Whole Egg vs. Egg White

neanderthin

I don't think there is enough of a calorie difference to warrant not eating the yolk. If that's why you are considering it, just eat the whole thing.

I disagree, the whole egg is double the calories.

I typically eat eggs and/or egg whites 4-5 days a week. I buy the cartons of egg whites (or Egg Beaters) and whole eggs. I typically mix 1/2 cup (the equivalent of two whole eggs) with one whole egg and scramble them up. Total calories is about 140 for the equivalent of three eggs, that's 70 calories less than three whole eggs and a great source of protein without sending cholesterol through the roof.

By the way, there is no such thing as "good cholesterol" but eating seven whole eggs a week isn't going to be bad for the average person. Eating 21 whole eggs would be a different scenario for the average person.

Going off the MFP food database (which I don't claim is always right)
Generic egg - 70 calories
Egg - Egg white only - 20 calories

50 calorie difference. 50. In the grand scheme of 12,000 + calories, that's a drop in the bucket. I didn't say there was NOT a difference, and not eating the yolk you're leaving out more than calories, you're also leaving out a lot of nutrients. I have no issue if someone wants to eat egg whites (because now I want an egg white sammich), but the OP was debating the benefits against them based, it seemed, on calories.

Why do you say that there's no such thing as 'good cholesterol'? Even the American Heart Association acknowledges that LDL and HDL are two different kinds of cholesterol and HDL has benefits to it.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/Good-vs-Bad-Cholesterol_UCM_305561_Article.jsp
LDL (Bad) Cholesterol
When too much LDL (bad) cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, heart attack or stroke can result.

HDL (Good) Cholesterol
About one-fourth to one-third of blood cholesterol is carried by high-density lipoprotein (HDL). HDL cholesterol is known as "good" cholesterol, because high levels of HDL seem to protect against heart attack. Low levels of HDL (less than 40 mg/dL for men and less than 50 mg/dL for women) also increase the risk of heart disease. Medical experts think that HDL tends to carry cholesterol away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it's passed from the body. Some experts believe that HDL removes excess cholesterol from arterial plaque, slowing its buildup.

The term good and bad cholesterol is a simplified description for the laymen to understand. Cholesterol is cholesterol there is only 1 kind. HDL and LDL are lipoprotein capsules that carry cholesterol (cargo) to and from our body via the liver. mostly. HDL lipoproteins are actually smaller than LDL, in as much as they carry less cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol as does all lipoproteins vary in size. It's the small dense LDL particles, sometimes described as Lp(a) or pattern B are the ones that are atherogenic unlike the larger LDL particles that are not only less atherogenic, but sometimes described as beneficial.

The fat in an egg does a couple of things, it influences how the liver is going to distribute it's cholesterol, and as far as LDL lipoproteins are concerned they will replace some of the small dense LDL with larger particles and when this is done it's facilitated this by reducing the amount of triglycerides that it would normally carry and replaces it with more cholesterol and why LDL is increased with saturated fat, of course it also increases HDL as well, both of these can be seen as beneficial as far as egg consumption is concerned. There is no downside to egg consumption as far as cholesterol is concerned, unless of course you believe that LDL all on it's own is the cause of heart disease, which again is not the case but for some reason is used to demonize saturated fat for the last 40 years.......

DalekBrittany

Things I have learned from this thread:

Eggs are good, eat them whole.
Eggs are bad, throw out the yolk.
Don't throw out the yolk, feed it to your cat.
If you throw out the yolk, that means you have high cholesterol (admittedly, this one confuses me)
There is no such thing as good cholesterol.
There is such a thing as good cholesterol.
Eat a dozen eggs per day and you will be fine.
Eat more than 1 a day and you die die die.

Sums it up.

iAMsmiling

Things I have learned from this thread:

Eggs are good, eat them whole.
Eggs are bad, throw out the yolk.
Don't throw out the yolk, feed it to your cat.
If you throw out the yolk, that means you have high cholesterol (admittedly, this one confuses me)
There is no such thing as good cholesterol.
There is such a thing as good cholesterol.
Eat a dozen eggs per day and you will be fine.
Eat more than 1 a day and you die die die.

Sums it up.

This is the standard level of clarity and consensus reached on MFP discussions threads.

KaleidoscopeEyes1056

Things I have learned from this thread:

Eggs are good, eat them whole.
Eggs are bad, throw out the yolk.
Don't throw out the yolk, feed it to your cat.
If you throw out the yolk, that means you have high cholesterol (admittedly, this one confuses me)
There is no such thing as good cholesterol.
There is such a thing as good cholesterol.
Eat a dozen eggs per day and you will be fine.
Eat more than 1 a day and you die die die.

Sums it up.

You forgot one! Egg yolks make you fat.

TheDevastator

The egg whites are good and are always trying to surround the evil yolk.