Just 1 Egg a Day Does Not Increase Heart Disease Risk

Highlights:

Eggs may not affect your heart health, but how many eggs you eat matters
Moderate egg intake (i.e., one or fewer eggs per day) does not increase the risk of heart disease

Eating one meal a day may not pose a huge threat to your heart health. A new study suggests that moderate egg intake (i.e., one or fewer eggs per day) does not increase heart disease risk. The findings of the study are published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.//

The controversy about whether eggs are good or bad for your heart health may be solved, and about one a day is fine.

Are Eggs Good For Your Heart?
Increased egg consumption boosts heart disease risk due to high cholesterol content in egg yolk. Latest US dietary guidelines that allow unlimited egg consumption may need re-evaluation, says study.

‘Does eating eggs increase my risk of heart disease? Moderate egg intake, i.e., eating one egg per day in most people, does not increase the risk of heart disease or death even if people have a history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes.’
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Details of the Study

A team of researchers from the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences found the answer by analyzing data from three large, long-term multinational studies.

Findings of the Study

Eating Eggs Not Associated with Cardiovascular Risk
The link between egg consumption and related cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure were assessed. Eating eggs did not raise the cardiovascular risk factors in patients with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

The results suggest there is no harm from consuming eggs. Given that the majority of individuals in the study consumed one or fewer eggs per day, it would be safe to consume this level, says Mahshid Dehghan, first author and a PHRI investigator.

Does Eating Eggs Increase Heart Disease Risk?

Watch Out: Eating More Than 2 Eggs a Day is Bad for Your Heart
Is eating 2 eggs a day too much? Yes, eating more than two eggs or three egg omelets daily can put you at a higher risk of death and developing heart diseases due to its high cholesterol content.

"Moderate egg intake, which is about one egg per day in most people, does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease or mortality even if people have a history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes," she said.

"Also, no association was found between egg intake and blood cholesterol, its components or other risk factors. These results are robust and widely applicable to both healthy individuals and those with vascular disease."

Daily Intake of Egg Reduces Stroke Risk by 12 Percent
Eggs are nutrient-dense food that contains proteins, vitamins, and minerals. A new meta-analysis showed that daily egg intake could reduce stroke risk by 12 percent.

Although eggs are an inexpensive source of essential nutrients, some guidelines have recommended limiting consumption to fewer than three eggs a week due to concerns they increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Previous studies on egg consumption and diseases have been contradictory, said Salim Yusuf, principal investigator of the study and director of PHRI.

"This is because most of these studies were relatively small or moderate in size and did not include individuals from a large number of countries," he said.

The research team analyzed three international studies conducted by the PHRI. Egg consumption of 146,011 individuals from 21 countries was recorded in the PURE study and in 31,544 patients with vascular disease from the ONTARGET and the TRANSEND studies.

The data from these three studies involved populations from 50 countries spanning six continents at different income levels, so the results are widely applicable, said Yusuf.

Eggs are a rich source of vital nutrients, but they are also a source of dietary cholesterol. Therefore, some guidelines recommend limiting egg consumption to fewer than three eggs a week.

However, there is contradictory evidence on the impact of eggs on diseases, based mainly on studies conducted in high-income countries.

Reference:

Association of egg intake with blood lipids, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in 177,000 people in 50 countries - (https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqz348)

Source-Eurekalert