Nick Norwitz, Ph.D., is a physiologist and science educator who is on a mission to “make metabolic health mainstream.” Putting metabolism to the test, the Harvard Medical School student ate 24 eggs a day for a month. From omelets to over easy, he had 720 eggs and his cholesterol dropped 20% — bucking the belief eggs introduce health risks by raising cholesterol levels.
“My colleagues and I come up with creative ways to try to translate our awe and love for physiology and biology into something that is interesting and accessible to the public,” he told Fox News Digital.
“The goal is to provoke conversation and bring people to the table so we can talk about human metabolism, which I find utterly fascinating,” he added.
For the first two weeks, Norwitz ate his two dozen daily eggs as part of a low-carb diet. Then, for the second half of the month, he added in more carbohydrates. That’s when his cholesterol began to dwindle.
“The purpose of this whole experiment was a metabolic demonstration to discuss the ‘levers’ that can affect cholesterol in different individuals,” he said.
“I expected my cholesterol levels not to change by just adding the eggs — and that is indeed what happened,” the Dartmouth College valedictorian continued.
According to Harvard Medical School, eggs are high in cholesterol, but knowing their nutritional value doesn’t tell the whole story. Reviewed by Harvard Health Publishing’s chief medical editor, Dr. Howard E. LeWine, the report explained that most of the cholesterol in the human body is not from the food we eat. It‘s source traces to the liver.
“The liver is stimulated to make cholesterol primarily by saturated fat and trans fat in our diet, not dietary cholesterol,” the medical school reported. “But a large egg contains little saturated fat — about 1.5 grams (g). And research has confirmed that eggs also contain many healthy nutrients: lutein and zeaxanthin, which are good for the eyes; choline, which is good for the brain and nerves; and various vitamins (A, B, and D). In fact, just one large egg contains 270 international units (IU) of vitamin A and 41 IU of vitamin D. One large egg also contains about 6 g of protein and 72 calories.”
Harvard’s report is based on evidence from “huge studies” concerning one-egg-per-day diets, but Norwitz said he wanted to make a “metabolic demonstration” of how there are different “levers” that affect cholesterol levels in people. And that it’s just one reason why there is no perfect diet for all people.
Those interested in learning more about metabolism may want to tune in to the Harvard Medical School student’s social media. He’s far from done demonstrating.
“I am passionate about making metabolic health mainstream,” he said. “This is only the tip of the iceberg.”
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