Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Eggs, cholesterol and heart attacks

Maybe this is from my mom, I love to eat very freshly boiled eggs. Eggs are an affordable major dietary source of cholesterol and high-quality protein. Being bombarded with media about how eating eggs which rich in cholesterol can elevate the concentration of LDL (bad cholesterol), and therefore individual's risks of atherosclerosis and heart attacks, my wife set limit of one egg per week for me.
However, I noticed there are stream of scientific studies suggesting that we may exaggerated the heart risks posed by eggs' cholesterol.
A 1999 study of 38,000 participants from Harvard School of Public Health reported no increased risk of coronary heart disease or stroke in men or women who ate more than one egg per day.
A 2000 study of 27,000 people from Michigan State University found that cholesterol was lower in people who ate more than four eggs per week than among people who eschewed eggs.
The latest study reported earlier this year showed that when people ate three or more eggs per day their bodies made bigger LDL (bad cholesterol) - and HDL-lipoprotein (the good cholesterol) particles than when they ate no eggs. That's important because larger LDLs are less likely than small ones to enter artery walls and contribute their cholesterol load to artery-clogging plaque. (Not all bad cholesterol are bad, that is). Similarly, larger HDLs are more robust than smaller ones at hauling cholesterol out of the bloodstream and, ultimately, out of the body. This finding may help explaining above mentioned 1999 and 2000 experiments.
The authors of the same study also confirmed that lutein and zeaxanthin, which are responsible for much of an egg yolk's color, appear to diminish an individual's risk of macular degeneration (a disease which is the leading cause of blindness in people over age 65). Moreover, lutein appears to inhibit processes that jumpstart the development of atherosclerosis.
For me, I have convinced my wife that I can consume 2 eggs per week, top.

1 comment:

Tom.... said...

I have been eating at least 5 eggs a week for 4 months and have had my best ch. ratio 4.7 in two years....go figure....