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Posted on 03/01/2026 1:03:45 PM PST by nickcarraway
Research led by Yoshimi Kishimoto (Setsunan University) and Norie Sugihara (Kanagawa University of Human Services)
Yolks Were Blamed For Heart Disease For Decades, But This Major Review Suggests Otherwise
In A Nutshell
-Decades of dietary advice warned against eggs, but a major review of clinical trials and global data finds moderate consumption does not raise heart disease risk for most people.
-Eating eggs raised “bad” LDL cholesterol only modestly, while “good” HDL cholesterol rose at the same time, leaving the clinically important ratio between the two unchanged.
=Antioxidants in egg yolks, lutein and zeaxanthin, appear to protect cholesterol in the blood from the kind of damage linked to artery disease.
-Japan consumes eggs at nearly double the global median rate and has some of the world’s lowest heart disease rates, an association researchers say warrants continued attention.
For generations, cracking a second egg into the pan felt like a small act of dietary defiance. Doctors warned about cholesterol. Health guidelines urged restraint. Millions of Americans swapped yolks for egg whites and wondered if breakfast was quietly killing them. Now, however, a wide-ranging scientific review published in the Journal of Poultry Science is making the case that the alarm bells were set too loud.
The analysis pulls together evidence from clinical trials, large-scale observational studies, and population data spanning 142 countries to examine what eggs actually do to the heart. The answer, drawn largely from observational and ecological research, is more forgiving than most people would expect. For the majority of people, moderate egg consumption does not appear to raise heart disease risk and may, in some cases, offer modest protection.
Nowhere is that finding more relevant than in Japan. Japanese adults eat eggs at nearly double the global median rate, yet Japan consistently ranks among the countries with the lowest rates of ischemic heart disease, the kind caused by reduced blood flow to the heart muscle. Researchers are careful to note that country-level comparisons like this identify associations, not causes, and many factors beyond eggs differ between nations. Still, that contradiction helped motivate the research and forms one of its most compelling threads.
What Eggs Actually Do to Your Cholesterol
Much of the fear around eggs traces back to their cholesterol content. For decades, the thinking was linear: eat more dietary cholesterol, get more in the blood, damage the arteries. In reality, the biology is considerably more complicated.
A meta-analysis of 28 randomized controlled trials found that eating more eggs produced only modest increases in total cholesterol and LDL, the so-called “bad” cholesterol. HDL, the “good” cholesterol that helps clear harmful fats from the bloodstream, rose at the same time. As a result, the ratio between the two, a clinically important marker of heart disease risk, stayed stable. Researchers estimate the total cholesterol rise from eating eggs amounts to roughly 2 to 3 percent per egg, an effect considerably smaller than what saturated fats from red meat and butter produce.
Part of the reason the impact is muted comes down to the body’s own feedback systems. When a person consumes more dietary cholesterol, the liver tends to dial back its own production. Egg white protein also appears to suppress cholesterol absorption in the gut. And in populations whose diets already favor healthy fats over saturated ones, including Japan, the effect is even less pronounced.
The Hidden Ingredient in the Yolk
Eggs carry more than protein and cholesterol. The yolk is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidant compounds that help protect cholesterol in the blood from the kind of damage that makes it more likely to stick to artery walls. Among Japanese women, eggs are the single largest dietary source of zeaxanthin, supplying more than half of total intake.
Sunny side up eggs
It’s estimated the total cholesterol rise from egg consumption amounts to roughly 2 to 3 percent per egg. That’s much less than what saturated fats from red meat and butter produce. (Photo by Ismael Trevino on Unsplash)
Two small studies conducted in Japanese adults put this to a direct test. In both, participants added one egg per day to their usual diet for four weeks. In healthy adults, HDL cholesterol rose and markers of LDL oxidation improved. Among men with moderately elevated cholesterol, total and LDL levels did not rise significantly, while harmful oxidized LDL dropped. Lutein and zeaxanthin levels climbed in tandem, and the higher those antioxidants rose, the lower the damaging LDL tended to fall. Crucially, each study involved fewer than 30 participants over a short period, so these findings are suggestive rather than definitive. The egg yolk, long cast as the villain, may carry its own defense mechanism.
