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 Eating egg yolks regularly increases plaque buildup about two-thirds as much as smoking does, according to a new study.
August 15th, 2012
05:38 PM ET
Is eating egg yolks as bad as smoking?A new study suggests eating egg yolks can accelerate heart disease almost as much as smoking. The study published online in the journal Atherosclerosis found eating egg yolks regularly increases plaque buildup about two-thirds as much as smoking does. Specifically, patients who ate three or more yolks a week showed significantly more plaque than those who ate two or less yolks per week. It may seem harsh to compare smoking with eating egg yolks, but lead study author Dr. David Spence says researchers needed a way to put it into perspective since both eating cholesterol and smoking increase cardiovascular risks - but the general public believes smoking is far worse for your health.
The issue is with the yolk, not the egg, says Spence, who is also a professor of neurology at the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. "One jumbo chicken egg yolk has about 237 milligrams of cholesterol." Keeping a diet low in cholesterol is key, says Spence. Even if you are young and healthy, eating egg yolks can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases later. "Just because you are 20 doesn't mean egg yolks aren't going to cause any trouble down the line," he says. Study: Egg yolk nearly as bad as smoking For those patients with increased coronary risk, such as diabetics, eating an egg yolk a day can increase coronary risk by two to five-fold, he adds. Atherosclerosis, also called coronary artery disease, occurs when plaque builds up in the blood vessels leading to the heart, specifically the inner arterial wall, and limits the amount of blood that can pass through. Doctors write a prescription for fresh produce In the study, researchers looked at 1,231 patients of the vascular prevention clinics at London Health Sciences Centre's University Hospital, with a mean age of 61.5. Each patient had already experienced a small stroke or had high blood pressure, hypertension or a family history of cardiovascular disease. Spence says researchers chose to use patients with a higher likelihood of cardiovascular issues because it would have been harder to get visible results using the general population with a lower risk. Patients were asked to fill out questionnaires about their diet, lifestyle and medications, including how much they smoked and the number of egg yolks they ate. An ultrasound was performed to examine their plaque buildup. Researchers took into account sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index and diabetes. In addition to relying completely on the recollection of patients as to what they ate, the study did not account for waist circumference and it did not account for a patient's exercise program. And perhaps most notably, it only looked at patients with existing cardiovascular issues. The study confirms what doctors already know about eating cholesterol and cardiovascular disease, says Dr, Gordon Tomaselli, chief of cardiology at John Hopkins University School of Medicine and the former president of the American Heart Association. "Cholesterol intake should be limited to 300 milligrams a day, particularly in people who do not have underlying heart disease," he says. However, people with high LDL blood cholesterol levels or those taking a blood cholesterol-lowering medication should eat less than 200 mg of cholesterol per day. So what can you do to keep your heart healthy? Talk to your doctor if you have a history of heart disease and consider a change in lifestyle – things like eating better, watching your cholesterol, stopping smoking, and exercising. soundoff (1,086 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next »Leave a Reply to cleuq
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.
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I dont pay much attention to food studies. For every study saying something is bad for you, there is another saying its good for you. As for as I am concerned, if its natural and it tastes good, its good to eat.
This is a naive way to think. Try eating egg yolks and a ribeye steak everyday, then see if you make it past 50.
Eggs and steak is a great starter. All the cholesterol studies are severely flawed. Eggs are probably the most complete food.
You need to look at the source and funders of the studies. Studies sponsored by the Agriculture Department or farm groups tell you to eat egg yokes, red meat, cheese, etc.
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-eggs.html lists the 10 health benefits of eggs, including the yolk, and would contradict the claims in this report. It would seem all the reports have an agenda, and perhaps a funding source. I like eggs, have eaten them for years, have great health, low BP, cholesterol, etc. Genetics is probably a stronger player.
Having worked in cardiovascular medicinee for most of my life. Particularly managing a lab stress testing those with chest pain on echocardiography treadmill tests. I have also worked in angiographic labs invasively.
What is most disturbing over the years with these "eye-catching" and alarming headlines to the average person. Is how often it generates them to become a patient of mine from heartburn or 14 out of 15 other cases.
Shock sells, If it bleeds, it leads!. But truth be told, I had a bit of high cholesterol. I started taking lipitor and then I realized, meh. I have zero history of heart disease, an entirely inheritable trait. In fact, only 1 out of 6 of the US population grows blockages in their plumbing. Why isnt statins in the water supply as some health pundits suggested? Because you'd be treating 85% of the population needlessly and suggesting them to the risks, (smaller than idiotic blogs on statins suggest). But needlessly anyways.
