U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. (2019). FoodData Central: Egg, whole / yolk / white, raw, fresh. One large egg ~72 kcal, 6.3 g protein, 5 g fat; yolk ~186 mg cholesterol and ~147 mg choline. fdc.nal.usda.gov
Evenepoel, P., Geypens, B., Luypaerts, A., Hiele, M., Ghoos, Y., & Rutgeerts, P. (1998). Digestibility of cooked and raw egg protein in humans as assessed by stable isotope techniques. The Journal of Nutrition, 128(10), 1716-1722. Cooked egg protein was ~91% digestible vs ~51% raw. 10.1093/jn/128.10.1716
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2022). Choline — Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Fact sheet (updated June 2, 2022; Wayback snapshot 21 September 2026): AIs 550 mg/day men, 425 women, 450 pregnancy, 550 lactation; premenopausal women might need less dietary choline because estrogen induces the gene (PEMT) for choline biosynthesis, although at least 40% of women of childbearing age carry a polymorphism that makes it insensitive to estrogen; prenatal supplements typically contain little if any choline; Table 2: beef liver, 3 ounces, 356 mg; egg, 1 large, 147 mg; beef top round, 3 ounces, 117 mg (fact sheet). ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Choline-HealthProfessional
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2024). Vitamin B12 — Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Fact sheet (updated July 2, 2025; Wayback snapshot 20 September 2026): multivitamin/mineral supplements typically contain 5 to 25 mcg B12, B-complex products 50 to 500 mcg, B12-only supplements typically 500 to 1,000 mcg; absorption is only about 2% at 500 mcg and 1.3% at 1,000 mcg; a 2018 Cochrane review of 3 RCTs (153 participants) compared very high oral doses (1,000-2,000 mcg) with intramuscular B12; high oral doses (e.g. 1,000 mcg/day) might be equally effective in Crohn's disease and appear as effective as hydroxocobalamin injections after Roux-en-Y bypass. These are product contents and trial doses; the sheet gives no recommended daily supplement range (fact sheet). ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2024). Vitamin D — Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Fact sheet (updated June 27, 2025; Wayback snapshot 20 September 2026): 25(OH)D below 30 nmol/L (12 ng/mL) is associated with deficiency, 30 to below 50 nmol/L is generally considered inadequate, 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL) or more is sufficient for most people, and above 125 nmol/L (50 ng/mL) can be associated with adverse effects; RDA 600 IU (15 mcg) to age 70 and 800 IU (20 mcg) above 70; adult UL 4,000 IU (100 mcg); older people and people with darker skin (more melanin) make less vitamin D from sunlight (fact sheet). ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional
National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. (2021). Selenium — Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. Table 2: Brazil nuts, 1 ounce (6-8 nuts), 544 mcg selenium (989% DV); the text says Brazil nuts contain 68-91 mcg per nut and could cause selenium toxicity if consumed regularly, and that values from other analyses vary widely. The version read carries 'Updated: April 15, 2024' (Wayback Machine snapshot of 31 December 2024), newer than the 2021 date above (fact sheet, read 2026-09-24). The September 4, 2025 update (Wayback snapshot 19 September 2026) adds: the body absorbs up to about 90% of selenium from selenomethionine, selenium-enriched yeast, selenite and selenate; selenium-only supplements typically contain 100 to 400 mcg; Keshan disease, an endemic cardiomyopathy first identified in 1935 in low-selenium parts of China, fell dramatically after selenium intervention trials in the 1970s-1990s; in 2017 the American Thyroid Association issued a weak recommendation against selenium supplements for TPOAb-positive pregnant women (fact sheet). ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional
Chung, H. Y., Rasmussen, H. M., & Johnson, E. J. (2004). Lutein bioavailability is higher from lutein-enriched eggs than from supplements and spinach in men. The Journal of Nutrition, 134(8), 1887-1893. Egg lutein, packaged with fat, is absorbed more efficiently than from spinach. Crossover study in 10 healthy men: 9 days each of a lutein supplement, a lutein-ester supplement, spinach and lutein-enriched egg, each giving 6 mg lutein (5.5 mg for the ester). The dose-adjusted serum lutein response was higher after egg than after the other three sources, which did not differ from each other; the abstract gives no reason such as fat content (abstract, PMID 15284371). 10.1093/jn/134.8.1887
Carson, J. A. S., Lichtenstein, A. H., Anderson, C. A. M., Appel, L. J., Kris-Etherton, P. M., Meyer, K. A., et al. (2020). Dietary cholesterol and cardiovascular risk: A science advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 141(3), e39-e53. Saturated and trans fats raise LDL more than dietary cholesterol itself. 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000743
Fernandez, M. L. (2012). Rethinking dietary cholesterol. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 15(2), 117-121. Dietary cholesterol challenges raise LDL in people more sensitive to it (about one-quarter of the population); HDL also rises, so the LDL/HDL ratio is maintained. 10.1097/MCO.0b013e32834d2259
Zhong, V. W., Van Horn, L., Cornelis, M. C., Wilkins, J. T., Ning, H., Carnethon, M. R., et al. (2019). Associations of dietary cholesterol or egg consumption with incident cardiovascular disease and mortality. JAMA, 321(11), 1081-1095. A pooled analysis that did find a dose-dependent association — included to present the evidence honestly as mixed. 10.1001/jama.2019.1572
Drouin-Chartier, J. P., Chen, S., Li, Y., Schwab, A. L., Stampfer, M. J., Sacks, F. M., et al. (2020). Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: three large prospective US cohort studies, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis. BMJ, 368, m513. Moderate egg intake (~1/day) was not associated with cardiovascular risk in the updated meta-analysis (~1.72M participants). 10.1136/bmj.m513
