During an interactive nutrition session with badminton trainees, their parents and coaches, I was asked if a growing child can eat egg yolk. I wondered why this question came up. A parent informed me that her son doesn’t eat the yolk because he wants his heart to be healthy! Good intention, indeed. But is it necessary to avoid egg yolk totally? No.
Egg yolk (the yellow part of the egg) is filled with nutrients like protein, choline, vitamin D, vitamin A, phosphorus, zinc, folate, etc. Each of these nutrients is essential for good health. Egg yolk is also high in cholesterol. But there’s no reason for a child or a grown-up to avoid egg yolk, unless indicated due to health reasons. Our body is designed in such a way that the cholesterol which comes thru foods can be processed and regulated by the digestive system. Moreover, a single cholesterol-rich food will not damage the heart.
So, keep the yolk and enjoy a boiled egg or an omlet or scrambled egg.