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Review
. 2024 May 9;16(5):e59952.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.59952. eCollection 2024 May.

Debunking the Myth: Eggs and Heart Disease

Affiliations
Review

Debunking the Myth: Eggs and Heart Disease

Raymond Haward et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Eggs, which are often considered a complete food, have recently been scrutinized by the media as a potential cause of cardiovascular disease. However, the media hasn't shown the same enthusiasm for processed foods high in fructose, the consumption of refined cooking oil, seed oils, and carbohydrate-rich meals, the connection between these factors and metabolic diseases, or the potential long-term impacts on population comorbidities, as they have for criticizing egg yolks as a cause for cardiovascular disease in recent times. This review investigates the relationship between eggs and lipid levels, glucose levels, atherosclerosis, and antioxidant properties, as well as comparing them to cholesterol-free egg controls. We conducted the review in response to a recent trend of discarding nutritious and energy-rich egg yolks due to the belief propagated by the media that removing egg yolks from a normal diet is cardioprotective after the media started to blame egg yolks as the cause of the recent surge in heart attacks. However, the media fails to highlight the fact that eggs have been an integral part of the human diet since the domestication of hens. On the other hand, recent additions to the human diet a few decades ago, such as fructose-rich breakfast cereals, coffee beverages with sugar levels comparable to candy bars, protein supplements for diabetics that are notorious for raising blood glucose levels, and the heightened consumption of seed oil, which causes inflammation, have been responsible for the surge in cardiovascular events in recent times. Social media platforms often showcase visually appealing junk food products and sugary beverages as a sign of wealth, promoting unhealthy processed food and ultimately causing a decline in an individual's lifespan and overall health.

Keywords: egg albumin; egg white; fried egg; hdl ldl; hdl-cholesterol; healthy life; heart disease; ldl cholesterol; propaganda; st-elevation myocardial infarction (stemi).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Visualizing the Distribution of Large Buoyant LDL and Small Dense LDL in Patients with Healthy and Unhealthy Diet
This figure has been created by the authors. LDL: Low-density lipoprotein; OCP: Oral contraceptive pill

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