Re: Eggs and blood cholesterol


Enrico C wrote:
> What do you think of this?
>
>
http://www.fuelforlife.ca/modules/sections/index.php?op=viewarticle&artid=50
>
> ====================================
> [...]
> When it comes to heart health, eggs have always had a bit of a
questionable
> reputation. For decades the preaching's of a large contingent of
health
> professionals led many to assume that there was a direct correlation
> between cholesterol in the diet and cholesterol in the human body.
And
> since whole eggs contained a significant amount of cholesterol they
were
> branded Public Enemy Number One by most cardiologists. Concerns with
> cholesterol and fears of salmonella contamination led to a
significant drop
> in egg consumption during the 70's and 80's.
>
> As proven numerous times in research, there is a strong link between
high
> blood cholesterol blood levels and a high risk of heart disease.
However,
> recent advances in research have questioned whether cholesterol in
the diet
> has any significant effect on blood cholesterol levels. Generally the
body
> compensates for higher amounts of dietary cholesterol by synthesizing

> smaller amounts in the liver, by excreting more or by absorbing less
from
> food. Think of it as a self-regulating mechanism - the more you eat
the
> less the body produces or absorbs. Therefore, one could assume that
whole
> egg consumption and its cholesterol would not have a significant
impact on
> blood cholesterol levels.
>
> Eggs also contain a substance called lecithin that may help limit the

> absorption of cholesterol from the egg into the bloodstream. And,
although
> egg yolks contain a lot of cholesterol, evidence points to saturated
fats
> (animal fats) and trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) as the
biggest
> culprits when it comes to increasing blood cholesterol levels. An egg
yolk
> contains one-sixth the amount of saturated fat found in the
equivalent
> weight of full-fat cheese. This leaves us to ponder: Do we really
need to
> suffer through any more tasteless egg white omelettes?
>
> Definitely not, if you look at the results of a study published in
the
> Journal of the American Medical Association from the Harvard School
of
> Public Health that found no relationship between egg consumption and
heart
> disease in a population of over 177,000 men and women who were
followed for
> 8 and 14 years, respectively. There was no difference in heart
disease risk
> (with the exception of diabetics) between those who consumed less
than one
> egg a week and those who ate one or more eggs a day.
>
>
> In addition, Japan, Spain and France are known to be three of the
highest
> egg-consuming countries and yet have some of the lowest rates of
heart
> disease of all the industrialized nations. When other factors in the
diet
> are taken into consideration there appears to be no correlation
between an
> egg a day and increased risk of coronary heart disease in the healthy

> population.
>
> A review of 166 cholesterol-feeding studies conducted over 40 years
on
> 3,500 subjects showed that for every 100 mg decrease in dietary
> cholesterol, total plasma cholesterol dropped by only 1%. The study
also
> noted that the high levels of dietary cholesterol used in many
studies far
> exceed the approximately 250 mg/day consumed by the average person.
> Additionally, the diets in many of the earlier studies on cholesterol
and
> heart disease were not only high in cholesterol but were also high in
fat,
> saturated fat and animal products, and low in fruits, vegetables and
whole
> grains, dietary factors known to influence circulating cholesterol
levels
> and heart disease risk.
>
> A study looking at the impact of egg consumption on endothelial
function, a
> reliable index of cardiovascular risk found that eating 2 eggs per
day for
> 6 weeks had no detrimental impact on cholesterol levels or
endothelial
> functioning in healthy males.
>
> When eggs have been shown to raise LDL ('bad') cholesterol levels the
type
> of LDL that they increase tend not to be the most harmful
(atherogenic)
> types (small dense fractions).
>
>
> Egg Consumption Guidelines
>
> It now appears that individuals with normal cholesterol levels can
enjoy a
> yolk or two a day without any concern. To be on the safe side, those
with
> high cholesterol and/or diabetes should limit egg yolk consumption to
3-4
> yolks per week, which includes yolks in baking and casseroles.
>
> There is also a segment of the population, about 15-25%, that should
limit
> their cholesterol consumption as they are hyperresponders. These
> individuals are "sensitive" to dietary cholesterol because it affects
the
> amount of cholesterol in their blood. Those who fall into this
category
> usually include those with both high cholesterol and high
triglyceride
> levels. These individuals should focus more on egg whites than egg
yolks.
> These individuals should be aware of other sources of dietary
cholesterol
> including red meat (160mg in 6oz of pork tenderloin), chicken (140mg
in 6oz
> of chicken breast) and shellfish (3oz of shrimp has about 165mg of
> cholesterol). Plant derived foods (e.g. fruits, nuts, seeds, grains,
> vegetables) are devoid of any cholesterol.
>
> [...]
> ====================================

The cholesterol theory suggests that there is something in the blood
(cholesterol) that causes problems with the arteries and veins that
leads to coronary blood vessel blockage and heart disease.

This cholesterol must touch upon and flow thru every artery and every
vein (ie, every frikkin' blood vessel) in the body. Yet the only damage
it does, apparently, is to the arteries and veins near the heart. Why
does cholesterol not damage and block other blood vessels. It blocks
the coronary blood vessels but not, let's say, the arteries in your
legs or in your arms.

Why are doctors always doing surgery to bypass the blood vessels near
the heart and no surgeries to bypass blockages anywhere else in the
body?

My hypothesis is that the blockages in the coronary blood vessels has
absolutely nothing to do with serum cholesterol levels.

TC

.

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