Mercola: Why I Eat 6 Egg Yolks Almost Every Day

“I believe egg yolks are one of the two most nutrient-dense foods in existence, which is why I eat six of them a day – with only one of the whites.” Dr. Joseph Mercola
Dr Mercola has provided the PDF for this article in case of censorship HERE

Eggs Lower Inflammation and Insulin Resistance

Research published in 2020 also concluded that choline has anti-inflammatory activity and can be particularly useful in those with insulin resistance and/or metabolic syndrome. And, while a choline supplement was good in this regard, eggs were far better. As reported by the authors:

“Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance, which increase the risk of heart disease. Eggs have numerous nutrients including choline, carotenoids, and fat-soluble vitamins that may protect against these conditions. Egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) is a major contributor of dietary choline in the American diet.

In this study, we evaluated the effect of two sources of choline, whole eggs (a source of PC) and a choline supplement (choline bitartrate, CB), on plasma lipids, glucose, insulin resistance, and inflammatory biomarkers.”

Twenty-three subjects diagnosed with metabolic syndrome were included in the study. After a two-week washout period with no choline intake, participants were randomly allocated to consume either three eggs per day or 400 mg of choline bitartrate per day for four weeks.

Interestingly, both choline sources reduced interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, but eggs also resulted in lower C-reactive protein, insulin and insulin resistance compared to baseline, causing the authors to conclude that:

“… in a MetS population, intake of three eggs per day does not increase plasma LDL cholesterol, and has additional benefits on biomarkers of disease compared to a choline supplement, possibly due to the presence of other antioxidants in eggs.”

Egg Yolks Are a Superfood (If you are vegan you can purchase supplement HERE)

I believe egg yolks are one of the two most nutrient-dense foods in existence. The other is organ meats. I eat three eggs twice a day for a total of six a day, and getting enough choline is one of the reasons why I do this. However, I separate the yolks from the whites and only eat one egg white a day. The egg white is cooked because of the avidin that it contains that binds to biotin if it is uncooked.

The reason for this is because egg whites are very high in tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, which you want to seriously limit because of serotonin’s damaging effects on your body. I explained more details in “What You Need to Know About Estrogen and Serotonin.” The yolk is where most of the essential nutrients are, including the healthy fats.

The caveat here is that you need to be mindful of where you get your eggs from, as the nutritional quality of the eggs is dependent on the diet of the chickens. The egg yolks of eggs from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) can be relatively high in linoleic acid (LA), if you eat more than four a day.

The reason I’m comfortable eating half a dozen egg yolks a day is because I feed my chickens a special diet resulting in the egg yolks having 75% lower linoleic acid (LA) content than conventional eggs.

It is best to limit your intake of LA to below 5 grams (5,000 mg) per day. Sadly, virtually all chicken eggs in the U.S. will put you over 5 grams per day if you are eating six per day like I am. This is because virtually all chickens are fed grains that high in LA. This is true even for pasture-raised organic chickens.

Choline, found in ample amounts in organic, pastured egg yolks, was first discovered in 1862. It was officially recognized as an essential nutrient for human health by the Institute of Medicine in 1998. Since then, we’ve learned that choline has a long list of health benefits. For example, it’s required for: