Eatsajoy Editorial Team

Jun 9, 20236 min read

Fit As You Eat: How Many Eggs Is Too Many To Eat?

Updated: Sep 5, 2023

The question of "how many eggs can we eat per day or week?" has been at the centre of a debate for years, as eggs are high in cholesterol. However, recent research has suggested that consuming eggs does not substantively increase blood cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. Does that mean that we can eat as many eggs as we desire?

Eggs — one of the foods I can't live without. And I'm sure that goes for many of you out there as well. As much as eggs are delicious and packed with nutrients, they also come with high cholesterol content.

To be specific, each egg contains about 200mg of cholesterol — and that's already two-thirds of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's previously recommended maximum daily intake of dietary cholesterol of 300mg stated in the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans published in December 2015.

But all that changed with a review of studies published in June 2018, which found that "extensive research did not show evidence to support a role of dietary cholesterol in the development of cardiovascular disease".

In fact, most of the cholesterol in our body is made by our liver and does not come from the cholesterol that we consume. That means that the amount of cholesterol that we consume from our diet does not have a significant influence on our blood cholesterol levels.

The reason: our body regulates the cholesterol in our blood by controlling its production. For most of us, when our dietary intake of cholesterol goes down, our body automatically makes more of it; and when we consume more cholesterol, our body makes less of it.

Cholesterol isn't really your enemy

Cholesterol is a lipid that's present in our bloodstream and body cells, and it is key to the healthy functioning of our body. We actually need cholesterol to generate cell membranes, hormones, and Vitamin D, as well as fat-dissolving bile acids in our body, and to help our body absorb vitamins.

However, when people are talking about cholesterol levels in regard to heart health, they aren't actually referring to the cholesterol itself but the "lipoproteins". “Lipoproteins” are proteins on which cholesterol travels through the blood, and there are two types of lipoproteins, commonly understood as the "good cholesterol" (high-density lipoprotein or "HDL") and "bad cholesterol" (low-density lipoprotein or "LDL"). High levels of the former in the blood can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, while high levels of the latter would have a reverse effect on your health.

So, what leads to high levels of bad cholesterol in our body?

Research has shown that regular consumption of saturated fat and trans fat from foods like fatty meats, red meats, processed meats, full-fat dairy products, bakery items, and fast foods (especially the deep-fried ones!) would lead to high levels of bad cholesterol in our body. Other risk factors include obesity, smoking, and lack of exercise.

Conversely, regular physical activity, losing some weight, consuming more monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats in our diet (from plants, nuts, and fish), moderate alcohol consumption (yes, you read it right!), as well as not smoking can help to raise the levels of good cholesterol in our body.

So the game plan would be for you to choose healthier dietary and lifestyle options to decrease the levels of LDL and increase the levels of HDL in your body. And if we make the right choices, cholesterol can be a friend, not an enemy.

So does it matter if eggs are high in cholesterol?

Eggs with the egg yolks are indeed high in cholesterol (egg whites actually contains zero cholesterol) and comes with saturated fats. But research shows that the cholesterol in eggs does not have a negative impact on blood cholesterol, compared to other sources of cholesterol — and this is on top of the fact that dietary cholesterol has little influence on blood cholesterol levels.

In addition, dietary cholesterol from ingesting eggs has been shown to promote the formation of large LDL particles which are less detrimental to our health, while at the same time, produce HDL particles which oppose the harmful small and dense LDL particles. Furthermore, large-scale studies conducted in the U.S. have also consistently shown that consuming eggs does not increase the risk of heart disease.

In fact, eggs are an incredibly nutritious whole food that's high in protein and low in fat and calories, which you should eat as part of a healthy diet. Among others, they contain some very important nutrients such as the following, which help the normal functioning of our body:

- Lutein and zeaxanthin;

- Choline;

- Folate;

- Selenium;

- Iron;

- Magnesium;

- Zinc;

- Vitamin A, B6, B12, D2, D3, E, and K.

Additionally, each large hard-boiled egg without condiments contains 6.3g of protein (2.7g in the egg yolk; 3.6g in the egg white), with only 4.5g of fat, of which a mere 1.5g are saturated fats. And each of them only contains 72 calories.

What you eat with your eggs matters more

While dietary cholesterol has a limited impact on blood cholesterol levels, saturated fats and trans fat, among others, have been identified as the key risk factors that will lead to higher levels of blood cholesterol and triglycerides.

In fact, the common suspects in a hearty English or American breakfast, which typically comes with fried sausages and bacon, would be a recipe for disaster if you're trying to control your blood cholesterol levels. That's because in every 100g of sausages, there are 9.2g of saturated fats; and for every 100g of bacon, there are 12.6g of saturated fats. These compare with only 3.3g of saturated fats in every 100g of eggs.

Fast-food that are served deep-fried are also a case in point, as they are high in trans fat. And if you love your char kway teow as many other Singaporeans do, know that even though the eggs in it won't negatively impact your blood cholesterol levels, the saturated fats in it — whether it's lard or palm oil — will, for sure.

So, it's important to know how you can have your egg and eat it too. And by that, I mean that you'll have to avoid foods with high saturated fats and trans fat as you eat your eggs, and choose monounsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fats instead.

Your health condition decides how many eggs you can eat

Multiple studies and research have been conducted over the years to find out how many eggs exactly can a person consume safely in a day. But the reality is, there is no magical number or hard-and-fast rules, simply because different people have different health conditions.

However, there seems to be a general consensus that for most healthy people, having an egg or two a day will not have a significant impact on blood cholesterol levels. But if you're suffering from familial hypercholesterolaemia, or have contracted a chronic disease such as hypertension, or, if you're obese or overweight, you probably should not consume as many eggs.

In addition, you can also choose to consume eggs that are enriched by Omega-3 fatty acids, which may help to lower the risks of cardiovascular disease and reduce the risk of blood clots, as these fatty acids help to prevent blood platelets from clumping together.

So to have your egg and eat it too:

1. Choose to eat the number of eggs according to your state of health;

2. Choose more healthful eggs like Omega-3 enriched eggs; and

3. Pair your eggs with healthier foods that contain fats like monounsaturated fats or polyunsaturated fats.

That way, you will not only be able to enjoy the delicious flavours of eggs in ways more than one, but also the entire range of nutrients that they provide!

References:

Fit As You Eat: How Many Eggs Is Too Many To Eat?

Cholesterol isn't really your enemy

So does it matter if eggs are high in cholesterol?

What you eat with your eggs matters more

Your health condition decides how many eggs you can eat

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