Eggs Are Nearly as Bad for Your Arteries as Cigarettes

[GWN7]

Eggs Are Nearly as Bad for Your Arteries as Cigarettes

Study: Eggs Are Nearly as Bad for Your Arteries as Cigarettes - Brian Fung - The Atlantic


PROBLEM: Last year, the average American consumed 247 eggs -- over 40 percent more than the world per-capita average. Because egg yolks are high in cholesterol, eating whole eggs increases cholesterol, a known risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart attacks. Previous research also links CAD with cigarette smoke.

METHODOLOGY: Canadian researchers examined 1,231 patients at London's Health Sciences Centre's University Hospital. The average age of all the patients was 62. Ultrasound measurements of the carotid arteries established the presence and quantity of atherosclerotic plaque, and the scans were accompanied by lifestyle surveys. Smoking was measured in pack-years (number of packs per day multiplied by the number of years spent smoking). Egg yolk consumption was measured in egg yolk-years.

RESULTS: Aging was associated with a linear increase in arterial plaque after age 40, but smoking and egg consumption were each independently associated with an exponential increase in plaque. Egg consumption had two-thirds of the effect of smoking.

CONCLUSION: Egg yolks are almost as bad for your carotid arteries as smoking.

IMPLICATION: While the link between eggs and cholesterol -- and between cholesterol and heart disease -- is well established, this study sheds light on the extent of their potential harm if eaten routinely in large quantities. A single large egg contains more than 180 mg of cholesterol -- more than a third of a person's daily recommended intake. By this measure, a typical American breakfast alone, with two eggs (plus bacon!), would push well past that. Egg whites, meanwhile, remain excellent.

SOURCE: The full study, "Egg Yolk Consumption and Carotid Plaque," is published in the journal Atherosclerosis.

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While I've never done it I can imagine eggs are harder to light than cigarettes

[BlueSkyJaunte]

So eggs are bad for you again? I wonder how long it will last THIS time.

[Zeke]

The problem is that there are too many egg products in lots of what we eat. I eat one egg most days. Not 2 and not with hash browns covered in oil.

Eggs get a bad rap. Moderation is key.

And not having eaten any type of meat including fish for 27 years, I have to have complex protein from somewhere. I wonder what the study results would be if they studied only people like me.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I wonder what the study results would be if they studied only people like me.

I think they would come to the conclusion that America is populated entirely by cranky old guys.

[Rick Lee]

Aside from recipe ingredients, I might average an egg or two per month. Otherwise, I always use the egg white or egg beaters substitute and don't even use that very much. My wife goes through a dozen eggs every 10-14 days, but she's Chinese and otherwise eats rabbit food.

[jyl]

I usually eat a couple dozen eggs per week, but I just eat the whites.

[aigel]

I stay away from processed food, so I am sure I don't eat that many eggs. And I eat whole eggs in home made pasta, cake and for breakfast on weekends.

My cholesterol is excellent. It is easy to blame a food if you sit on your ass all day. If you move, your body needs nutrients. Your body also does need cholesterol (at a healthy level).

I ate an omelet at a country breakfast place in the Paso Robles area. It was very good but huge. I asked how many eggs were in it - 6!!! When you looked around, most patrons looked like 6 egg omelet kind of guys too!

G

[flatbutt]

2 eggs every morning fried in olive oil. my total cholesterol 165. HDL and LDL well within norms.

[Hugh R]

I eat eggs and take Lipitor, so I'm good.

[Maxim S]

I guess it's a good thing that I basically only eat Egg Beaters these days. I haven't even been doing it for health reasons, I like them because they make perfect omelets and scrambled eggs with basically no prep time or hassle.

[joeyb]

This fellow, who has some credentials on the subject, digresses and cites sugar as the culprit.

World Renown Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease

and the theory is corroborated by this other fellow:

Cholesterol Myths debunked:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7511651019399134654#

[mjohnson]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

So eggs are bad for you again? I wonder how long it will last THIS time.

Yup. I'm eating what I want to eat. Not too much though. Might exercise a bit. Won't lay awake at night worrying about it...

(plus - eggs are yummy - boiled and sprinkled with sea salt - poached over corned beef hash - scrambled and tucked into a bacon[!] green chile burrito - cooked into soft curds with a stick of butter like Julia would - raw and shaken violently into so many wonderful cocktails - and on - and on)

[911dean]

I ate 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites for breakfast this morning and most mornings. I don't go to the doctor so I don't know my cholesterol. My wife has been asking me to go to the doc though, since I'll be 46 soon.
I do lift weights religiously though. Today for example was chest and biceps: 225# bench presses and 50# dumbell curls.
Studies I've read indicate the bad egg thing is not true and they are good for strength training. I will continue to eat them, unless my cholesterol is really out of wack when I go to the doc.
Dean

[azasadny]

My cholesterol is over 350 while eating a vegetarian diet with no eggs. My Dr says it's mostly genetic, so I take Zocor and eat a few eggs a week since my liver produces too much cholesterol.

[Danimal16]

EGGS???? Hell all of these studies cause more stress worrying about it than the damage eggs do.

[944Larry]

Originally Posted by joeyb

This fellow, who has some credentials on the subject, digresses and cites sugar as the culprit.

World Renown Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease

and the theory is corroborated by this other fellow:

Cholesterol Myths debunked:

Cholesterol Myths Debunked--Abundant Life Chiropractic

Yep, this Doctor tells it like it is. I eat the hell out of eggs and all kinds of fatty foods and my cholesterol is low. I avoid a lot of sugar and other carbs. Why anyone would figure a study of people that don't even have the same diet as we do would apply to us is nonsense.

[Zeke]

post 15 spambot reported

[imcarthur]

I make a point to ignor all media stories about what is bad for me.

Ian

[nynor]

BS. did the study account for other dietary factors.... like eating bacon with the eggs. what isn't said is the key.

as a respiratory therapist, i can state from my experience, anecdotal as it is, that smokers have a much harder time recovering from any kind of health insult, and you can times that statement by ten when they are trying to come off of a ventilator. YMMV.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by jyl

I usually eat a couple dozen eggs per week, but I just eat the whites.

Same here