Eggs and Cholesterol: What about It?

Eggs provide many essential elements for the proper functioning of the body as they are particularly rich in protein, vitamins and minerals.

Due to their interesting protein (6g/egg) and calorie (70kcal/egg) content, eggs are considered as low-calorie filling allies for your health that can help with weight loss.

In addition, they are an excellent source of choline that is essential for the proper brain development, cell growth and maintenance, bone integrity and nerve function.

Choline also helps synthesize acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in functions such as memory and muscle control.

Because of their high content of vitamins, eggs also protect the eyes (especially due to their content of lutein and zeaxanthin, two carotenoids of the family of vitamin A with antioxidant properties), the immune system (via the action of the selenium, zinc and vitamins B12, A and D), reduce the risk of certain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and depression, and the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Several studies have shown that regular egg consumption is not associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.

On the contrary, eggs have been shown to be linked with a reduction in cardiovascular events.

For example, the risk of haemorrhagic stroke is reduced by 26% in people who eat one egg per day compared to people who do not consume it.

On the other hand, the choline contained in the eggs also helps reduce blood levels of homocysteine ​​that has been linked to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, because of their high cholesterol content (200mg/egg, or nearly 68% of the maximum cholesterol intake recommended daily), eggs have long been held responsible for increasing blood cholesterol.

Eggs and Cholesterol

It is well known, having too much cholesterol in the blood (especially LDL-cholesterol or “bad” cholesterol) increases the risk of developing heart disease.

It has long been believed that cholesterol in food was involved in the occurrence of these diseases by directly influencing the level of cholesterol that circulates in the blood.

However, recent studies show that dietary cholesterol (including that of eggs) is not responsible for the rise in “bad” blood cholesterol, and that it has been wrongly accused for many decades.

On the contrary, it seems that eggs have a positive impact on the type of circulating lipids since they contribute to the increase of “good” cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) without increasing the levels of “bad” cholesterol.

Thus, people with no health problems can eat eggs on a daily basis without any problem.
There is currently no specific recommendation as to how many eggs a healthy person can eat on a daily basis.

However, studies show that eating at least one egg a day is a good addition to a healthy and balanced diet.

The only population that must monitor its intake of dietary cholesterol and thus limit its intake of eggs is that affected by certain specific genetic diseases, such as familial hypercholesterolemia, or patients with diabetes and/or with a history of cardiovascular events.

The Real Culprits…

Those responsible for increasing “bad” blood cholesterol are not dietary cholesterol, but saturated and Trans fatty acids.

They are found mainly in products of animal origin (meat and dairy products) as well as in foods containing hydrogenated fats (commercial pastries, hydrogenated margarine, fried foods, etc.).

You can therefore still enjoy your omelette tomorrow morning at breakfast, although it is high in cholesterol!

References

[1] Canadian Nutrient File (CNF), Health Canada.

[2] Rong Y, Chen L, Liu L, et al. (2013). Egg consumption and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies, British Medical Journal; 346: e8539.

[3] Chenxi Q, Jun L, Liming L, et al. (2018). Associations of egg consumption with cardiovascular disease in a cohort study of 0.5 million Chinese adults, Heart; 104: 1756-1763.

[4] Shin J, Xun P, He K, et al. (2013). Egg consumption in relation to risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 98(1): 146-59.

[5] Blesso C, Andersen C, Fernandez M, et al. (2013). Whole egg consumption improves lipoprotein profiles and insulin sensitivity to a greater extent than yolk-free egg substitute in individuals with metabolic syndrome, Metabolism: clinical and experimental; 62(3): 400-10.

[6] Harman N, Leeds A, & Griffin B. (2008). Increased dietary cholesterol does not increase plasma low density lipoprotein when accompanied by an energy-restricted diet and weight loss, European Journal of Nutrition; 47(6): 287-93.