How many eggs should you eat every day? Experts: It depends on how much the eggs affect your blood lipids!

Two of my patients with hyperlipidemia,

The test results of blood lipids are completely different if you eat eggs or not!

Mr. Zhang, 3 months ago, found that his LDL was 4.4mmol/L. He has no other high-risk factors, no hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, so I suggested that he lower his LDL cholesterol to below 3.4mmol/L. He likes to eat eggs, almost two eggs a day, so I told him to eat less eggs first and check again in a month.

One month later, I checked my blood lipids again and found that my LDL cholesterol had dropped to 3.1mmol/L. I told him not to take medicine for the time being and just control the amount of eggs he eats. Your high LDL cholesterol is related to eating too many eggs.

Mr. Li, two months ago, found that his LDL cholesterol was 4.3mmol/L. He also had no high-risk factors, so I also suggested that he lower his LDL cholesterol to below 3.4mmol/L. Mr. Li usually eats one egg a day, so I suggested that we stop eating eggs and observe for a month.

One month later, Mr. Li's blood lipids were rechecked and his low-density lipoprotein cholesterol dropped to 4.1mmol/L. I told him that he needed drug intervention because eating eggs or not had little effect on blood lipids and cholesterol. So he can still eat an average of one egg a day in the future, but not too much, but there is no need to say that he should not eat eggs. Because even if you don't eat eggs, your blood lipids will rise.

Someone must have said, don’t doctors always teach that diet has little effect on cholesterol? Does diet only affect 20% of LDL cholesterol? Is 80% of elevated LDL cholesterol caused by one’s own genetics and metabolism?

This 20% is just an average figure based on large-scale observational studies. In reality, each of us is not this average.

For example, the ideal value of blood pressure is 120/70 mmHg. In reality, it is impossible for everyone to have blood pressure at 120/70 mmHg for a long time. Therefore, 20% of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is affected by diet. This 20% is just an average value, and not everyone is 20% affected by diet. In reality, for example, Mr. Zhang is more affected by diet, while Mr. Li is less affected by diet.

So eating eggs also needs to vary from person to person!

What the authorities say

In 2013, a study conducted by the British Medical Journal on 3 million adults found no effect of eating more eggs on human health.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans has removed the daily cholesterol limit for adults, which means that there is no limit on eating eggs. However, a study by Northwestern University Medical School in the United States tracked the health of 30,000 Americans for 17 years and found that an adult should eat one egg a day. If you eat more, your risk of heart disease will increase.

On December 16, 2019, the American Heart Association released its latest report on cholesterol intake, recommending eating one egg yolk plus some egg whites every day.

Of course, the above studies or guidelines are all Western studies and conclusions, and are suitable for Westerners. The physiques and eating habits of Easterners and Westerners are different, so we still have to refer to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents".

The Chinese Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults eat six eggs per week, which includes the whole egg white and yolk. (Of course, the guidelines are also a reference, and the main thing is to see your own reaction.)

Whether your blood lipids are high or not depends on physical examination rather than feeling.

Whether our blood lipids are high or not cannot be determined by feeling, or by looking at the face or eyes. Instead, we need to go to the hospital and have blood drawn for tests to test four blood lipid items: total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

In particular, we should pay attention to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, because low-density lipoprotein cholesterol has a greater impact on blood vessels. Long-term increase in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol will accelerate and aggravate atherosclerosis, and then plaques, which may lead to vascular stenosis and cause cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Therefore, we should pay more attention to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. We must go for testing to see whether the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is high, rather than feeling it.

For all people over 40 years old, those with diabetes, hypertension, carotid artery plaque, coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, family history of cardiovascular disease, obesity and other high-risk groups, they should find out whether their blood lipids are high as soon as possible. Regardless of whether the blood lipids are high or not, we recommend that these people have a blood lipid test once a year.

If your blood lipids are not high, especially if your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is up to standard, then you can continue to eat eggs as usual. If your blood lipids are high, especially if your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is high, then you should be careful when eating eggs.

How to pay attention? Please continue reading!

Do eggs have a big impact on your blood lipids?

When we find that our LDL cholesterol is higher than the ideal level, we need to judge whether eating eggs has a big impact on our LDL cholesterol.
A simple way to judge is: if you find that your LDL cholesterol is high, you can stop eating eggs for the next month, and then check your LDL cholesterol again after one month.

If you do not eat eggs for a month and your low-density lipoprotein cholesterol drops significantly, for example, it drops by 50%, then it means that eating eggs has a significant impact on your blood lipids, so you should reduce your egg intake in the future.
If you do not eat eggs for a month, and your LDL cholesterol decreases slightly, for example, it decreases within 20%, or there is no change at all, then it means that eating eggs has a small effect on your blood lipids. In that case, you should continue to eat eggs at the same frequency and in the same amount as usual, about 6 eggs a week on average.

in conclusion

01

You can eat it, but not too much.

Regardless of the average data in the guidelines, or our theory that too much is as bad as too little, and regardless of how big an impact eggs have on your blood lipids, it is not recommended to eat too many eggs. According to the recommendations of the "Guidelines", generally about 6 eggs per week are enough.

02

Eat if you want to, don’t eat if you don’t want to.

If you usually have the habit of eating eggs, you can continue to eat them even if you have three highs and cardiovascular diseases. Eggs are not a taboo food. If you don't like to eat eggs or feel uncomfortable after eating eggs, you don't have to force yourself to eat eggs.

03

Understand your own blood lipids and eat eggs according to your individual needs.

You need to know your LDL cholesterol, especially those with three highs and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. If eggs have a greater impact on your LDL cholesterol, you should eat less or no eggs. If eggs have little impact on your LDL cholesterol, you can continue to eat them according to your usual eating habits.

In short, we should refer to guidelines for our lives and our diets, but we should not be bookish. We should follow the guidelines and act according to our individual needs!

In the end, both Mr. Zhang and Mr. Li were able to continue to eat eggs, but Mr. Zhang was advised to eat less, while Mr. Li continued to eat one egg a day. But no matter what, regardless of whether eating eggs has a big impact on your blood lipids, we do not recommend eating too many eggs. For healthy people, it is still recommended to eat about 6 eggs a week under the guidance of the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", which is more reasonable!

Source: Cardiovascular Doctor Wang