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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, and elevated LDL ("bad") cholesterol is a prime risk factor for cardiovascular trouble. And while eggs are rich in cholesterol -- and circulating cholesterol is related to the risk of cardiovascular disease -- the relationship between dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol is complex. Some studies have suggested that dietary cholesterol doesn't affect blood cholesterol levels in many people, but it may in other individuals, such as those with diabetes, the researchers noted.
A single egg contains about 200 milligrams of cholesterol -- just 100 milligrams shy of the daily limit advocated for those at risk for heart disease, the researchers added.
On the other hand, eggs are a source of minerals, folate, B vitamins, protein and monounsaturated fats -- all of which have the potential to lower overall risk.
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To explain the finding on diabetic men, the researchers theorized that diabetics might somehow convert dietary cholesterol more readily into blood cholesterol than people without diabetes.
"We need additional data to confirm these findings, so it's kind of premature to advise against egg consumption until we have more information," Djousse said.
Donald McNamara, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Egg Nutrition Center, said that while diabetics need to carefully assess all aspects of their diet, "no one food exists in isolation."
"And when we look at all the other studies that have been published, they show that easily an egg a day can fit into a healthy diet with no change in heart-disease risk for the average person and those with diabetes," McNamara added. "Eggs also provide some very important nutrients in terms of high quality protein and choline, which we know is insufficient in the diet today. So, you have to balance out the nutritional contribution of eggs in the diet relative to this kind of a study, which presents a very unique finding which has not been presented anywhere else, and has a lot of variables included that we don't know enough about."
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