- Eating an egg a day could have heart benefits, a new study suggests.
- The Chinese study involved nearly 4,780 participants.
- The results explain how eating eggs can help protect against heart disease.
Packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals, eggs are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet, and eating up to one a day can also be good for your heart.
The blood that circulates through our body carries thousands of metabolites (molecules related to metabolic processes), and according to a new study, moderate consumption of eggs can increase the amount of heart-healthy metabolites in the blood and reduce the risk of disease cardiovascular.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), a term for conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels, are the leading cause of death worldwide. Four of the main types include coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and aortic disease.
Conflicting study results
Fortunately, most cardiovascular disease can be prevented by addressing behavioral risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity.
In the current study, the researchers say there is conflicting evidence about whether eating eggs is beneficial or detrimental to heart health.
For example, a big 2018 chinese study found that participants who ate eggs daily (about one egg per day) had a substantially lower risk of heart disease and stroke than those who ate eggs less frequently. On the other hand, a 2019 US study found that for every half an egg consumed per day, participants had a 6% increased risk of developing CVD.
“Few studies have looked at the role plasma cholesterol metabolism plays in the association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease risk, so we wanted to help address this gap,” said senior author Dr. Lang Pan. , from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Peking University in Beijing, China, said in a press release.
Carrying out the study
The researchers involved 4,779 participants from China’s Kadoorie Biobank, of whom 3,401 had CVD and the other 1,377 did not.
Self-reported dietary surveys were collected. Plasma samples were also drawn from the participants’ blood, and the team used a technique called “directed nuclear magnetic resonance” to measure 225 metabolites in these samples. Of the metabolites, they found 24 that were related to the consumption of eggs.
According to their analysis, participants who ate a moderate amount of eggs had higher levels of a protein in their blood, known as apolipoprotein A1. These people also had larger high-density lipoprotein (HDL) molecules in their blood, which help remove cholesterol from blood vessels and thus protect against blockages that can cause heart attacks and strokes.
The team then identified 14 metabolites that are linked to heart disease. Participants who ate fewer eggs were found to have lower levels of beneficial metabolites and higher levels of harmful metabolites in their blood, compared to participants who ate eggs more frequently.
Findings add to knowledge
More research is needed to confirm the role metabolites play in the link between egg consumption and CVD risk, but the new study’s findings are certainly promising and add to existing knowledge researchers have about the connection between two.
“Together, our results provide a possible explanation for how eating a moderate amount of eggs may help protect against heart disease,” said co-author Associate Professor Canqing Yu.
the study was published in eLife.
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