Eating an egg a day reduces your risk of heart disease by around 12 per cent and of stroke by up to 26 per cent, say Chinese researchers who reviewed the diets and health of 512,000 people, aged between 30 and 79 years.
In the nine years of the study, 83,000 participants developed cardiovascular disease, nearly 10,000 of whom died – but those who ate five or so eggs a week were the least likely to develop heart disease compared to others who ate two or fewer eggs a week.
The researchers say that they had taken into account other known risk factors for heart disease, and although the study was ‘observational’, it was among a large group of people and over a long time.
“There is an association between moderate egg consumption – up to one egg a day – and a lower rate of heart disease,” the authors say.
The Chinese study is further proof that cholesterol in our diet doesn’t alter cholesterol levels in our body – and, in fact, has a protective effect.
Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death worldwide, usually from ischaemic heart disease – when the coronary arteries narrow – and stroke.
(Source: Heart, 2018; doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2017-312651)
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