(Mirror Daily, United States) – Finnish researchers discovered that eggs are not responsible for heart problems, as it was believed until now. According to their study, food that is rich in cholesterol is not always responsible for the development of heart illnesses, contrary to what previous studies have shown.

The study that was published in the Clinical Nutrition American Journal describes the fact that even though some food is rich in dietary cholesterol, it doesn’t mean that it will automatically raise the blood cholesterol levels.

In order to reach these conclusions, the team of Finnish researchers gathered a sample of 1,000 healthy male volunteers with ages in between 42 and 60. One-third of the volunteers were carriers of the ApoE4-a gene. A variant gene that is thought to increase the chances of a patient developing heart illnesses or Alzheimer’s disease.

For 21 years the researchers examined the diets of the participants via regular questionnaires. They also performed regular check-ups on all of the participants. At the end of the 21 years, 230 participants out of the total of 1,000 developed cholesterol-related heart problems.

According to their questionnaires, the men consumed an average of 2,800 mg of cholesterol each week. Around a quarter of this came from the four boiled eggs that the men consumed in an average week. A single boiled egg contains approximately 180 mg of cholesterol. The level rises when the egg is fried.

After adjusting their results for other control factors like education, age, BMI, hypertension, diabetes and other individual characteristics that the researchers deemed relevant to the study, they concluded that dietary cholesterol and eggs are not responsible for heart problems.

But don’t go whipping out the frying pan just yet. The Finnish scientists underlined the fact that a moderate cholesterol intake is safe. If an individual prefers to eat food rich in cholesterol more often, then he or she might risk developing heart problems like coronary artery illness.

Foods rich in cholesterol like eggs are not responsible for heart problems, but the key lies not only in choosing your food wisely but also in moderation. If foods that are generally considered rich in cholesterol are consumed in moderation then there is no reason for worry, whatsoever.

Apart from eggs, other foods that have a high cholesterol level are fast foods, fish, liver, shellfish, shrimp, butter, bacon, sausages, cheese, pastries and red meat. The daily recommended dose is of 300 mg.

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