Eggs and Cholesterol

            New research # 27

Eggs and Cholesterol have relation between each other. Almost every body in the world ( if they can afford ) eat eggs in the morning with their breakfast. Eggs have many nutrition . Eggs are rich source of vitamins, antioxidants, protein and fat.  Since the previous times, it is heard that the cholesterol found in eggs could lead to cause of heart disease. In this article ” Eggs and Cholesterol ” we will discuss good and bad of eating eggs.

Contents:

• Nutrition in  eggs
• Health benefits of eggs
• White or brown eggs.
• Eggs and cholesterol.
• Eating egg’s whites.

Nutrition in eggs

Eggs are loaded with many nutrition. These are the necessary nutrition a healthy person needs for 24 hours . A whole white  egg weighing around 50 gram has the following nutrition:

• Calories                                      72
• Cholesterol                                 18 mg (62 %)
• Calcium                                          2.8 mg (2 %)
• Caffeine                                          0 gm
• Carbohydrates , Total                 0  gm
• Dietary fiber                                  0  gm
• Iron                                                 0.9 mg ( 5 % )
• Fat, total                                         4.8 mg (8 % )
• Fat , Saturated                               1.6 mg ( 8 % )
• Fat, Polyunsaturated                    1.0 gm
• Fat, Trans                                        0 mg
• Fat – Mono unsaturated                1.8  g
• Protein                                              6.3 g
• Potassium                                         0.9 mg
• Sugar                                                  0.2 mg
• Sodium                                            71.0 mg ( 3 % )
• Vitamin D                                          1.0 mcg ( 5 % )

The % daily value tells you how much a serving of a food contributes to a daily diet

2000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Health benefits of eggs :

Eggs are considered the food of common.

• Eggs are cheaper in price than other foods.
• Eggs are easy to cook or boil.
• Eggs provide a bundle of nutrition to promote health, especially choline (Choline is an essential nutrient that is naturally present in some foods and available as a dietary supplement. Choline is a source of methyl groups needed for many steps in metabolism. The body needs choline to synthesize phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, two major phospholipids vital for cell membranes), selenium and vitamins B.
• It is believed to improve some biomarkers of heart disease. These include inflammatory biomarkers like blood levels of interlukin-6  and C-reactive protein. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein made by the liver. The level of CRP increases when there’s inflammation in the body. A simple blood test can check your C-reactive protein level. A high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) test is more sensitive than a standard C-reactive protein test.
• Support weight loss.; Eggs have high content of lean protein. Lean protein is a source of protein that it low in saturated fat. Because of this, it’s also low in calories, hence it being called ‘lean. ‘ Lean protein is widely recognized as being healthier for our bodies than non-lean protein because it happens to be much lower in saturated fat that can impact our heart health. It gives us a feeling of ‘Fullness” for longer period of time,  and we eat  fewer calories . This will reduce our body weight.Eggs are a super-convenient and versatile lean protein source that is also more affordable than other options. Whip yourself up an egg, and you’ll score about 72 calories, 6 grams of protein, and 5 grams of fat (less than 2 grams of saturated fat), according to the USDA.
• Rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect our body cells from damage caused by free radicals  (( A type of unstable molecule that is made during normal cell metabolism (chemical changes that take place in a cell). Free radicals can build up in cells and cause damage to other molecules, such as DNA, lipids, and proteins. This damage may increase the risk of cancer and other diseases) and associated chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer..

White or brown shell  eggs.

The color of the egg shell does not affect the nutrient content. There is no nutritional difference between a white and a brown  shell egg. The breed of the hen determines the color of her eggs.

Eggs with a brown shell often cost more than those with a white shell because they’re usually laid by a larger breed of hen that requires more food, which makes the eggs more expensive for farmers to produce. But there’s no nutritional, size, or environmental advantage to brown eggs.

Eggs and cholesterol :

There is a wide spread fear  that eating more  eggs can lead to high  cholesterol levels. How true is this ? We will try  to present different opinions about Eggs and Cholesterol in our article.

Eggs are a safe source of nutrition. Eating just eggs does not lead to any heart disease, including high cholesterol level.. In many countries eggs are eaten with Ham. Bacon and sausage. such foods could be  a cause of heart disease, including high cholesterol levels.

