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Since the dawn of the ‘lower your cholesterol’ era, this has been an ongoing debate - How many whole eggs can you consume in a week?  Eggs have always gotten a bad rap when it comes to blood cholesterol levels and heart disease. Its time to bury the hatchet on this issue and find out an answer!
Eggs are a great source of rich, high quality protein.  In addition, they contain a plethora of nutrients like Vitamin A, B1, B12, D and E as well as zinc, iron, phosphorus and folate.  However, the yellow yolk within eggs contains 250-300mg of cholesterol (depending on egg size).  The National Heart Foundation prescribes a daily intake of no more than 300mg of cholesterol a day.  To bring you some perspective on this number, a cup of whole milk contains 30mg of cholesterol, a 100g serving of ground beef has 85g of cholesterol.  Thus, just one whole egg puts you at or atleast close to the recommended daily cholesterol intake.
 
But here is the deal:

  1. We as individuals react differently to certain foods.  Individuals with existingly high cholesterol levels are more likely to realize an elevation in cholesterol levels from eggs (or other high cholesterol foods) than individuals with lower healthy cholesterol levels

  2. Your diet plays an important factor in your cholesterol level.  A diet comprising of high saturated fat is one to see an elevation in cholesterol levels from excessive egg consumption than a diet that is low in saturated fat. 

What this means

If you are an individual with a healthy cholesterol level (<5mmol/l) and one that maintains a well balanced diet  that is low in saturated fat and were to have an egg or two daily, you should be alright, and your cholesterol levels would continue to be within the acceptable range.

However, if your diet comprises of high intake of saturated fats (butter, meat, dairy), you could realize higher cholesterol levels because your overall quantity of fat would be higher than your overall cholesterol consumption.  This is because saturated fat can be easily converted into cholesterol in the body (given existing high cholesterol levels).

Let me remind you that the yolk in an egg only contains 1.5g of saturated fat.  Thus, it would not necessarily fall under high ‘fatty foods’.

To further prove this, take a moment to look at the mortality rates from heart disease and diseases induced by high cholesterol levels in Japan and France.  Both countries contain a high egg-eating population and compared to other developed nations their mortality rates are low. 

Studies have been performed where there was no significant correlation between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease among healthy individuals free of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia or cancer

So how many eggs a week?

Check you cholesterol level:
  • If you’re cholesterol is within healthy levels (<5mmol/l) and maintain a well balanced diet, you can have 1-2 eggs daily.

  • If you suffer from diabetes and/or are at risk of cardiovascular disease (smoking, hypertension etc.) and have a cholesterol level higher than 7mmol/l, limit your intake to 1-2 eggs a week.
 


Comments

Dolly Sandhu

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:33:08

My brother and father eat atleast 2 eggs a day. They do not have high cholesterol. Thanks, If I hadn't read this, I wouldn't have considered decreasing my father's intake of eggs! :) You are always so very helpful!

 

Max Letni

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:39:27

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+Max Letni

p.s. remember to never give up and think positive

 



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