Asking about health | Will eating egg yolks really increase blood lipids? If you abandon it, you will lose valuable nutrients.
Will eating egg yolks increase blood lipids? In life, there is a widespread saying that "high cholesterol in egg yolks can damage blood vessels". Experts remind that cholesterol in food and cholesterol in human blood are not the same concept. If you discard egg yolks, you will easily lose valuable nutrients.
Discarding egg yolks can easily lead to loss of valuable nutrients.
According to experts, it is very common in clinical practice for people with high blood lipids and cardiovascular risk to consult on how to eat eggs. Many patients directly remove egg yolks from the table after their physical examination reveals that their cholesterol is high. In fact, 70% to 80% of the cholesterol in human blood is synthesized by the liver itself, and only 20% to 30% comes from daily dietary intake.
Fan Zhihong, professor at the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering at China Agricultural University: The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents tell us that when eating eggs, you must eat them with the yolk, because the egg white part is mainly protein plus water, and some potassium. Most of the vitamins, trace elements and health care ingredients are in the egg yolk, and the egg yolk also contains nearly half of the protein. The only disadvantage of the egg yolk is that it has higher cholesterol, and everything else is an advantage. Vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, lutein, betaine, choline, these good things are all in the egg yolk.
Although egg yolk contains dietary cholesterol, it is also rich in nutrients such as lecithin and multiple vitamins. Lecithin can help lipid metabolism. Discarding the yolk completely means giving up more than half of the egg's nutrition. Experts emphasize that cardiovascular risk should not be judged based on a certain food alone, but also the overall diet structure.
Hu Rong, Director of the Health Management Center of Beijing Anzhen Hospital: Generally speaking, one egg a day is not a problem. Even for some people with weak resistance, thinness, and insufficient protein intake, we think 2 to 3 eggs a day are okay. We do not recommend not taking in any cholesterol, because if we don’t take in any cholesterol, our body will synthesize more cholesterol as compensation, and the cholesterol in the blood will not suddenly become particularly low.
When controlling blood lipids, don’t just focus on egg yolks. You need to control oil and sugar first.
Egg yolk is not the main cause of elevated blood lipids. What eating habits can quietly increase blood cholesterol and damage blood vessels?
According to experts, in the diet, prioritizing the intake of saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids is the core principle of the lipid-lowering diet. Excess saturated fatty acids stimulate the liver to synthesize more bad cholesterol, also known as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and accelerate the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. What is even more harmful is trans fatty acids, which increase low-density lipoprotein cholesterol while lowering high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which has a protective effect on blood vessels, and increase the risk of cardiovascular damage.
Hu Rong, Director of the Health Management Center of Beijing Anzhen Hospital: Tropical vegetable oils or fatty meats contain more saturated fatty acids. Animal offal, as well as crabs, especially crab roe, are full of saturated fatty acids, which are particularly likely to cause atherosclerosis. Trans fatty acids, such as some shortenings, hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine, some desserts, and some candies. The crispier the things and the more layers they have, you should pay attention to them.
Clinically, many patients with hyperlipidemia strictly avoid eating egg yolks, but their blood lipids are still difficult to reach the target. Experts remind that when controlling blood lipids, you should not just focus on a single food, but also pay attention to blood sugar control.
Hu Rong, Director of the Health Management Center of Beijing Anzhen Hospital: In fact, many young people drink sugar water every day and cannot drink plain water at all. Sugar is actually a kind of energy, although its energy effect is not as high as that of protein and fat. If you eat and drink too much of this sugar, you cannot consume it. Eventually, it will all accumulate as fat, and it will also accelerate the rate of cholesterol synthesis, causing problems with blood sugar metabolism and blood lipid metabolism. Sometimes the calories in the bottled drinks you drink actually far exceed the standard, which will have a very negative impact on your blood sugar and blood lipid metabolism.
Cholesterol control is a comprehensive issue. Vegetarian diet ≠ low blood lipids
Egg yolk does not have to be a blanket taboo, but it does not mean that it can be eaten in large quantities without restrictions. The methods of eating eggs should be distinguished between the general population, people with high blood lipids, and people with high cardiovascular risk. Combining diet, exercise, and regular review is a complete plan for scientifically controlling cholesterol.
Experts point out that healthy adults eating one whole egg a day, including the yolk, will not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. People who already have dyslipidemia are not completely prohibited from eating egg yolks. Most people can keep one egg yolk a day, while reducing fat and processed meat products, and eating a balanced diet with vegetables and whole grains. Special patients with severe familial hypercholesterolemia need to prepare a dietary plan under the guidance of a doctor.
Ma Hanying, Director of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Beijing Anzhen Hospital: We definitely do not recommend eating egg yolks at all. It must be comprehensively judged based on each person's blood lipid profile and his or her disease. There is definitely not a unified standard. If it is true that it is familial hypercholesterolemia, it may be controlled with a general diet, including when the combination of multiple drugs cannot reduce it, the diet must be adjusted as a whole, not just an egg yolk problem.
There are also many people who believe that as long as they don’t eat meat or egg yolks and stick to a vegetarian diet, cholesterol will definitely not rise. In fact, most cholesterol comes from the liver’s own synthesis and is greatly affected by genetics and metabolism. Some people who have been vegetarians for a long time may still have elevated blood lipids if they eat too much staple food, sweets, and fried foods, even if they do not eat meat and eggs at all.
Ma Hanying, director of the clinical nutrition department of Beijing Anzhen Hospital: It cannot be said that eating vegetarian food will not increase blood lipids, but eating meat will definitely increase blood lipids. It varies from person to person. Under the guidance of clinical nutrition, it is necessary to increase some reasonable protein intake on the basis of vegetarian food, such as fish or chicken. A diverse and balanced diet is better for the body.
(CCTV News Client)