Looking Inside the Arteries Blood tests tell part of the story. A study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology took a more direct approach, examining 795 Japanese patients who underwent coronary angiography, a procedure that uses imaging to look for blockages inside the arteries feeding the heart. Among those patients, 506 were diagnosed with coronary artery disease and 299 had blockages in more than one artery.
After accounting for age, smoking, diabetes, and other dietary habits, the data showed no significant link between egg consumption and arterial disease. Patients eating fewer than three eggs per week, three to four per week, and at least one per day had comparable rates of blockage.
A more interesting finding surfaced among the 504 patients who were not taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. In that group, people eating three to four eggs per week had roughly half the odds of multi-vessel disease compared to those eating fewer than three eggs per week, suggesting a possible association between moderate intake and lower multi-vessel disease in this subgroup. No such pattern appeared in those eating one or more eggs daily.
The Bigger Picture Population-level data from 142 countries, tracking egg intake and heart disease rates from 1990 to 2018, showed that countries with higher egg consumption tended to have lower rates of ischemic heart disease incidence and death. A large international prospective cohort study involving roughly 177,000 people across 50 countries found no significant connection between egg intake and cardiovascular events or mortality. A 2020 meta-analysis found that eating up to one egg per day was not linked to increased cardiovascular risk and may lower it in Asian populations.
Some studies, particularly those from the United States, have linked high egg consumption with elevated cardiovascular risk. What those studies share is a dietary context where eggs tend to arrive alongside processed meats, refined carbohydrates, and foods high in saturated fat. An egg eaten in that environment is a different proposition than one eaten as part of a diet built around fish, vegetables, and healthy fats. The egg rarely acts alone.
What the evidence does support, across clinical trials, observational studies, and global population data, is that the old blanket warnings may have been too blunt. For most people eating a reasonably balanced diet, eggs appear to be far less dangerous than a generation of dietary advice suggested. Japan eats eggs freely and has some of the world’s lowest heart disease rates. That contrast alone is worth paying attention to.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a scientific review and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice. Readers with questions about their diet or cardiovascular health should consult a qualified healthcare provider.
Paper Notes
Study Limitations
This is a narrative review rather than an original clinical trial, meaning its conclusions rest on the quality and consistency of the studies it synthesizes. The research it examines varies considerably in design, from small controlled trials to large population analyses. Ecological studies, which compare country-level data, identify correlations and cannot establish cause and effect. The two Japanese intervention studies each involved fewer than 30 participants and ran for only four weeks. The Japanese focus of several key studies means findings may not translate directly to populations with different diets, genetic backgrounds, or cooking practices. The authors acknowledge that population-specific responses and dietary patterns require further investigation through longer-term studies.
Funding and Disclosures
The authors declare no conflict of interest. No external funding sources are listed in the published paper.
Publication Details
Authors: Yoshimi Kishimoto, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Setsunan University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan; Norie Sugihara, Faculty of Health and Social Services, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan. | Journal: Journal of Poultry Science | Title: “Egg Consumption and Human Health: A Comprehensive Review of the Effects on Serum Lipids, Antioxidant Status, and Cardiovascular Outcomes” | DOI: 10.2141/jpsa.2026001 ” | Published: Journal of Poultry Science, Volume 63, 2026. Available online January 6, 2026. Open Access under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
That’s my breakfast every day except that I alternate with two scrambles eggs with 7g butter. When I am really feeling fit I might have those fried eggs on a rasher of butcher craft bacon. All in the same pan.
Mostly these food prognostications are simply casual relationships which change over time. What I mean is that if you survey people who have 3 but no more than 7 glasses of red wine per week you are zeroing in on a very specific population of rich white people of Western European heritage who are not alcoholics. Do they have good health? Duh!
We walk every day as well. There are occasional days when we don’t, and we always miss it. It helps clear our heads if nothing else.
LDL goes up with body mass.
The fatter/heavier you are the higher the LDL.
I have had genetically high cholesterol my entire adult life. One of my older brothers has it too. The others don’t.
