Cholesterol in the egg yolk becomes oxidized during the cooking process to a greater or lesser extent, depending upon how the egg is cooked. You want to keep this oxidation to a minimum because oxidized cholesterol in particular can lead to narrowed arteries. Exposure to oxygen, light, and heat oxidizes the cholesterol. This is what happens when you scramble eggs. You break the yolk and maximize its exposure to the air, light, and the hot cooking surface. Frying an egg is only slightly better because the yolk is still exposed to high heat.

To minimize the oxidation that occurs as an egg cooks, use a cooking method that doesn't require high heat and keeps the yolk encased in the white. Here are three classic ways of preparing eggs that protect the yolk:

• Soft-cooking (about three minutes for a medium-size) an egg in its shell protects the yolk from light and air.
• Poaching an egg involves placing a whole egg in liquid and cooking it gently just below the boiling point. A visual sign that a safe temperature has been reached is when the surface of the poaching liquid begins to show slight movement.
• Coddling is a method of cooking eggs that involves placing the egg in an individual container that is covered and set in a larger pan of simmering water, which is placed on the stovetop or in the oven at very low heat. The warmth of the water bath slowly cooks the egg.