It won't be wrong to say that eggs are one of the healthiest foods on the planet. They are loaded with nutrients, including high-quality proteins, vitamins, minerals, good fats and antioxidants. Numerous studies have shown that eggs are good for heart health. Adding to the growing evidence that eggs are a heart-heathy food, a new study from China has suggested that eating up to one egg per day may help lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Published in eLife, the study revealed that moderate egg consumption can increase the amount of heart-healthy metabolites in the blood.
Earlier, a 2018 study published in the journal Heart also found that Chinese adults who ate eggs daily (about one egg per day) had a substantially lower risk of heart disease and stroke than those who ate eggs less frequently.
Although eggs contain a variety of essential nutrients, they are also a rich source of dietary cholesterol. Whether egg consumption is good or bad for heart is a frequently debated topic among researchers?
A group of researchers from Peking University, Beijing, China, initiated the study to understand the association between egg consumption and the risk of cardiovascular diseases, and the role plasma cholesterol metabolism plays here.
They selected 4,778 participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank, of which 3,401 had a cardiovascular disease. Using a technique called targeted nuclear magnetic resonance, they measured 225 metabolites in plasma samples taken from the participants' blood and identified 24 metabolites that were associated with egg consumption.
Further analyses showed that participants who ate a moderate amount of eggs had higher levels of a protein in their blood called apolipoprotein A1, a building-block of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as 'good lipoprotein'. These individuals also had more large HDL molecules in their blood, which help clear cholesterol from the blood vessels and thus prevent blockages that can lead to heart attacks and stroke.
Additionally, the researchers identified 14 metabolites that are linked to heart disease. Participants who ate fewer eggs had lower levels of beneficial metabolites and higher levels of harmful ones in their blood, compared to those who ate eggs more regularly, they said.
Based on their findings, the team concluded that eating a moderate amount of eggs ( up to one egg per day) can help protect against heart disease.
