Contents
- 1 Egg cholesterol
- 1.1 Are eggs foods very high in cholesterol?
- 1.2 Scientific studies on eggs and cholesterol
- 1.3 Can people with high cholesterol eat eggs?
- 1.4 How many eggs can people with high cholesterol eat?
- 1.5 What other parts of the egg can we eat without raising cholesterol?
- 1.6 Nutritional properties of eggs
- 1.7 Eggs and cardiovascular health
Egg cholesterol
Are eggs foods very high in cholesterol?
Eggs are one of the foods richest in cholesterol known. Eating this food has been considered dangerous and unsuitable for people with high levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL).
Scientific studies on eggs and cholesterol
However, recent studies have shown that, except in very acute cases, egg consumption does not necessarily have to be completely eliminated in people with high cholesterol.
There is clearly some controversy regarding its cholesterol content. It is true that it contains cholesterol, but it also contains lecithin and phosphatidylcholine, which prevent most of its absorption.
Furthermore, there are currently several studies in which volunteers of all ages tried eating one egg a day for a month, or 60 days, and then measuring their cholesterol levels. In all cases, it was shown that eggs are not responsible for raising cholesterol levels.
Can people with high cholesterol eat eggs?
In people with high cholesterol, each case should be analyzed individually, although, if consumed in moderation, there should be no increases in blood cholesterol.
How many eggs can people with high cholesterol eat?
If eating whole eggs, people with high cholesterol should not eat more than two or three eggs per week. Eating two or three eggs per week should not cause any increase in “bad” cholesterol (LDL).
If you only eat the egg whites, you can eat them daily because they do not contain cholesterol.
What other parts of the egg can we eat without raising cholesterol?
If we are predisposed to high cholesterol levels, as mentioned, we can also not consume egg yolk and eat only the white, if necessary. We must bear in mind that egg white is pure protein and does not contain any cholesterol.
Nutritional properties of eggs
Egg whites can provide the proteins necessary for our body, potassium and riboflavin. Although we must bear in mind that, if we do not consume the yolk, we will not ingest the unsaturated fats as well as the fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins that it provides us.
Another possibility is to eat eggs with omega 3, which have the effect of decreasing cholesterol absorption.
Eggs and cardiovascular health
Therefore, it is recommended that, before eliminating any food from the usual diet, including eggs, we must consider whether there are other modifiable external factors that may cause harmful effects on health.
This include, for example, leading a sedentary life and not doing physical exercise, following an unhealthy diet, or, obviously, unhealthy habits such as excessive alcohol consumption or smoking. All of them are responsible for the increase in cholesterol.
More information on eggs
