The European HELENA study on nutrition in adolescents, led by the University of Granada, Spain, has shown that eating up to seven eggs per week in adolescents does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
This is due to the fact that the amount of egg ingested does not influence the plasma cholesterol level, the intake of saturated fats and trans fats (red meat, industrial pastries) being more harmful in this sense than the intake of cholesterol that is naturally present. .The egg contains 200 milligrams of cholesterol but only 70 calories and more unsaturated than saturated fat.
The study suggests a review of the health recommendations regarding this product, which reaffirms itself after decades of bad reputation as a food rich in nutrients and essential in the growth stage.Twentieth-century medicine mistakenly associated eating more than two eggs a week with risk factorssuch as lipid profile, adiposity, insulin resistance or blood pressure.
As Alberto Soriano Maldonado, first author of the work to the Scientific News and Information Service, points out, “traditionally, health professionals maintained that eating eggs increased the cholesterol level, therefore in recent decades there has been a tendency to restrict their intake since various public health organizations ”. In fact, for the researcher, “the egg is a cheap food and rich in proteins of first quality, minerals, folates and vitamins of group Band, therefore, it can provide a large amount of the nutrients that are necessary in adolescence for optimal development “. Hence the importance of this type of research.
At the same time, the researchers warn that it will be necessary to expand the research to populations with a higher daily egg consumption.
