Are eggs bad for your heart health? Cardiovascular surgeon offers surprising answers

Are eggs bad for your heart?

Dr Jeremy London, a cardiovascular surgeon in Savannah, Georgia, posed the question to his more than one million followers on social media. His answer may be surprising to some.

London told Fox News Digital that “Eggs have gotten a really bad rap” over the years, in large part because the American Heart Association (AHA) “came down hard on eggs” for being a poor dietary source and a heart risk.

But, London said, “That whole narrative really softened” in 2015 because the data “didn’t pull up.”

“And that’s because dietary cholesterol really doesn’t affect our total cholesterol as much as we think it does,” he said.

Eggs are a “God-made product” and “a great source of protein,” London said.

A regular egg has about 5 to 6 grams of protein — but it’s also “packed with minerals” and “micronutrients” like Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Selenium and Choline, London noted.

“So it really has borne itself out of being the risk that was originally stated in the ’70s and ’80s,” London said.

“And now it’s actually thought to be a really good dietary source for individuals.”

The American Heart Association, based in Dallas, Texas, told Fox News Digital that one whole egg a day can be included as part of a heart-healthy diet for healthy adults—while two eggs daily is acceptable. for healthy older adults with normal cholesterol.

In his video, London warned that it’s “challenging to study a single food” and “really critical to understanding the whole diet” of an individual.

When it comes to the type of eggs consumed, London said he believes there is “an advantage” to eating eggs produced by free-range chickens.

“I personally think that [has] An impact because, just like ‘we are what we eat,’ everything we put in our mouths is then the building blocks for ourselves,” London said.

“The same is true of chickens.”

As for whether the yolk or the white is better for your heart, “most of the dietary benefit actually comes from the yolk,” London said.

“I’ll use two eggs and then I’ll add some egg whites to it to give it more volume and more protein,” London said.

“Because I want the nutritional value from the yolk, but I like to have that added protein just because I’ve relied so much on protein in my personal diet.”

Above all, however, London emphasized that it is a personal choice whether or not to eat eggs.

London ended his video with this message to his followers: “Listen to your body, follow your biomarkers and create a nutritional plan that is absolutely right for you.”