Eggs and heart disease have long been a topic in health discussions. This article explores the truths and falsehoods surrounding the impact of eggs on heart health. By examining studies, we aim to reveal the reality behind the role of eggs in promoting well-being, dispelling myths, and offering science-backed perspectives on their place in a diet that supports heart health.
Eggs and heart disease: separating myths from facts. Explore the impact of eggs on heart health in this insightful analysis.
For decades, the humble egg has been at the center of a heated debate, leaving us with more questions than answers. Are eggs good or bad for your heart? Do they raise cholesterol levels? Should we avoid them completely? 🍳
In today’s post, we’ll crack open the truth about eggs and heart disease, ending this long-standing controversy. 🥚 We’ll sift through the science, delve into critical studies, and separate fact from fiction surrounding this much-maligned food. In doing so, we’ll also highlight potential issues associated with egg consumption and share tips on how to sidestep them.
So, buckle up and join us as we embark on an egg-citing journey to empower you with the knowledge you need to make informed decisions for your heart and overall well-being. 🙂
Ancel Keys – photo credit:https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NPG-78T1018A_1
In 1961, Ancel Keys introduced the idea that saturated fats and dietary cholesterol were the primary culprits behind heart disease. This notion quickly became the dominant message despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
Today, the conversation has evolved, with many doctors and scientists now questioning whether cholesterol and saturated fats are indeed the true causes of heart disease.
For instance, in the famous 2004 Rotterdam study, researchers found lower rates of heart disease in participants who consumed higher amounts of eggs, cheese, butter, and liver. These foods, traditionally labeled as bad cholesterol foods, have been shown to reduce calcification in the heart potentially.
Likewise, we have the French paradox: a whole population of people who regularly eat butter and high-fat cheese yet have low levels of heart disease. Statistically, only 50% of heart attack victims have elevated cholesterol levels, which implies that the other 50% are within the recommended range, yet they are still having heart attacks.
Interestingly, some evidence suggests that those with higher cholesterol might live longer.
For instance, a 1992 study by American scientists found that low cholesterol was predictive of increased mortality from gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. The same research continued to monitor over 100,000 healthy individuals for 15 years, observing that those with low cholesterol were hospitalized more frequently due to infectious diseases.
Similarly, a 2007 meta-analysis of 23 studies published in the BMJ found that patients with low concentrations of LDL cholesterol lowered as a result of taking statins are at significantly higher risk of being diagnosed as having cancer compared with patients with higher concentrations of cholesterol. This emphasizes that maintaining low cholesterol isn’t necessarily the best approach, and there’s more to it than that.
While cholesterol may not be inherently harmful, problems arise when it becomes damaged or oxidized.
Oxidation occurs when cholesterol particles are exposed to free radicals, which are unstable molecules that damage cells and tissues within the body. These occur through things like smoking, toxic foods, and other factors.
When cholesterol particles become oxidized, they disrupt cellular function and integrity, triggering inflammation and contributing to various diseases. Oxidized particles are more likely to accumulate and damage artery walls, forming plaque deposits that cause the arteries to narrow and become less flexible, ultimately leading to a condition known as atherosclerosis. The point is that rather than just looking at cholesterol levels, we want to look at cholesterol quality.
But what about eggs specifically?
One trial published in the Journal of Nutrition found that eating three eggs per day actually improved the quality of cholesterol in overweight subjects. The researchers recruited 28 overweight or obese men who all followed a carbohydrate diet, while 50% of them also ate three eggs daily.
Both groups reduced their risk of metabolic syndrome due to the carbohydrate restriction. However, the egg group also increased their levels of HDL cholesterol, widely known as good cholesterol.
HDL’s role is to transport excess cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver for processing and removal from the body, keeping the whole system working in harmony.
So you might be asking:
What makes eggs so good? And are there any caveats?
Eggs are a complete food because they boast a comprehensive nutrient profile, providing a wide range of essential vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients.
One of their most notable benefits is their high-quality protein content, which includes all nine essential amino acids. These amino acids are crucial for various functions such as muscle growth, tissue repair, and immune function.
The complete protein in eggs provides a valuable energy source and supports the synthesis of hormones and enzymes.
Eggs are also an excellent source of healthy fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are vital for brain function, hormone production, and the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. Moreover, eggs contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are well known to suppress inflammation, aid brain function, and reduce the risk of heart disease.
They’re also rich in vitamins A, D, E, K and B, which contribute to healthy vision, strong bones, and proper nerve function, as well as a good dose of minerals such as iron, zinc, and selenium, which are crucial for red blood cell production and immune health.
This is an extremely rich nutrient profile for a single food and as if that wasn’t impressive enough, eggs are one of the best natural sources of choline, vital for cell membrane formation. It’s especially important during pregnancy, as it supports fetal brain development and may help prevent neural tube defects.
In later life, choline deficiency is associated with a number of problems, including fatty liver disease, kidney and pancreas issues, muscle deterioration, elevated homocysteine levels, and an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Therefore, eating eggs is a good way to get enough choline and avoid deficiency.
