They recommended eating no more than three eggs per week (Kritchevsky, 1999).

But here’s the problem—this recommendation wasn’t based on strong human studies. Instead, it was based on:

1. Animal Studies – Scientists fed cholesterol to rabbits, which are naturally herbivores, and (shocker!) their cholesterol went up. But rabbits process cholesterol differently than humans (McNamara, 2000).
2. Epidemiological Correlations – Early studies linked high cholesterol intake to heart disease, but they didn’t separate it from other factors like saturated fat, smoking, or lack of exercise (Hu et al., 1999).
3. Clinical Studies With Unrealistic Diets – Some studies tested cholesterol intake using six eggs per day—which is way more than most people eat (Fernandez, 2006).

Meanwhile, many scientists already knew that dietary cholesterol had minimal impact on blood cholesterol for most people. Our bodies naturally regulate cholesterol production—when we eat more cholesterol, the liver produces less to balance it out (Griffin & Lichtenstein, 2013).

But by the time the science caught up, the damage was done. Food companies had already flooded the market with “cholesterol-free” products like margarine and egg substitutes. And people believed the hype.

The Egg Industry Fights Back (With Science!)

While eggs were being villainized, the egg industry wasn’t about to sit back and let breakfast be ruined. In 1984, they established the Egg Nutrition Center (ENC) to fund research and set the record straight.

Over the next few decades, study after study debunked the myth that eggs were bad for your heart. In fact, major research showed:

• Eating eggs does NOT increase heart disease risk. A Harvard study of 117,000 people found no link between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease (Hu et al., 1999).
• Eggs can even be good for you. They’re packed with protein, choline (for brain health), and lutein and zeaxanthin (for eye health) (McNamara, 2000).
• Cholesterol guidelines were flawed. By 2015, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans finally removed cholesterol restrictions because there was no strong evidence linking dietary cholesterol to heart disease (USDA & HHS, 2015).

After 47 years of bad press, the egg was officially redeemed. Here is a link for some science (ref)

Just When Eggs Made a Comeback… Prices Went Through the Roof

Now that science finally supports eating eggs, you’d think we’d be in a golden age of omelets. But no—2023 and 2024 have given us record-breaking egg prices.

Why? One word: Bird flu.

A massive avian flu outbreak led to the culling of millions of hens, drastically reducing egg supply and sending prices soaring (USDA, 2023). In some stores, eggs were even locked up like high-end electronics.

So now, after decades of unnecessary restrictions, eggs are back on the menu—but they’re too expensive for many people to enjoy daily. Irony at its finest.

The Bottom Line: Eat the Egg

So, what’s the takeaway?

• The demonization of eggs wasn’t based on strong science.
• Many dietary guidelines (like the Food Pyramid) were heavily influenced by industry, not just research.
• Science finally caught up, and now eggs are recognized as a nutrient powerhouse.
• Just as eggs were redeemed, bird flu made them a luxury item.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that we need to question nutrition trends—especially when big industries stand to profit. Eggs were wrongly blamed for heart disease, just like fat was wrongly blamed for obesity. But science eventually wins.

So next time you crack open an egg, enjoy it. It took nearly five decades of bad science, industry influence, and misinformation for us to get here.

References

• Fernandez, M. L. (2006). Effects of eggs on plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations. Food & Function, 7(3), 156-164.
• Griffin, B. A., & Lichtenstein, A. H. (2013). Dietary cholesterol and plasma lipoprotein profiles: Randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 98(6), 1465S-1470S.
• Hu, F. B., Stampfer, M. J., Rimm, E. B., et al. (1999). A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA, 281(15), 1387-1394.
• Kritchevsky, S. B. (1999). Dietary cholesterol, serum cholesterol, and heart disease: Are the associations valid? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 69(4), 1210S-1215S.
• Ludwig, D. S., Willett, W. C., & Volek, J. S. (2018). The low-fat diet: A failed experiment. Annual Review of Nutrition, 38, 37-57.
• McNamara, D. J. (2000). The impact of egg limitations on coronary heart disease risk: Do the numbers add up? Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 19(5), 540-548.
• USDA & HHS. (2015). Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020.
• USDA. (2023). Avian Influenza and Egg Supply Reports.