Same with these blanket statements on Eggs, that are NOT replicated, poor in design and fails to clearly specify that it ONLY affects 15% of the population who grows blockages that cause heart attack and stroke from cholesterol levels. 1 out of 6.
Becoming diabetic is far more dangerous than eggs
For the most part you're right not to. Almost all the studies the media report on are observational studies. And of course they report on them in such a way as to give the impression that an observational study proves what it allegedly prove. The problem is they don't prove anything. They show correlation not causation. Observational studies were never designed to prove or establish cause; they are supposed to be used to establish a hypothesis. In other words to answer the question, 'should we bother looking into this more?' Nothing more.
See Science For Smart People on you tube for more on this subject.
With egg yolks being as deadly as cigerrettes, I wonder what the anti-egg yolk ads are going to look like? So excited to see these articles come out that kick up a fuss over 'generally' healthy food. I'd like to see more articles like this written about the effects sugar (processed or not) has on one's body, or the genuinely 'bad stuff for your health', ie: Mountain Dew, marshmallows, Twinkies variety. What's next? Cabbage: the new skin cancer? Pulllease.
@tnra2be,
I checked out that website. It's a very unprofessional website that most people could slap together in 10 minutes. Yet you're using that as a basis for your dietary and health decisions? And we wonder why American's are so unhealthy.
Agree.....Too much of anything is bad for you. Any food in moderation.....
I'm afraid some fo you are the ones being naive. My grandfather started every morning with eggs and bacon or sausage, ate pork and steak and smoked... and lived to the age of 90. What's more his health didn't begin to decline noticeably until he was about 85. Furthermore a recent study conducted in America found that LDL cholesterol populates the blood as either large or small molecules. The larger do not tend to deposit along the artery walls but are more likely to be processed out thru the liver. It's the small molecule variety. Also dietary cholesterol does NOT translate directly to serum cholesterol. Taking in substances high in cholesterol does not mean your serum cholesterol levels will go up. Everything you take in is broken down in to it base components. All the cholesterol in your blood was created by your body. It's your overall diet and exercise level that matters. There are no "bad" foods.
I guess, I should wait until the egg becomes a chicken before eating it 🙂
Right, what I heard is saliva can kill you if swallow over a long amount of time....
Google "china study," google "eat to live," and read them. or watch videos on you tube with these doctors. They tell the truth.
The China study is an observational study (a badly designed and implemented one at that) not a clinical study. Doesn't prove squat.
The China study must be the biggest load of nonsense ever.
Don't worry, next week it will be ok to eat eggs again.
No kidding. Why did they decide to compare smoking to eggs? How about compare it to other foods high in fat and cholesterol? And what a weird comparison. Let's see what else is as bad as smoking for your heart, and other body parts -- hmm, how about comparing it to 6 beers every day, or 12 Manhattans a week. Or cheese, or whole milk.
Next step will be Michelle Obama taxing egg suppliers and forbidding eggs in restaurants. The Egg McMuffin will be next to go. Save us from all the studies.
To Liz, you asked why they compare egg-eating to cigarette-smoking. Good question. The main reason cigarettes kill people is not arterial disease, but lung disease, such as lung cancer and emphysema. We all know that cigarettes have horrible health effects, but this study downplays the fact it is comparing the effect of eating egg yolks to only one of the effects of smoking cigarettes - and a secondary effect of smoking, at that.
soo, up to 2 eggs a week you are fine but eat one more and you are in big trouble.... makes sese!
it should be clarified that they compare two groups: below 3 versus 3 and above. The average in the first group (from 0 to 2) might be around 1 whereas the average in the second group (from 3 to who knows maybe a dozen or more) could be 6 or 7 or more.
Add that to the fact that they looked only at people that were already known to tolerate cholesterol intake poorly.
This all means nothing to generaly healthy people with an active lifestyle that eat reasonable number of eggs. To compare it to the effect of smoking is pure sensationalism. You are not gonna get lung cancer from eating eggs. If anything such a story might comfort smokers that are unable to quit by telling them that smoking is not any worse than eating a few eggs a week which they intuitively know is armless.
Eggwash: You wrote "You're not going to get lung cancer from eating eggs." Exactly. You saw though the misleading gimmick of the article.
I don't feel so bad about smoking anymore.
What a bunch of bs. I'm a 55 yr old slightly overweight non exercising ex smoker. My bad cholesterol is moderate but my good cholesterol is super high. I eat two eggs every Saturday and Sunday morning and two of the four are always fried.
