Eggs have gotten a bad rap both for cholesterol and for the danger of salmonella. Though eggs are high in cholesterol, most evidence suggests that your cholesterol level is not related to the cholesterol you eat but rather to the cholesterol your body produces. Even the relationship between cholesterol level and heart disease is not certain. It is certainly reasonable to eat a few eggs a week without worrying about your health. (More information on eggs and cholesterol can be found on the Web site of the Egg Nutrition Center.)

People have also shied away from eggs—or at least raw or undercooked eggs—from fear of eggs infected with salmonella. In fact, the likelihood of getting salmonellosis these days is very small. Only 1 in 20,000 eggs is infected, and if you're eating high-quality and properly handled eggs, the risk is practically nil. If you do get unlucky, for healthy adults the symptoms aren't worse than the stomach flu. Children, the elderly, and people whose immune systems are compromised are at greater risk and probably should not eat undercooked eggs.