Instructions: Some of us missed the news that eggs were high in cholesterol and exiled onto the list of "dont eat" foods. Weve been eating eggs regularly and enjoying them for years without any ill effects. Why? Its quite simple: the scientists and nutritionists, including me, were wrong.

The poor eggs reputation has been unjustly shattered, and now its time to make amends. First, lets consider all the great things eggs have going for them. They are high in protein, low in sodium, contain little fat and only have 70 calories each. A large egg has about 213 mg of cholesterol, which according to a recent re-analysis of eggs is 22 percent less than previously thought.

New research also indicates two new thoughts about how cholesterol works in the body. First, for most people, its the amount of saturated fat in the diet - not the actual amount of cholesterol eaten - that affects blood cholesterol levels. Its much more effective to lower cholesterol by cutting how much saturated fat you eat than to worry about how much cholesterol you eat.

Second, there apparently is only a segment of the population that could be considered "cholesterol-sensitive," meaning those people who have moderately high blood cholesterol as well as high triglycerides (another measure of fat in the blood), and those are the people who need to watch their dietary intake of cholesterol.

Nutrition researchers studied the effects of eggs on a group of

"cholesterol-sensitive" people and a group of people who had high blood cholesterol only. The cholesterol-sensitive people experienced an increase in blood cholesterol after eating two eggs per day for 12 weeks. Eating eggs had no effect on the cholesterol levels of people with high blood cholesterol only, according to the results of the study published in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition".

But theres even more good news about eggs: new and improved ones contain omega-3 fatty acids.

Now that eggs have gotten a break from bad press about cholesterol, egg producers have turned their attention to improving the "perfect food." Companies such as Egglands Best, Inc., Pilgrims Pride and Egg Innovations are feeding hens special diets to create eggs with improved nutritional profiles.

Most of these "designer" eggs contain significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, substances thought to have a broad range of beneficial effects.

Omega-3s are called "essential" fatty acids because the body cannot make them; we need to get them from foods. Fatty fish such as mackerel and salmon are good sources, but price, availability and concerns about seafood may prevent people from getting enough Omega-3s from fish. On the other hand, nearly everyone can cook an egg, and the omega-3-enhanced eggs taste and cook up just like regular old-fashioned eggs. Their cost, however, is significantly higher than regular eggs, (usually between $2.50 and $3.00/dozen). But theyre still cheaper than salmon.

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