Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: thedoc on 15/08/2012 16:30:01
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Lujain Alyamani asked the Naked Scientists:
Hello!!
I've just heard that egg yolks are almost as bad as smoking. Is this actually true?
If so, then what about boiled eggs? Are boiled egg yolks harmful and bad for the heart, or does its bad effect wear off once it's boiled?
Also, I'm trying to grow my hair, so I am eating 2-3 boiled eggs daily; sometimes I even eat 4 eggs.
Please tell me if this is good or bad for my health, should I stop eating so many eggs?
Thank you.
Lujain
What do you think?
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Eggs do contain cholesterol, but an egg or so a day isn't supposed to be bad. Apparently some individual's blood cholesterol increases with dietary cholesterol, and some people's blood cholesterol doesn't increase. Most studies seem to indicate that an egg a day or so isn't harmful.
Anyway, before worrying too much about dietary eggs, you may wish to just have your cholesterol checked. If it is high, then discuss your diet with your physician.
I'm a little suspicious about the connection between eggs and hair. Some websites are suggesting making home-made hair conditioners using raw eggs (FOR OCCASIONAL APPLICATION). However, keep in mind that the only living part of the hair is at the root. Treatments may coat the rest of the hair, but the only living part is at the root.
I'm also seeing suggestions of eating about ONE egg per day, not four.
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Thanks so much! Very helpful post. Yes , four eggs a day is quite over the top. I have stopped eating so many eggs now. I just started taking Skin , Hair & Nails capsules. Also I made an Egg hair mask and it works wonders , not only does it make your hair longer but also softer.
Thanks once again for your help.
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Chicken eggs are high in cholesterol, and a diet high in cholesterol can contribute to high blood cholesterol levels. However, how much the cholesterol in your diet can increase your blood cholesterol varies from person to person. Although eating too many eggs can increase your cholesterol, eating four egg yolks or fewer on a weekly basis hasn't been found to increase your risk of heart disease.
P.S. I know it is an old topic but perhaps some other visitors might benefit from the answer! I used to find a lot of cholesterol related things at http://loweringcholesterolguide.com/
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Blood cholesterol is mainly produced by the liver from saturated fats. The cholesterol which is found in some foods such as eggs, liver, kidneys and some types of seafood, eg. prawns, does not usually make a great contribution to the level of cholesterol in your blood. It's much more important that you eat foods that are low in saturated fat.
The British Heart Foundation (http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/high-cholesterol.aspx) says:
Q: "I've heard that eating too many eggs can raise your cholesterol - how many can I eat?"
A. For most people there is currently no limit on the number of eggs that you can eat in a week. However, because the recommendation has changed over the years, it's often a common source of confusion.
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I understand the basic physiology of cholesterol, but still I'm surprised at the huge difference of opinion about the effect of dietary cholesterol, ranging from eggs are harmless - to a 2012 article in the Journal Atherosclerosis that examined the association between the number of egg yolks consumed per week and the amount of plaque in the carotid artery and concluded that eating egg yolks "is almost as bad as smoking when it comes to speeding up plaque deposits."
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I understand the basic physiology of cholesterol, but still I'm surprised at the huge difference of opinion about the effect of dietary cholesterol, ranging from eggs are harmless - to a 2012 article in the Journal Atherosclerosis that examined the association between the number of egg yolks consumed per week and the amount of plaque in the carotid artery and concluded that eating egg yolks "is almost as bad as smoking when it comes to speeding up plaque deposits."
It's hard to judge without seeing the original paper; e.g. did they control for lifestyle? Correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation; it may be that the sort of people who consume more eggs than average have more unhealthy eating habits and/or lifestyle choices than those who don't (such as full English breakfast every day, etc.). This could be particularly true if the earlier 'scare' about the cholesterol risk of eggs had caused the more health-conscious people to reduce their consumption.
This kind of population sampling study is fraught with risks and difficulties...
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There is one thing I know about nutrition for certain. No one food can be considered bad for you. What is good or bad is a persons overall diet. Make sure that for any three day period the average amounts of nutrients meed the RDA but use them intelligently. One has to determine what their calorie intake should be and eat that or less, on average. It varies from person to person. And then check your weight. Make sure you're not taking too much or too little because a persons metabolic efficiency varies from person to person and with age. E.g. I can't get that damn 5 lbs off no matter how little I eat. lol!
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I understand the basic physiology of cholesterol, but still I'm surprised at the huge difference of opinion about the effect of dietary cholesterol, ranging from eggs are harmless - to a 2012 article in the Journal Atherosclerosis that examined the association between the number of egg yolks consumed per week and the amount of plaque in the carotid artery and concluded that eating egg yolks "is almost as bad as smoking when it comes to speeding up plaque deposits."
The "cholesterol hypothesis" i.e. that high cholesterol causes heart disease does not stand up to close scrutiny. There may well be a link, but it is not as causal as it is often portaryed. This is illustrated nicely if you look at regional/ national averages for cholesterol levels and compare with rates of heart disease (sorry, I cannot find a decent reference online will try to later if I remember).
There is an awful lot of money tied up in the food/ diet and lifestyle-pharma industries and much "research" is meta-analysis of (inconclusive) epidimeological data. Whilst this can be a useful method, if not used carefully, it can compare studies that are not quite the same resulting in overclaiming or misattirbution of results. As a consequence, I am deeply sceptical about much of the research in the area.
In respect of eggs, as I understand in the majority of cases, (as dlorde says) dietry consumption of cholesterol is not directly related to levels in the blood, because your liver produces / regualtes production and the body recycles a lot of
The best advice is to consume anything in moderation...