In grease yolks and all. But I very seldom eat any other fried food or fast food and my doctor says all is good.
I eat two or three eggs everyday and at 69 I recently had a heart test and my arteries are clear. I also eat lots of butter and red meat. I may live as long as Julia Child.
LMAO...I 'm 60 years old on Hallowe'en and I've smoked at least 40 cigarettes a day and drank at least 15 beer per day for the last 20 years. My doctor did a so called 200,000 mile check up on me last fall. Results...excellent shape..by the way I love eggs especially if they're scrambled in the microwave six at a time....
Hope you have written your will.
I find this troubling, chances are people who are in a study regarding plaque have other underlying issues that are causing their plaque build up some genetic and others poor diet and poor habits. To make a blanket statement about eggs I think is a poor one. Doctor Oz claims that eggs, including the egg are superfoods and recommends them for all men over 50 due to the high levels of amino acids that are not found anywhere else. I raise backyard hens and I can tell you those tasty eggs I will not be giving up anytime soon.
Damn I need to stop smoking egg yolks.
i love my huevos!!!
My wife loves my huevos!
This just in-breathing air is bad for your health according to the doctor being paid to say so.
You left out the most important part of the story:
"While the Mail reports that eating egg yolks is two-thirds as bad for you as smoking when it comes to artery build-up, this cannot be concluded when you consider the limitations of this single piece of research."
I take a statin medication every day to lower my cholesterol. How does taking such a medication affect plaque buildup in egg-eaters? Was that considered in any part of the studies?
Wow. So many things were not taken in to account before publishing this "correlational" study, including the fact that they relied on the participants to have super-human memories. Eggs are NOT bad for you, more free-range eggs that are NOT fed corn and soy. Also, would like to point out that one of the researchers has significant ties to the Statin industry and there is ZERO evidence that statins are effective at anything. CNN, you really should think twice before posting sensationalist articles funded by big pharma.
Let's all go out and find some gay chickens with no yoke...
Oatmeal and 2 boiled eggs for breakfast...70 plus here...
Before they were bad because of cholesterol now its heart disease
This is what I like to call "bad science". Bad science is when some doctor thinks egg yolks are bad and decides to do a study (aka survey). He studies (surveys) a couple thousand people and asks if they eat egg yolks and do they have high cholesterol. The survey err I mean study does not ask about other foods consumed, exercise activity, weight or any other factors. So, the survey shows most of them have high cholesterol, doctor says "Hey, I was right" and then writes this false report about egg yolks. Never believe a "study" only believe an actual "scientific experiment" that has a control group and pin points the real cause.
Having worked in cardiovascular medicinee for most of my life. Particularly managing a lab stress testing those with chest pain on echocardiography treadmill tests. I have also worked in angiographic labs invasively.
What is most disturbing over the years with these "eye-catching" and alarming headlines to the average person. Is how often it generates them to become a patient of mine from heartburn or 14 out of 15 other cases.
Shock sells, If it bleeds, it leads!. But truth be told, I had a bit of high cholesterol. I started taking lipitor and then I realized, meh. I have zero history of heart disease, an entirely inheritable trait. In fact, only 1 out of 6 of the US population grows blockages in their plumbing. Why isnt statins in the water supply as some health pundits suggested? Because you'd be treating 85% of the population needlessly and suggesting them to the risks, (smaller than idiotic blogs on statins suggest). But needlessly anyways.
Same with these blanket statements on Eggs, that are NOT replicated, poor in design and fails to clearly specify that it ONLY affects 15% of the population who grows blockages that cause heart attack and stroke from cholesterol levels. 1 out of 6.
Becoming diabetic is far more dangerous than eggs
What a stupid headline and premise. CNN says "the general public believes smoking is far worse for your health." Of course! The main reason smoking is bad for you is that it causes LUNG CANCER! Maybe eggs and cigarettes have similar cardiovascular risks - who cares? The point is, cigarettes will kill you with cancer.
Let me repeat this for our CNN reporters: cigarettes have been conclusively shown to cause cancer. Egg yolks have not. There is just no comparison.
I wish all these so-called "experts" would make up their minds. First they say eggs are bad for you, then they back off of that and say they are actually GOOD for your because they lower the bad cholesterol and help raise the good. Now they are back on their "eggs are bad for you" kick. Guess what? I'm not listening to you guys anymore!!! GOT IT?!?!? I'm fed up with the food police and contradictory studies. Just leave us alone and we'll eat what we want to eat. SHEESH!
