Do eggs really cause high cholesterol?

Do eggs really cause high cholesterol?

Eggs are a nutrient-dense food abundant in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein, and fat that are widely consumed. In parts of the world where eggs are inexpensive and widely available, many people eat them on a regular or even daily basis.

You may have heard that the cholesterol in eggs leads to heart disease, which is the leading cause of mortality worldwide.

Many health guidelines and recommendations have relaxed the restrictions on egg intake that were previously in place. Nonetheless, many people are concerned that eggs may be harmful to their heart health.

Your body requires cholesterol to function properly. If you have too much in your blood, though, it may attach to the walls of your arteries, narrowing or clogging them. As a result, you're more likely to develop coronary artery disease and other heart problems.

Cholesterol is made in the liver and serves a number of purposes. It is necessary for the manufacturing of several hormones and helps keep the walls of your cells flexible.

Cholesterol is a waxy molecule that circulates throughout the body. Having too much cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease, even though your body requires cholesterol to build healthy cells.

Cholesterol is connected to proteins and goes through your circulation. Lipoprotein is the name for the protein-cholesterol combination.

(Image Source : Google)

 Is it true that eggs raise cholesterol levels?

Eating eggs does not increase your risk of heart disease or its risk factors, such as inflammation, arterial stiffness, and high cholesterol levels, according to current observational data and meta-analyses.

Similar findings have been reported in a few randomised controlled trials (RCTs), which are the gold standard of scientific research for their capacity to decrease bias. These RCTs, on the other hand, usually have smaller research groups of 20–50 healthy people. In RCTs, eating 6–12 eggs per week showed no effect on total blood cholesterol levels or risk factors for heart disease in persons with diabetes. Rather, it boosted the amount of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in the body.

The beneficial cholesterol is HDL cholesterol. Higher HDL levels are beneficial because it eliminates other types of cholesterol from the blood.

Low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, on the other hand, is generally referred to as "bad" cholesterol because it increases your risk of heart disease.

Of course, what you eat with your eggs is crucial. Saturated fat, such as that found in butter, cheese, bacon, sausage, muffins, or scones, elevates blood cholesterol far more than cholesterol found in eggs. White bread, pastries, home fries, and hash browns include highly refined "bad carbs," which may increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular disorders.

TAKEAWAY

In most cases, high cholesterol is not accompanied by any symptoms. However, if not treated, high cholesterol can lead to serious health problems. The good news is that your doctor can assist you in managing this condition and, in many cases, avoiding complications. Ask your doctor to test your cholesterol levels to see if you have high cholesterol, especially if you are 20 or older.

Set a healthy lifestyle and avoid the risk factors leading to cholesterol deposists

Even 2–7 eggs per week were found to help maintain high HDL cholesterol levels and lower metabolic syndrome risk. Meanwhile, eating two or more eggs every day did not provide the same level of protection.

This is due to the fact that the body and liver create 80 percent of the cholesterol. Diet accounts for only 20% of the total. Please do not discard your egg yolks and only eat the whites. Our liver creates cholesterol in response to dangerous substances that enter our bloodstream, such as sugar, preservatives, refined oils, fried foods, too much rice, wheat, and others.

REFERENCES

• About familial hypercholesterolemia. (2013).
  genome.gov/25520184/learning-about-familial-hypercholesterolemia/
• Causes of high cholesterol (2020).
  heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/causes-of-high-cholesterol

• Cholesterol. (2021).
  cdc.gov/cholesterol/index.htm
• Cholesterol levels. (2020).
  medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/cholesterol-levels/
• Daniels SR, et al. (2012). Expert panel on integrated guidelines for cardiovascular health and risk reduction in children and adolescents: Summary report.
  nhlbi.nih.gov/node/80308
• Association between Dietary Cholesterol and Their Food Sources and Risk for Hypercholesterolemia: The 2012⁻2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Dongjoo Cha , Yongsoon Park
• Egg, yolk, raw, fresh. (2019).
  https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/172184/nutrients
• Goodman B. Are Eggs the Cholesterol Enemy Again? WebMD. Are Eggs the Cholesterol Enemy Again?
• MedicineNet - Health and Medical Information Produced by Doctors
• Read doctor-produced health and medical information written for you to make informed decisions about your health concerns.
• https://www.medicinenet.com/

• Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: Not for patients at risk of vascular diseaseJ David Spence, MD, FRCPC, David JA Jenkins, MD, PhD, FRCP, and Jean Davignon, MD, MSc, FRCPC3
• Egg yolk, source of bad cholesterol and good lipids? Robert S Rosenson and Wen-Liang Song
• Fernandez, M. L. (2016). Eggs and health special issue.
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5188439/