Eggs are no longer recommended for high cholesterol. On the contrary. Our nutrition expert reveals how many we can now safely eat per day.
For a long time, eggs were singled out and not recommended for people who have cholesterol. It was accused of clogging our arteries because of the cholesterol content of its yolk. However, science has evolved and the view of specialists with it. “It’s an old medical belief,” insist French doctors like Jean-Michel Cohen, convinced that egg is the reference protein. As Audrey Vergès, naturopath and specialist in nutrition and weight loss, explains to the Journal des Femmes, the shortcut between eggs and blood cholesterol is now being called into question: “Eggs are not a problem for cholesterol. Cholesterol does not increase because of a single food (in this case the egg), but because of a synergy of factors (industrial fats, excess refined sugar, absence of fiber in the diet, sedentary lifestyle, etc.).
Of course, not all eggs are nutritionally equal. To protect your cardiovascular health, you should favor eggs rich in omega 3, which have anti-inflammatory properties. According to Audrey Vergès, “the ideal are eggs from the Bleu-Blanc-Cœur sector“. Conversely, battery eggs, often from animals fed soy or corn, are too rich in omega 6, which makes them pro-inflammatory and much less beneficial for the body.
If you’re watching your cholesterol, you’re probably expecting a severe restriction. Make no mistake: the new recommendations are much more flexible than before. The specialist does not hesitate to challenge preconceived ideas during her follow-ups: “In consultation, I recommend up to 3 eggs per day if they are of good quality (i.e. up to 21 eggs per week)“, says Audrey Vergès. For example, you can eat them soft-boiled, soft-boiled, poached, fried or even in an omelette (provided you don’t put too much fat in the pan) and take care to keep the yolk slightly runny to preserve all its virtues.
This approach is shared by many nutritional doctors, such as Dr Jean-Michel Lecerf, head of the nutrition department at the Pasteur Institute in Lille, who regularly points out that dietary cholesterol has little influence on blood levels. “The limit of 2 or 3 per week is an obsolete recommendation: the egg is above all a nutritional gold mine which it would be a shame to deprive yourself of for fear of outdated figures.“, he indicates in his work “Cholesterol decrypted” (Éditions Solar).
A study published in the journal Metabolism confirms that consuming 3 eggs per day increases “good” cholesterol (HDL) and does not negatively modify “bad” cholesterol (LDL) as part, of course, of a diet balanced in sugars, fibers and lipids. This quantity of 3 eggs per day, which may seem surprising, is part of a modern nutritional approach where we favor good fats rather than eliminating them. Of course, this advice applies to the majority of the population; in the event of a rare genetic pathology linked to cholesterol, the advice of your doctor remains essential
Beyond eggs, it is your overall lifestyle that determines cholesterol management. Rather than tracking down a single food, it is better to monitor processed sugars and poor-quality saturated fats, which actually promote fatty deposits in the arteries. By integrating quality eggs into a diet rich in plants and fiber, you benefit from an excellent source of protein and vitamins without putting your health at risk. The egg thus becomes again what it has always been: a complete and accessible nutritional ally.