Dr. Francisco Lopez- Jimenez, MD , answered the question  about eggs and cholesterol,  saying ;

“Chicken eggs are an affordable source of protein and other nutrients. They’re also naturally high in cholesterol. But the cholesterol in eggs doesn’t seem to raise cholesterol levels the way some other foods, such as those high in trans fats and saturated fats, do. ”

Recent research has rejected the old fear and suggest that the said fear has no medical basis.

Recent observational studies and meta analyses found that eating eggs is not the cause of a risk of heart disease or others like stiffening of the arteries, inflammation and high cholesterol levels. Eggs and Cholesterol subject need more investigation.

One small RTC (In clinical research, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the best way to study the safety and efficacy of new treatments. RCTs are used to answer patient-related questions and are required by governmental regulatory bodies as the basis for approval decisions . A study  was arranged to find the effects of  eggs eating . They divided the participants into two groups;

• Group #1 was given egg-free high carb breakfast.
• Group # 2 was served with 2 eggs , or a 1/2 cup (118 ml) of liquid eggs for breakfast.

At the end of study, researchers found that cholesterol did increase in the egg-breakfast groups. Where as egg free meals group’s cholesterol remain stable.

This result may confuse one’s mind about eggs and cholesterol.

However, HDL-to-LDL ratio — a biomarker commonly used to determine heart disease risk, remained unchanged .

People with diabetes were also tested under RTCs. Their findings show that eating 6 to 12 eggs in a week did not negatively affects total blood cholesterol levels . Their high density lipoprotein ( HDL ) cholesterol was increased. HDL cholesterol is known as ” good cholesterol” . It prevents other types of cholesterol from the blood.

On the other hand, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL)  cholesterol is known as ” bad cholesterol” . It raises risk of heart disease. Pl. read our article “Let us know our cholesterol-Part 1  for more details about eggs and Cholesterol.

Yes or No:

If you like that your cholesterol level should not increase after your meals, do the following :

• Check the amount of total cholesterol in your diet from food without eggs. If the cholesterol is relatively low , you can eat eggs.
• if your diet have higher cholesterol , better you forget to eat eggs for this day.

Use the Nutrition Facts label as a tool for monitoring consumption of cholesterol. The Nutrition Facts label on food and beverage packages shows the amount in milligrams (mg) and the % Daily Value (%DV) of cholesterol per serving of the food.

Medical doctors usually advise that a healthy adult having normal cholesterol levels and not having any significant heart disease risk factor can eat 1 to 2 eggs per day safely.

No doubt , consumption of eggs provide many health  benefits , but there should be a limit. Especially diabetic older people should talk to their medical doctor and ask him/her how many eggs they can eat in a week.

A study found from more than 100,000 U.S. adults that older people eating more than 5-6 eggs in a week had a 30 % increased risk of heart disease. However , it is not sure, the increased risk was due to eggs alone. We should consider that eggs and cholesterol increase have a link between each other.

If some one have high LDL cholesterol levels, . overweight or obesity, a chronic disease like diabetes, or a family history of heart disease, it is advised to him / her not to eat more than  1 egg per day or 4-5 eggs in a week.

Eating egg’s whites.

It is estimated that on average , one large egg contains around 200 mg of cholesterol.  The cholesterol is in egg’s yolk. Some people eat only egg’s whites . In this way they assume since  they are not eating egg’s  yolk, their cholesterol levels will not go up.

Theoretically, it sounds they are on right path. In this way , they are missing iron, vitamin D, carotenoids (Carotenoids are a class of more than 750 naturally occurring pigments synthesized by plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria. These richly colored molecules are the sources of the yellow, orange, and red colors of many plants. Fruit and vegetables provide most of the 40 to 50 carotenoids found in the human diet) and more. It is better not to miss eggs yolk. These  bioactive nutrients found in egg yolk provide many health promoting qualities, like increased HDL cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation and improved metabolic health. Your metabolic health relates to how your body processes things like fats and sugar. It’s based on several different factors, which together affect your risk of disease. It is better, if you can, dig into deep and learn more about eggs and cholesterol.

At present, not much evidence is available to support eating egg’s whites only in healthy individuals.

Eating only egg whites to avoid the cholesterol from the yolk, could only be necessary for individuals who are at a high risk of heart disease.

No doubt , eggs are high in dietary cholesterol, still they might not raise blood cholesterol levels as much as foods high in saturated or trans fats.

If you often have eggs with other cholesterol rich foods like bacon, sausage or butter, it is better to limit your egg intake.

source: healthline.com

last words:

I always pray to All-Mighty Allah to bless every body with success and good health.