When I was a child, my family lived in fear of the demon Cholesterol. That’s because my dad was over-counting and needed to follow a low-cholesterol diet, and for some reason (possibly my mom’s desire to cook just one dinner a night), we all had to do that too. The centerpiece of a low cholesterol diet was the fear of eggs. Specifically, egg yolks, which we found to be small yellow cholesterol bombs. We learned how to separate the whites and shuffle the Egg Beaters. Then, one day, whole eggs were declared ok again and my dad even learned how to easily turn them over so he could eat them for breakfast every morning.
But apparently, are the eggs bad again? “Now”, CNN reports, “A new study of over 500,000 people found that eating even a portion of a whole egg – with its yellow yolk loaded with cholesterol [sic] – increases the risk of dying from all causes, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. In fact, the overall risk of death increased by 7% for every half an egg eaten per day, according to the study published Tuesday in PLOS Medicine. “
This directly contradicts a Harvard study last year, which found that eating an egg a day no increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
So, what gives? Can we eat eggs without dying or what? CNN spoke to several experts who pointed out that the study only asked about egg consumption, without taking into account the rest of the participants’ diets. Saturated fats have a much greater effect on LDL (low density lipoproteins) in the blood – also known as Bad Cholesterol – than foods that actually contain cholesterol, such as eggs.
“If someone substitutes eggs for donuts, other refined starches, and sugar or saturated fats, I prefer that they eat eggs,” Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School , he told CNN. “But for someone who really wants to be in great health, putting the emphasis on protein sources of plant origin, like oats and nuts cut into steel, would be the best way to go.”
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THE PLOS The study also said that replacing whole eggs with egg whites reduced the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 3%, but CNN experts remained in doubt.
Riyaz Patel, a consulting cardiologist at University College London, felt that there was not enough evidence in the study to justify the recommendation to eat egg white. “I don’t think this study changes the general advice that, for most people, eggs can be eaten in moderation as part of a balanced diet, unless they have been advised not to do so for a specific medical or food reason. “, he said.