Study warns of high cholesterol and egg consumption to heart diseases

A recent study has warned against a high consumption of eggs and dietary cholesterol can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death. The new finding is expected to resurface the debate on heart health and eggs. The study has contradicted the decision in the United States that omit the specific limits in everyday intakes of dietary cholesterol and eggs from the official advice on healthful eating.

Data was analysed by researchers from NorthWestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL and other institutions from six U.S cohort studies that covered a total of 29,615 people. Out of those 45 percent were male and 31 percent were black. Eating patterns were compared at baseline when the average participant age was 52 years. Cardiovascular diseases and deaths that occurred during a follow-up that lasted up to 31 years and whose midpoint was 17 years were also taken in to consideration.

The findings were described by the team in a JAMA paper. Norrina B. Allen Ph.D, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern and also a co-corresponding study author has said that the study is really about cholesterol which happens to be high in eggs and specifically in the yolks. Allen added, “People who consume less cholesterol have a lower risk of heart disease”. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US.

For decades there has been a debate if consumption of eggs or dietary cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease and early death. It was an official recommendation in the US before 2015 that people should limit their everyday egg consumption to no more than 300 mg which is less than two large eggs. The most recent guidelines no longer provide limits on dietary cholesterol and egg intake and include weekly intake of eggs as a part of a healthful diet.

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