EGG, CHOLESTEROL AND CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

Abstract

Egg is a rich source of cholesterol and a large egg contains 186 mg. Eggs and redmeat - processed and unprocessed are rich in other nutrients such as choline,iron, carnitine, and added sodium. Additionally, egg contains 5 mg of1 monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. The relationship betweendietary intake of cholesterol rich food items and blood levels of cholesterol hasbeen under discussion for a long time. It has been shown recently in ameticulously conducted clinical study that healthy young men on consumingupto four eggs per day for eight weeks in which daily cholesterol intake ranged from128 to 858 mg resulted in increase in total plasma cholesterol and LDL-C by 1.52 mg/dL for every 100 mg of dietary cholesterol added to the diet. In women, theeffect was greater, with increases in LDL-C of 2.1 mg/dL per 100 mg of dietarycholesterol per day when up to three eggs per day were consumed as dietary3 cholesterol intakes ranging from 108 to 667 mg per day.

Report on Physician Health Study published in 2008 supported that eating an egg a day is generally safe for heart but it did warn21 that going beyond this may affect adversely later in life. Moreover it is important to take another look at the diet andaccompaniments of eggs rich menus like cheese, sausages, white bread or fried local bread (parathas). It may be prudent fordiabetics and cardiac patients who have high cholesterol level and have difficulty in achieving optimal levels to limit9,11,22 consumption of egg yolks to not more than three per week and take extra care of 'trimmings' in their selected food items.Surely eggs may be a better choice than a breakfast rich in sugars and refined grains, but there are other better and viable optionslike oats with nuts and fresh fruits. To conclude, where as eggs may not be the optimal choice but certainly they are not the worstand they fall into the middle of the spectrum. Health conscious people may continue to take eggs but exercise caution in limitingthe intake and emphasizing plant based options when available.