It used to be thought that eating cholesterol-rich foods was directly linked to an increase in blood cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease, but it is now accepted that it is the saturated fat in our diet that adversely affects our blood cholesterol levels rather than the dietary cholesterol that we consume. This means that most of the population can eat an egg a day, in combination with a diet low in saturated fat, without adversely affecting their blood cholesterol levels.

Who Says So?

• All major UK health organisations now concur that reducing saturated fat intake is the most important dietary factor in reducing blood cholesterol levels. Eggs are relatively low in saturated fat.
• In March 2006 a paper by A. Lee and B. Griffin was published in The British Nutrition Foundation’s ‘Nutrition Bulletin’ entitled Dietary cholesterol, eggs and coronary heart disease risk in perspective. This paper discussed the evidence that suggests not only do eggs have no clinical impact on coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, as saturated fat affects cholesterol levels rather than dietary cholesterol, they could be seen as helping to facilitate weight loss through increased satiety and hence have an emerging role in combating CHD.
• Research conducted in the USA at the University of Arizona, and published in 1997, has also concluded that saturated fat, not dietary cholesterol, is the major dietary contributor to elevated blood cholesterol for the population at large. The research has called into question the relevance of a recommended ‘ceiling’ on dietary cholesterol and limitations on egg consumption for the general population.
• Research from a large combined study of over 117,000 men and women in the United States has shown that consuming up to one egg a day is unlikely to affect the risk of coronary heart disease in healthy men and women (extract from Hu et al, Journal of the American Medical Association).

More information

Detailed information on eggs and cholesterol can be found at www.nutritionandeggs.co.uk