Debunking the Myth: Eggs Are Not Harmful to Cholesterol Levels – New Study Shows

[News Quest = Reporter scientifico Kim Hyeong-geun]Every year around 64 billion kg of eggs are consumed worldwide. This means that approximately 1.2 trillion eggs enter the human stomach. At the same time, more than 50 billion chickens are slaughtered every year.

Eggs are such an incredible source of nutrition that humanity can be said to owe them a great debt. The intake itself is overwhelming and the nutrients are evenly distributed to the point of being called a “superfood”.

It’s easy to cook, has a variety of cooking methods, and most importantly, it’s delicious. Furthermore, because the eggs are produced as unfertilized eggs (eggs that cannot become chicks) unless laid by a hen who mates with a male, they are relatively free from right-to-life issues.

Eggs are such an incredible source of nutrition that humanity can be said to owe them a great debt. The intake itself is overwhelming and the nutrients are evenly distributed to the point of being called a “superfood”. However, at some point, it became a “bad food” and fell out of favor with the people. A recent study found that consuming 12 eggs per week is not associated with increased cholesterol. [사진=iStock free image]

12 per week, experimental results show no increase in cholesterol in patients with cardiovascular disease

Furthermore, since today’s birds, including chickens, are species that evolved from theropod dinosaurs, we can say that we are eating dinosaur eggs, which are the most commonly available eggs.

However, eggs, which were considered the “best nutritious food” along with milk, have since turned into a “harmful food” and lost people’s interest.

One important reason is that many people are becoming hesitant to eat eggs due to concerns about the effects they might have on cholesterol levels and heart health.

However, researchers have recently challenged this notion, suggesting that eating eggs may not have a negative effect on cholesterol levels even in people at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

The ‘PROSPERITY trial’, presented at the annual scientific session of the American College of Cardiology, enrolled 140 patients with or at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

The study sought to evaluate the impact of consuming 12 or more eggs per week compared to an egg-free diet (less than 2 eggs per week) for four months on HDL and LDL cholesterol, as well as other key indicators of cardiovascular health . targeted.

It is a misconception that it is harmful to cardiovascular health.

“Cardiovascular disease is associated with risk factors such as hypertension, high cholesterol, increased BMI, and diabetes,” said Nina Nouhravesh, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, North Carolina and lead author of study. “We know that to some extent this is mediated,” she explained.

“Eating patterns and habits can have a big impact on these diseases. However, there was a lot of conflicting information about whether eggs were safe to eat,” explained Dr. Nouravesh.

“Our study, although small, provides reassurance that even in high-risk groups, eating eggs is fine for four months regarding effects on lipids,” he said.

Eggs are a common and relatively inexpensive nutritional source of dietary protein and cholesterol.

The research team focused specifically on raw, unprocessed eggs, which are low in saturated fat and contain additional vitamins and minerals such as iodine, vitamin D, selenium, vitamins B2, 5 and 12, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Patients in the study were randomly assigned to eat 12 eggs (cooked or raw) per week or fewer than two.

The myth that “egg yolks are bad for you” was created because unhealthy cheeseburgers and sausages are cooked with egg yolks. There is no evidence anywhere that the yolk is harmful to the body. [사진=픽사베이]

​​​​​​​The idea that egg yolks are bad is because they are cooked in cheeseburgers, sausages, etc.

The participants were over 50 years old and half were women. Of these, 27% were black.

All patients had had a previous cardiovascular event or had two cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, increased BMI or diabetes.

Test results 4 months later showed no adverse effects on cholesterol levels. As the primary endpoint, the research team focused on levels of LDL “bad cholesterol” and HDL “good cholesterol,” which are known to be harmful to cardiovascular health.

Secondary endpoints included lipids, cardiac metabolism, inflammatory biomarkers, and vitamin and mineral levels.

The evaluation results showed that HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol decreased by 0.64 mg/dL and 3.14 mg/dL, respectively. In other words, bad cholesterol has actually decreased.

Although this difference was not statistically significant, the researchers suggested that consuming 12 eggs per week did not have a negative effect on blood cholesterol.

The study also found numerical decreases in total cholesterol, LDL particle count, apoB (another lipid biomarker), high-sensitivity troponin (a marker of heart damage), and insulin resistance score, while Vitamin B levels are increased.

So why have eggs gotten a bad rap? Some confusion arises from the fact that egg yolks contain cholesterol.

However, experts on the research team suggested that the problem was not the yolk, but the fact that eggs were often eaten with foods that were not good for heart health, such as buttered toast, bacon and other processed meats.

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