Does 1 Egg Per Day Keep Doctors Away?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Could an egg a day could keep the doctor away?
A new study found eating one daily lowers your risk of heart disease. The advice about eggs has changed a lot over the years.
So are eggs all they're cracked up to be? Good Question. WCCO's Heather Brown stopped by "The Egg and I" in St. Paul on Wednesday for lunch.
The average American eats about 250 eggs a year. And we've heard everything from eggs are the perfect food, to eggs are as bad as cigarettes.
That's confusing.
"You could get away with seven eggs a week," said Dr. Les Forgosh, a cardiologist with HealthEast Heart Care, part of Fairview Health Services. "Two or three a day, probably not reasonable."
An egg has 180 milligrams of cholesterol – all of it's in the yolk. Dr. Forgosh recommends keeping your cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams a day.
"Does it matter how much cholesterol you eat in a day? In some people, it does," Dr. Forgosh said.
Our bodies need cholesterol, so our liver makes it for us.
But the doctor says when you eat cholesterol, the liver also breaks it down into the good kind – the HDL – and the bad kind – LDL.
"There are certain genetic groups that have low LDL," Dr. Forgosh said. "Because their liver destroys that LDL quicker than someone else who may not destroy it as quickly."
"I think one egg a day for breakfast is OK, but be careful of what you're having on the side of that," Dr. Forgosh said.
He says if your genes make you worry about cholesterol, try egg beaters or egg whites.