Egg yolks almost as bad as smoking for heart
Eating egg yolks accelerates atherosclerosis, also called coronary artery disease, in a manner similar to smoking cigarettes, say researchers.
Atherosclerosis is a disorder of the arteries where plaques, aggravated
by cholesterol, form on the inner arterial wall. Plaque rupture is the
usual cause of most heart attacks and many strokes.
The researchers found carotid plaque area increased linearly with age
after age 40, but increased exponentially with pack-years of smoking and
egg yolk-years. In other words, compared to age, both tobacco smoking
and egg yolk
consumption accelerate atherosclerosis. The study also found those
eating three or more yolks a week had significantly more plaque area
than those who ate two or fewer yolks per week.
"The mantra
'eggs can be part of a healthy diet for healthy people' has confused the
issue. It has been known for a long time that a high cholesterol
intake increases the risk of cardiovascular events, and egg yolks have a
very high cholesterol content. In diabetics, an egg a day increases
coronary risk by two to five-fold," said Dr. Spence, a Professor of
Neurology at Western's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and the
Director of its Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre
(SPARC) at the Robarts Research Institute.
"What we have shown is that with aging,
plaque builds up gradually in the arteries of Canadians, and egg yolks
make it build up faster - about two-thirds as much as smoking. In the
long haul, egg yolks are not okay for most Canadians," he stated.
Dr. Spence added the effect of egg yolk consumption over time on
increasing the amount of plaque in the arteries was independent of sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index and diabetes.
And while he said more research should be done to take in possible
confounders such as exercise and waist circumference, he stresses that
regular consumption of egg yolk should be avoided by persons at risk of
cardiovascular disease.
The research has been published online in the journal Atherosclerosis.
COURTESY--TIMES OF INDIA
Eating egg yolks accelerates atherosclerosis, also called coronary artery disease, in a manner similar to smoking cigarettes, say researchers.
Atherosclerosis is a disorder of the arteries where plaques, aggravated
by cholesterol, form on the inner arterial wall. Plaque rupture is the
usual cause of most heart attacks and many strokes.
The researchers found carotid plaque area increased linearly with age
after age 40, but increased exponentially with pack-years of smoking and
egg yolk-years. In other words, compared to age, both tobacco smoking
and egg yolk
consumption accelerate atherosclerosis. The study also found those
eating three or more yolks a week had significantly more plaque area
than those who ate two or fewer yolks per week.
"The mantra
'eggs can be part of a healthy diet for healthy people' has confused the
issue. It has been known for a long time that a high cholesterol
intake increases the risk of cardiovascular events, and egg yolks have a
very high cholesterol content. In diabetics, an egg a day increases
coronary risk by two to five-fold," said Dr. Spence, a Professor of
Neurology at Western's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and the
Director of its Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre
(SPARC) at the Robarts Research Institute.
"What we have shown is that with aging,
plaque builds up gradually in the arteries of Canadians, and egg yolks
make it build up faster - about two-thirds as much as smoking. In the
long haul, egg yolks are not okay for most Canadians," he stated.
Dr. Spence added the effect of egg yolk consumption over time on
increasing the amount of plaque in the arteries was independent of sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index and diabetes.
And while he said more research should be done to take in possible
confounders such as exercise and waist circumference, he stresses that
regular consumption of egg yolk should be avoided by persons at risk of
cardiovascular disease.
The research has been published online in the journal Atherosclerosis.
COURTESY--TIMES OF INDIA
கருத்துகள் இல்லை:
கருத்துரையிடுக