However, I have always had proportionally high good cholesterol too(HDL). So, it was never really an issue until I got in my fifties then sixties and gained too much weight.
I tried five different statins. They all had the same bad side effect. Leg muscle weakness. So, I stopped taking them.
I even tried the Red Yeast Rice. Which is what they originally synthesized Lipitor from. Same results.
The only thing that has ever worked for me was intermittent fasting.
Which I started a little over a year ago. I have lost about 30+ pounds. My total cholesterol dropped from 265 to 205.
My method is to not eat from Sunday night after dinner until Tuesday morning. I repeat that from Wednesday night until Friday. I eat normally all other days.
I dropped from 38” pants to 36”.
Maximum weight was 213. I have been as low as 179. I was 182 yesterday. I have to fast weekly to NOT put the weight back on.
Medical “science” when it comes to dietary practices - notice how many more fat and sick people we have after decades of their crap?
IF you can get farm fresh eggs they are even better. I don’t have chickens. Never will. However, there are at least a dozen people that sell eggs within a few miles of my house.
I buy mine from a gentlemens farm about a mile away. They have duck eggs too. They also raise a few hogs and have goats. They also make jams & pickles.
The yokes of these eggs are so much darker in color than the ones you buy in the store. Sometimes they are almost orange.
Plus, I kinda like knowing where my food is coming from.
There is another small farm that sells lamb meat and gellato made with the milk from those sheep. She also has eggs from her chickens.
Lastly, I shot a deer out behind the house last November. The meat is great. Plus I know what that deer was eating.
It was not raised in some feed lot being fed GMO grains.
I stopped taking it (20 mg/day) 6 years ago. As a concession to my LDL number dropping much more than ever from June to October on its own for some reason but still above 200 (I think it’s the oatmeal), he still wants me on it for stroke prevention but only has me on 10 mg a day and we’ll see what the number looks like in April.
Pretty much the same here. I’m going to try the intermittent fasting as well.
I’m feeding the deer in my yard so we are not shooting them.
But, the butcher has local fresh eggs and lots of other stuff. He has bakery bread and tons of homemade stuff. I get the Jumbo eggs and they vary between 70 and 80 grams and as you said, orange yolks. They do have very thin shells however and so I have to handle them carefully especially when hard boiling.
I eat a lot of Portuguese sardines. flash frozen Norway salmon and buy Basmati rice by the 15 lb bag.
In any given week I probably eat 15 Jumbo eggs a half lb of bacon, 5 cans of Nuri sardines 5 fillets of salmon a pound of raw frozen shrimp, rice and a loaf of bakery focaccia. And not much else. I don’t do recipes with more than three ingredients.
On bad weather days I walk inside my 3 bedroom house.
I eat only Basmati rice grown at foothills of Himalaya mountains in India. Never found a better rice although Thailand had delicious chicken fried rice, but it was not Basmati.
Where do you buy Norwegian salmon?
I am fasting right now. It is always harder on Monday when I have been eating and drinking all weekend.
Thursday always is the easier fast day.
It also helps IF you restrain from sweets(sugar) and booze on the other days.
We do that too! Or sometimes ride our stationary bike. GMTA!
My wife signed us up for this company out of MA called Walden. Named after the author.
They sell farm raised meats and fresh caught fish.
They actually deliver to our house once a month in NH.
It is all grass fed free range beef. Same with the chicken/pork. Thick cut bacon.
The seafood is all wild caught. Nothing raised on fish farms in Vietnam/China.
Sams sells it shipped in dry ice from NJ.https://www.samsclub.com/ip/Member-s-Mark-Norwegian-Antibiotic-Free-Sashimi-Grade-Skinless-Atlantic-Salmon-Frozen-5-lbs-10-12-ct/13589450405?classType=REGULAR&from=/search
Yea, Vietnam is not ok for seafood.
What I have read is a lot of the Vietnam seafood actually comes from China. Then it is sent to Vietnam to be repackaged because NO ONE wants to buy Chinese seafood.
Most of the shrimp in grocery stores comes from Vietnam.
Yea you have to read the package.
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