Linoleic Acid, Eggs, and Oxidized LDL

FuturePundit: Low Omega 6 Eggs Do Not Cause LDL Oxidation

"Hens fed a diet low in omega-6 fatty acids and high in antioxidants produced eggs which are better for your arteries.

"'Dr. Niva Shapira of Tel Aviv University's School of Health Professions says that all eggs are not created equal. Her research indicates that when hens are fed with a diet low in omega-6 fatty acids from a young age — feed high in wheat, barley, and milo and lower in soy, maize and sunflower, safflower, and maize oils — they produce eggs that may cause less oxidative damage to human health. That's a major part of what determines the physiological impact of the end product on your table.'

"Eggs made from the conventional cheaper chicken diet produced worse effects on the blood of human study participants.

"'There were vast differences in outcome among the treatments. Daily consumption of two industry-standard eggs, high in omega-6, caused a 40 percent increase in LDL oxidizability in participants. After eating two per day of the specially-composed eggs, with both high anti-oxidant and low omega-6 levels, however, LDL oxidation levels were similar to the control group eating only two to four eggs a week....'"

That said, there's not much evidence that even industrially-produced eggs have a meaningful impact on cholesterol, but personally I choose the pay extra and eat pastured eggs.  Plus, they taste better.