My grandmother is 93 years old and eats two eggs a day religiously. Thats 5 dozen eggs a month, not to mention the bacon fat its fried in. She is not overweight. Granted, her blood pressure has been high and she has issue with poor kidney function, most of it is due to just plain old age.I would be more inclined to think genetics play a large part in how egg yolk consumption effects heart health.
Are we back to this crap again?
Egg yolks bad for you – c'mon!!
Maybe the people doing the studies have split personality and depending on which personality wins before the board that is what is printed, and announced.
Eggs are bad for you. Eggs are good for you. Now eggs are bad for you once again. Just wait until the next study that comes out showing the benefits of eating eggs far outweigh the risk of plaque build up from this study. Eat what you want and be happy.
WHAT? 2005 "by Chris Masterjohn Egg yolks? But they're full of cholesterol! Concerned about egg yolks and heart disease? Hop on down to the Livin' La Vida Low-Carb show and listen to my interview with Jimmy Moore explaining why there was never any evidence that cholesterol-rich egg yolks contribute to heart disease, and what heart disease is really all about. No reading required!"
I am done with CNN. It's no wonder why they're on their way out as a network. If a story doesn't have a local news tinge to it, such as this story or isn't some commentary relating some new development to a minority or gender issue, it doesn't have much of a chance at making the headlines. As a formerly reputable news outlet, CNN's featured stories today involve Scrabble, Bobby Brown in rehab- as though that's news, an auto-tuned Julia Child and a something about cupcakes. If NPR and PBS are a sunny day and FOX and MSNBC are extremes of weather, CNN then is a cold, overcast, damp and drizzly day – the folks that like sun don't like it and neither do those who like snow, storms or rain. It's just barely tolerable by all. Anyone remember the time of Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnette, Christiane Amanpour and Judy Woodruff. Reporters who went out out and uncovered the news. Now we're left with these garbage features and news makers and psuedo journalists like Anderson Cooper with his lovers' quarrels, and Pierce Morgan, a man not even welcome in the British tabloid circles. I guess there's PBS and NPR.
I eat a LOT of eggs per week. Something akin to around 18. My last TOTAL cholesterol reading: 132.
Absolutely ridiculous. Egg yolks have one of the highest concentrations of lecithin, which besides being a very overall healthy substance, has also been proven to actually keep your arteries clean. Where do they come up with these nutty conclusions?
It also depends on genes...some people can consume more 'bad' cholesterol than others w/o the same harm.
I love boiled eggs in the morning,especially the eggs yolks with a little bit running, yummmy.
Exericse, exercise, don't be afraid of natural food!
It's ok, I don't want to live to 100 anyways and be a burden on taxpayers.
My grandparents and family ate eggs, drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes and still lived healthily to their mid to late 80's, many in their 90's.
You can OD on water, the air is dirty, eggs are bad. Well it's a lot better for you than soda pop, enriched this or that.
You can keep your current medical journal scare tactics, Im sticking with natural foods my ancestors ate and lived healthy with.
And that includes pot and alcohol 🙂
Well I'm 61 and I've figured it all out...you were born...you live...you die. How long, how well you live is a roll of the dice. When craps comes up, it's over. The End.
It's also important to look at the impact factor of the journal in which this study was published. Impact factors measure the number of times the journal is cited as well as the standards applied by the editors and peer reviewers as to the quality of a particular paper. The higher the impact factor, the more difficult it is to publish in the journal, the more credible the study is regarded, and the greater the impact it is deemed it will have. The journal Atherosclerosis has an impact factor of about 3.8. Compare this to the top medical journals, The New England Journal of Medicine, which has an impact factor of about 53, or The Lancet, which has an impact factor of about 38. Comparatively, an impact factor of 3.8 suggests that the study is not considered very rigorous, and while the results might be of some interest, it needs further support from independent studies using better methods.
This is a HUGE crock... my grandma lived to 102 , and ate eggs almost every day.... There was a study done in the 50's that concluded that cholesterol was causing cardiovascular disease . There was a correlation between cholesterol intake and arterial plaque.... BUT... THEY DIDN'T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE RISE IN SUGAR AND FRUCTOSE !!! IDIOTS ! I bet you could make a graph of donut intake , and correlate it with heart disease.. The real culprit is high simple carb diet, aka sugars and fructose, which is causing the heart problems, as well as TONS of other conditions... This study in the cnn article is a sham, in order to push the agenda of big pharma to sell more statin drugs... If you have heart problems, don't cut out cholesterol, cut out sugars and high carbs, and get off your butt and do some exercise !! Look up
the marathon runner Noel Johnson's biography and you'll see how he beat heart disease at age 70, and went on to run marathons !!!!! Don't believe the crap you see in these types of studys.....
this study is for people who had already had a stroke and high blood pressure. But they don't tell us if the participants are also fat pigs who are shoveling all sorts of other foods into their disgusting mouths.
