Friday, March, 29,2024

Include Eggs in Your Diet to Lower the Risk of Heart Disease

Source: Medindia

A recent study published in Nutrition claims that consuming three eggs per week can reduce the risk of heart disease by 60%. Additionally, 4 to 7 eggs per week can further decrease the risk to 75%.

The study adds that not only the heart, but regular eggs in the diet can also help with lowering blood sugar levels as well. Apart from lowering the risk of heart disease, incorporating eggs as part of a healthy diet can also help lower blood sugar levels.

Previous studies have shown that increased levels of cholesterol found in eggs may be harmful for the heart which has now sparked a debate (1).

The study included 3042 individuals from Greece. This study consisted of 1514 men and 1528 women. The mean age was around 46 years. The duration of the study was 10 years. The study started in 2010 and results were analyzed in 2020 (2).

The participants of the study were requested to self-report their monthly consumption of eggs either separately or with recipes. This was then divided into weekly consumption.

The study suggests that regularly consuming eggs as part of a healthy diet can reduce the risk of the cardiovascular disease considerably. Three eggs per week lowered the risk by 60% and 4 to 7 eggs per week reduced the risk by 75% (1).

Eggs are an excellent source of protein and are rich in vitamin B 2, vitamin B 12, selenium, and carotenoids.

Both vitamin B 12 and B 2 are cardio protective. They can lower homocysteine levels and prevent formation of plaque in the blood vessels. This effect can reduce the risk of hypertension (3).

The selenium present in eggs helps in preventing free radical damage to the cellsand promoting cellular longevity.

This isn't a very conclusive study to fix the proportion of eggs per week. There are many loopholes in the study which need to be further taken care of. First of all, this is a self-reporting study. It is hard to recollect and mention there may be many memory lapses.

Due to the limitations of the study, it cannot be said that eggs alone can reduce the risk of heart disease. The participants may have been on low-red meat diets or they might be consuming a lot of carotenoid-rich foods like salads, greens, and reds.

All these factors have a cumulative effect in lowering the risk of heart disease. The individual dietary aspects were not taken into consideration in this study.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the studies and reviews appropriately, the conclusion is that eggs are a vital part of a meal when taken along with a balanced diet. A balanced, healthy diet along with exercise and physical activity are the essential elements for a good heart (3).

  Share on

Related News