About a year ago, we reported that Eggs had been at least partly exonerated by Australian researchers as ‘unhealthy’ due to their cholesterol content. Then, this past March, a new study by a different team of researchers from the US showed that was not the case after all. Now, a new study suggests Eggs are okay in moderation…
Country Style Scrambled Eggs: Okay once a week or so…
Just don’t exceed 7 Eggs per week, total.
The first study, by a team at the University of Sydney (Australia) showed, “[neither] a high-Egg (12 eggs per week) or low-Egg (less than two eggs per week) diet, [produced any] difference in cardiovascular risk markers identified at the end of three months.” In fact, that result remained steady, even after a full year.
Then researchers at Northwestern University released study results indicating that Egg consumption did make a difference in heart health risk. study Co-author Dr. Norrina Allen said, “We found cholesterol, regardless of the source, was associated with an increased risk of heart disease.”
So… who are we to believe?
Enter, the Finnish team…
Now, a group of researchers from the University of Eastern Finland says, “a moderately high intake of dietary cholesterol [equal to] consumption of up to one egg per day is not associated with an elevated risk of stroke.”
It’s all about cholesterol
Whether we’re talking heart disease or stroke, it’s all about cholesterol, which causes a buildup of plaque in the arteries that feed either the heart or the brain, as the case may be.
The question is, does the cholesterol in Eggs contribute to raising the risk of this condition? The answer seems to be a qualified ‘yes’.
What they did
The Finns data-mined the results of the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD), conducted at the University of Eastern Finland between 1984 and 1989, and followed up 21 years later. Of the 1,950 male subjects aged between 42 and 60 years with no baseline diagnosis of a cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study, 217 has suffered a stroke by the date of the follow-up.
What they found
The study found that neither dietary cholesterol nor, specifically, Egg consumption was associated with a higher risk of stroke, even among those genetically predisposed to developing arterial disease.
The takeaway
Researchers cautiously allow that consumption of one Egg per day (accounting for about 200 mg of cholesterol) is safe.
My take
The accepted safe blood cholesterol level for adults, according to The American Heart Association (AHA), is 200 mg/dL, but studies over the past decade or so show no correlation between dietary cholesterol levels and blood cholesterol, so don’t let that worry you. It’s a matter of how your metabolism processes the cholesterol you consume and how much gets into your bloodstream, and we’re all different. A lab test is the only way to know what your cholesterol level actually is.
If the AHA says, as it now does, that there is no hard and fast daily limit for dietary cholesterol intake, that’s fine with me. But I’ll also continue follow their guideline that recommends limiting our overall intake of Saturated Fats, from all sources. It’s just common sense…
~ Maggie J.