An egg a day may keep the doctor away, study claims

9-year research conducted on Chinese adults

For decades, experts warned that eating eggs raises levels of unhealthy cholesterol. But a study yesterday said an egg a day may actually reduce the risk of heart disease.

The authors claimed that Chinese adults who ate an egg every day had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studying half-a-million healthy adults aged 3079 over almost nine years, researchers concluded that “compared with non-consumers, daily egg consumption was associated with lower risk of CVD.”

Risk of haemorrhagic stroke was 26 per cent lower among egg-eaters, the Chinese-British research team reported in the journal Heart. And daily egg consumption was associated with an 18 per cent lower risk of death from CVD, and a 28 per cent lower risk for death from haemorrhagic stroke.

Eggs are rich in dietary cholesterol, long linked to a higher CVD risk, but also contain crucial protein and vitamins. In the study group, 13 per cent reported daily egg consumption, while nine per cent said they never or hardly ever ate them.

But experts not involved in the study said the results fail to prove that eating eggs actively lowers CVD risk.

“An important limitation of this study is that the people who consumed eggs regularly were much more affluent than those who avoided them,” University College of London nutrition specialist Tom Sanders said.