The article forgets to mention that egg yolk contains omega 3 fatty acid DHA that essential to our brain.
Even posting this is irresponsible. The study looked at older people with existing heart problems and invented the term "yolk years" to mean something completely arbitrary. At best, this is pseudoscience. No conclusions, however abstract, can be remotely drawn from this "research".
What a bunch of junk science. Talk about staking the deck to support your own conclusions. Of course a group of people with pre-existingle conditions are going to exhibit a higher level of cholesterol levels. How in the hell can you call yourself a scientist when don't control for other important factors such as waist size, exercise regiment, smoking habits or other ditary intake (such as fatty meats)? Is this the same doctor that said mercury in vaccinations causes austism?
This is one of those "preliminary research" studies and the conclusion is highly subject to change because other recent studies have determined the yolk is not as bad as previously thought. It's been proven that only a small fraction of the cholesterol in chicken yolks is normally absorbed into the body. I eat about 6-10 eggs/week and my every-three-month blood tests show a cholesterol level of 128-157 with the right numbers for HDL, LDL, ratios, and triclicerides. If all the cholesterol in egg yolks entered the body as the article implies, I'd be over 200.
I am 66 years old. My BP is around 115/75, heart rate about 60, and Colesterol 171. My lab reports generally look like a spec sheet from a how to build a healthy human manual. I eat probably 40 or more dozen eggs a year. I am a devoted carnivore, with beef and pork chops at the top of my list. When a chop or steak is served me the only thing left when I am done is the bone. I come from a family of dairy farmers who drank what they sold, and ate llots of eggs; with most of the men living well into their ninties. And they all basically worked at some level until they died.
Genetics, not chickens determine our fate.
I have haven't really delved into it in a while, but as I recall there is an amout of lecithin in an egg which negates the colesterol factor.
The bottom line is to pay attention to how you feel and what part your food plays in that. Listening to others who have no idea of who you are is a wonderful way to end up in a medication nightmare that will eventually kill you.
So they tested people who already had underlying heart conditions and they concluded it is the eggs?
I take it that Egg Yolk flavored Potato Chips aren't going to hit the market any time soon.
So sad.
Did the writer of this article ever hear of moderation? Eat in moderation. This is just toooooooooooooo damn stupid to be in print.
I agree with zandhcats above – egg yoke contains omega 3 fatty acid DHA that is essential to our brain. What does the author suggest we eat? TOFU? Vafongool to that. Let the author not eat egg yokes, do they prefer egg whites only chicken sperm?
Well, I wonder if Mayor Bloomberg will now want to limit the number of eggs in a carton.
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/08august/Pages/Eating-egg-yolks-as-bad-as-smoking.aspx
Gee, you take people with cardiovascular problems, find out they eat eggs, and then make the connection that the eggs are the cause? Seems a bit ridiculous to me. They state that they couldn't use people without heart disease because it would take too long to get results. Yeah, but then you might have a result that was based on some kind of fact.
This study had a severe flaw and contradictory results.
Flaw: It was based on asking people to remember how many eggs they ate during the year. NOBODY has an accurate count of that.
Contradictory results: Though the higher-egg group had more plaque buildup on their arterial walls, they did NOT have more cholesterol circulating in their blood. Absolutely NO increase in blood levels based on egg consumption. A thinking reporter might wonder how that extra plaque is getting there if it isn't in their blood. Also, that egg-eating group tended to be (drum roll)... OLDER. Declaring eggs to be dangerous is no more rational than suspecting that the egg-eaters simply had more years for the buildup to occur.
So the data collection was a bunk method, and the results don't make sense. But oh boy, what a great headline!
Correction: The participants were asked to estimate average weekly egg consumption, and the researchers extrapolated to egg-years.
Really? The so called experts are really lending themselves alot of credibility on this one. People have been eating eggs since the dawn of time. Next story, experts used to say, that shipping jobs overseas is actually good for the economy! Oh and experts say that the milkey way is going to collide with another galaxy in 5 billion years.
Does this mean Mayor Bloomburg is going to ban egg yolks in addition to large size pop and baby formula as well? Then he will put up video cameras all over the city to make sure everyone is in compliance. Oh wait a miniute....their already up.