Kostkunskap

Just the thought that an egg contains cholesterol that will affect the body's cholesterol levels is dead wrong.

OK, let's start by trying to understand the mind of the person who issued the recommendation.to have just one egg per day.

In the United States, they calculate cholesterol in milligrams/dL, in Europe they count millimol/L. Neither in Europe nor the US they have a clue how much cholesterol 200 mg/dL is, which corresponds to 5 mmol/L, actually is. The Americans have no idea how much a deciliter is, they only count in pints and gallons. No one, whether Americans nor Europeans know how much 5 mmol/L is, you have to multiply by the molecular weight to get the amount in grams. And no one seems to know that the molecular weight of cholesterol is just under 400 g/mol.

Then the experts measure the total amount of cholesterol and subtracts the amount of HDL and one-fifth of the amount of triglycerides which is then referred to as the amount of LDL. They never measure the true number of LDL, just use a false algorithm to find a calculated but not true value of LDL

An egg contains about 200 mg of cholesterol.

Well, then we have the starting points clear

If the total amount of cholesterol is 200 mg/dL and we eat an American egg containing 200 mg of cholesterol then the amount of cholesterol in the blood must be doubled.
200 mg/dL + 200 mg = 400 mg/dL.

Thus, eggs are deadly.

If we eat an European egg containing 200 mg, we must first divide by 400 (the molecular weight of cholesterol). We then get 200/400 = 0.5 mmol. So excellent, then the cholesterol level rises only from 5 mmol/L to 5.5 mmol/L.

Thus, eggs are almost as dangerous in Europe, but only 10 percent as dangerous.

But hey! Is'nt there anyone who knows math anymore?

My old math teacher would spin in her grave. She began teaching mathematics around 1920 and I was one of her last students before her retiring. And she could do her math. She taught me that you have to look for the sort too, not just the numbers. The sort is part of the number quantity. Here you have combined mg/dL with mg, added mmol/L to mmol. Amount/volume is a concentration while amount is an amount.

Those big authorities have forgotten how large the volume of blood is, around 5.6 L in a 70 kg person.

The US 200 mg cholesterol egg is added to 200 mg/dL * 56 dL = 200 mg + 11 200 mg = 11 400 mg or 11.4 grams of cholesterol. There will be an increase in blood of 0.018 or 1.8 percent. It is less than the measurement error in the blood sample.

The European 200 mg cholesterol egg is added to 5 mmol/L * 5.6 L = 0.5 mmol + 28 mmol = 28.5 mmol cholestero in the blood volumel. There will be an increase in the blood of 0.018 or 1.8 percent. It is less than the measurement error in the blood sample.

Yes, there was just as high percetage increase in cholesterol levels in the blood, whether eating an European or an American egg, less than the measurement error.

Then comes the next problem.

How much cholesterol is there in the whole body?

I have seen data ranging from 35 g to 250 g. Let us be a little prudent and say that there are 150 g of cholesterol in the whole body. Could be about 10 to 12 times more than the cholesterol level in the blood as the blood volume is about 8 % of the body weight.

Then having an egg affects the body's cholesterol amount by 0.13 percent. 1.3 pro mille It is completely negligible. You can have 20 eggs a day without measurable effects of your cholesterol levels

In other words, the increase or decrease in dietary cholesterol  intake can not possibly affect our total cholesterol levels at all.

Conclusion: Someone who seems to lack knowledge in middle school mathematics has attempted to calculate on something he does not understand and has come to completely wrong conclusions. Others seem to lack critical thinking and mathematical skills. seems to be unable to check the calculations. It's called Group Think and is malicious as no other knowledge seems to be allowed
 
We have to start checking the facts and compare to the old fashioned physiology to be able to sort out all the "Fake information" in the medical knowledge sphere. It is a Herculean work to clean the medical Augian stables!

This is a quick translation from Swedish to English of a blog I wrote back in April 2012