Its long been thought that eggs had extremely high cholesterol levels and we should only eat them a few times a week. However Canadian scientists have now performed a study that shows in fact they can lower blood pressure and can therefore protect our health, and scientists at Surrey University this month published research saying it was a myth that consuming a lot of eggs raised cholesterol levels.
Not only are eggs now back on the ‘good food’ list but apparently fried eggs are the best way to cook them. The scientists discovered that eggs produce a protein that blocks a hormone, angiogenesis, that causes blood vessels to narrow when they come into contact with stomach enzymes. When fried more angiogenesis is blocked. This mimics the action of ACE inhibitors, which many people globally are prescribed to lower blood pressure.
The Surrey University scientists gave a group of overweight but otherwise healthy volunteers two eggs a day for twelve weeks and measured their blood cholesterol half-way through and at the end of the control period. They discovered that there was either no change or a reduction in cholesterol, especially in the ‘bad’ cholesterol LDL. The study backs up an increasing belief amongst the medical community that it is foods containing saturated or trans-fats that boost blood cholesterol, not those which are merely cholesterol-rich.
Previously, the British Heart Foundation had advised against eating more than three eggs a week but in recent years they have quietly dropped that suggestion. Bruce Griffin, the professor of nutritional metabolism who lead the British study, said:“Eggs make a nutritional contribution to a healthy, calorie-restricted diet. We have shown that when two eggs a day are eaten by people who are actively losing weight on a calorie-restricted diet, blood cholesterol can still be reduced."