Furthermore, special antioxidants in eggs such as lutein and Zeaxanthin promote eye health by protecting against macular degeneration and cataracts.
Finally, eggs have a low glycemic index, meaning they do not cause a spike in blood sugar levels, which is important for keeping diabetes at bay and supporting heart health.
Okay, that’s the benefit of eggs. Next, let’s discuss the points of caution.
When choosing what to eat, it’s important to consider the type of food and how it was produced.
For instance, eggs from pasture-raised and free-range hens are higher in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin E, and other essential nutrients than eggs from caged hens. This is because pasture-raised hens can roam freely, forage for a diverse range of food, and engage in natural behaviors.
In contrast, caged hens are typically confined to small spaces, unable to move, and solely eat commercial chicken feed. Imagine a human locked in a cage, unable to eat real food, walk, and exercise. That’s not going to produce healthy offspring. In the pasture-raised hen all of this contributes to better egg quality and greater benefits when we eat them.
Now, you might be asking:
Does it really make that much of a difference?
The answer is yes. In 2019, researchers examined how people’s bodies respond to food from animals raised under different conditions.
The study showed that eating the same types of food like eggs, cheese, beef, and butter from animals raised differently led to significant differences in important human health markers, including levels of conjugated linoleic acid, omega-3 fatty acids, and inflammatory factors.
In other words, inflammatory markers may increase if you eat a caged egg with very little omega-3. On the other hand, pasture-raised eggs, which are rich in omega 3, may actually reduce inflammatory markers.
Researchers concluded that how the animals are raised leads to significantly better health effects in humans who consume their products.
All of this highlights the fact that it’s not a question of “Are eggs good or bad?” The question is “are you buying quality eggs?” So the beautiful thing is that the simple choice of buying pasture-raised and free-range eggs can tip the odds in your favor.
Similar trends can be found in many foods. Let me explain…
Grass-fed beef is known to have higher levels of healthy fats and lower levels of inflammation-causing compounds compared to grain or soy-fed beef. Likewise, wild-caught fish tend to be healthier than farmed fish, which are often treated with antibiotics and raised in crowded conditions.
The different diets and living environments result in wild-caught fish having a better nutrient profile and fewer potential health risks.
And in a groundbreaking 2021 analysis, scientists zoomed in. They identified that grass-fed milk contained significantly higher concentrations of micronutrients such as terpenoids, phenols, carotenoids, and tocopherols than grain-fed milk.
These nutrients are known for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, and anticarcinogenic properties, further supporting the idea that the way animals are raised directly impacts the nutritional content of their products.
So it’s an important part of the discussion to consider how your food was grown, what nutrients or chemicals it received, whether the animal was full of inflammation and stress hormones, and, in turn, what’s really going into your body when you eat that food.
A simple rule of thumb is to ask: Was this food grown naturally?
The final and potentially most important part of the conversation is cooking oils.
When cooking, the oil you use makes a huge difference. Avoiding vegetable oils is crucial, as they easily go rancid and oxidize, damaging cholesterol and contributing to disease. Oils go rancid when they’re exposed to heat, light, or air, leading to the formation of free radicals and other harmful compounds.
Just as rust can eat away at a car’s metal, causing it to weaken and become less functional over time, oxidation in many popular oils can cause the oil to break down and become toxic.
This is particularly true for polyunsaturated oils, which are more prone to oxidation due to their chemical structure, leading to inflammation and increasing the risk of chronic diseases. These include soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and cottonseed oil.
To minimize oxidation, cooking your eggs with methods that don’t require oils, such as poaching or boiling is recommended. Alternatively, you can use heat-stable oils like coconut oil, which is more oxidation-resistant.
Coconut oil can withstand high heat without breaking down or giving off toxic byproducts, making it a healthy, stable oil. Plus, coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides, which are metabolized differently in the body and have a number of benefits.
So to wrap up, the long-held belief that eggs are bad for heart health has been well and truly challenged by solid research. Studies show that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat are not the true causes of heart disease, oxidation and inflammation are the true concerns, and that eggs can be safe.
They are nutrient-dense, rich in high-quality protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, all contributing to overall well-being. However, it’s essential to choose pasteurized and free-range meat.
TIP! 👍
When cooking eggs, opt for methods that don’t require oil. Otherwise, use stable oils like coconut oil.
And with that being said, we hope you have a happy and healthy day!
Key Takeaways!
– Eating three eggs per day improved cholesterol quality in overweight subjects. Eggs boast a comprehensive nutrient profile, providing a wide range of essential vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. Some evidence even suggests that those with higher cholesterol might actually live longer.
– Pasture raised and free range hens produce eggs higher in omega three fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin E and other essential nutrients than caged hens. The way animals are raised has a direct impact on the nutritional content of their products. It’s not a question of are eggs good versus our eggs bad, the question is are you buying quality eggs?
– It’s crucial to avoid vegetable oils as they easily go rancid and oxidize, damaging cholesterol and contributing to disease. When cooking eggs, opt for methods that don’t require oils. Otherwise, use stable oils like coconut oil.
