EGGS are high in protein but they are even higher in cholesterol so logically, they must be bad for your heart.
Is this true?
Verdict:
FALSE
While eggs may be high in cholesterol, this does not make them necessarily bad for your heart.
Firstly, several studies have shown that dietary cholesterol, meaning cholesterol that you eat, doesn't seem to play a direct role in increasing your blood cholesterol levels. Instead, your genetic make-up seems to be the driving force behind cholesterol levels.
About 80% to 85% of the cholesterol in your body is actually made in your liver and is not coming directly from your diet, so what you eat does not impact your levels as much as previously thought.
What appears to really impact your cholesterol levels seems to be food high in trans fats such as processed fried foods, margarines, processed meats and some cooking oils.
What to look out for: anything containing hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Eggs do not naturally have trans fats.
Getting back to eggs – while high in cholesterol, they are also high in many beneficial bioactive compounds and disease-fighting nutrients.
Furthermore, studies have shown that while eggs do seem to have high levels of cholesterol, a lot of it is high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol compared to low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
LDL is the "bad" type of cholesterol as it contributes to plaque build-up in your arteries, in other words, heart disease. HDL on the other hand discourages plaque build-up.
Food high in trans fats has been shown to not only increase LDL levels in the body, but decrease HDL levels as well.
So the bottom line is: eggs are good for you, both the white and the yolk, and studies seem to indicate that having eggs in your diet actually decreases your chances of getting heart disease.
Saying that, the relationship between cholesterol and the body is extremely complicated.
There are individuals who should be wary about consuming too much cholesterol such as those who already have or are at high risk of heart disease, or people with diabetes.
If you fall into one of those categories, it's best to talk to your doctor about your diet before making any changes.
Also, as with everything else in life, moderation is king. Having an egg a day should be OK health-wise, eating a whole carton in one go, maybe not so much.
References:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
3. https://www.health.harvard.
4. https://www.health.harvard.
5. https://www.mayoclinic.org/
6. https://health.
