Eggs might help your heart, not harm it

In the journals

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Two recent studies have found that eggs do not raise the risk of heart disease, and in fact may even protect against it.

The first study, published online May 7, 2018, by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at how egg consumption affected 128 people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes; both conditions put people at a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. For three months, half of the participants ate 12 eggs a week, while the other half ate two eggs or fewer per week. Everyone also followed the same weight-loss diet that avoided saturated fats like butter and included healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like avocado and olive oils.

At the six-month follow-up, both groups saw no significant difference in their cardiovascular risk factors, such as high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The average weight loss between the groups was also the same.

In the other study, published online May 21, 2018, by Heart, researchers examined the eating habits of 416,000 people, average age 50, who were free from heart disease and diabetes, and then kept track of their health for nine years. The researchers found that the study subjects who routinely ate eggs had a lower risk of death from stroke and heart disease compared with those who did not eat eggs.

Specifically, those who ate an average of one egg per day had a 28% lower risk of death from stroke and an 18% lower risk of death from heart disease. The researchers suggested that one explanation might be the fact that eggs contain heart-healthy nutrients, such as folate and omega-3 fatty acids.