According to a recent study, published in the journal Heart, people who consumed egg daily had an 18 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases. The study was conducted in China. In previous studies, patients were warned against eating too many eggs, as it was believed that the high amounts of cholesterol may turn out to be harmful for one's health. However, according to co-author of the study, Canqing Yu, existing studies on the association between egg and cardiovascular diseases are controversial due to small sample size and limited information.
Past studies have provided only limited evidence from the Chinese population, "which have huge differences in dietary habits, lifestyle behaviours and diseases patterns," Yu said. The study found slightly more than 13 percent of adults - ranging in age from 30 to 79 - said they ate about an egg a day while just over 9 percent reported never or very rarely enjoying an egg. Nearly all the participants ate chicken eggs, not duck eggs, Yu noted.
For the study, the researchers tracked a select group for a period of nearly nine years. The researchers aimed to focus on major coronary events during the study.
According to Yu, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of deaths in China, which accounted for half of the total mortality. "Stroke, including haemorrhagic and ischemic stroke, is the first cause of premature death, followed by ischemic heart disease," Yu added.
As per the findings of the study, participants who consumed up to one egg daily had a 26 percent lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke, which happened to be quite common in China than in the United States or other high-income countries. Other than this, egg eaters had a 28 percent lower risk of dying from heart-related diseases.
Based on the results, Yu said, eating eggs in moderation -- less than one a day -- is associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases, especially haemorrhagic stroke.