In the news: Eggs Are NOT Bad and Avocados are GOOD for Heart Health!!

This month two interesting studies were reported in the topic of diet and heart health- one centering around eggs and the other focusing on avocado...

A study looking into the impact of dietary cholesterol on heart health has shown that in men with the 
APOE4 gene, one that increases sensitivity to dietary cholesterol, eating one egg per day did not appear to increase risk of developing heart disease. The study included male participants between the ages of 42 and 60 year old. Their average dietary cholesterol consumed was 398 milligrams and no one reported consuming more than one egg per day, on average. (One medium-sized egg has approximately 200 mg of cholesterol). The study authors note that moderation is key though-  "there might well be a point when cholesterol or egg intakes may become so high that they may increase the risk of heart disease. However, in our study we could not assess what might be too much, because we did not have enough people with extremely high intakes." Click HERE to read more about the research!

The avocado research was a meta-analysis which looked at looked at 10 avocado studies with 229 participants, investigating the impact of avocados on cholesterol levels. Researchers found avocado consumption (1 to 1 1/2 per day) significantly reduced total cholesterol,  "bad" low density lipoprotein cholesterol  and triglycerides when they were substituted for sources of saturated fat. Avocado consumption did not impact "good" high density lipoprotein cholesterol though. The best amount of avocado to eat and how often still remains to be determined and more studies investigating the impact on cardiovascular health are warranted, per the researchers.  You check out a synopsis of the study HERE.

So one egg per day and a serving or two of avocado appears to be a good thing when it comes to preventing heart disease.