He Ate 24 Eggs a Day for a Month: Check Out His Cholesterol Levels
Are eggs bad for your cholesterol? To find out, a scientist ate 24 eggs every day for a month, and the results of his experiment are quite surprising!
Cholesterol plays a vital role in the body, aiding hormone production, digestion, cell membranes, and vitamin D synthesis. However, too much cholesterol can lead to health risks, particularly heart disease.
To avoid these risks, it's important to watch your diet. You've likely heard the belief that eggs, especially the yolks, negatively affect cholesterol levels. But it's essential to distinguish between "good" and "bad" cholesterol.
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), what people would generally consider to be "bad" cholesterol, can build up in the arteries, raising the risk of heart disease and stroke. High-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, helps remove LDL, transporting it to the liver for breakdown and elimination.
Recent studies suggest that dietary cholesterol may not affect blood cholesterol levels as much as once thought. To explore this, Nick Norwitz, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard, consumed 720 eggs in a month, averaging 24 eggs per day, to see their impact on his cholesterol. All in the name of science!
Each egg contains about 186 mg of cholesterol. Eating 720 eggs in a month totals around 133,200 milligrams of cholesterol. Norwitz hypothesized his LDL ("bad" cholesterol) wouldn't increase.
The results were surprising: while his HDL ("good" cholesterol) rose, his LDL actually dropped by 18%. Despite expert warnings that eggs could raise LDL, Norwitz's experiment suggested otherwise.
However, during the last two weeks, he added 60 grams of carbohydrates per day, mainly from bananas, blueberries, and strawberries, which likely contributed to the cholesterol drop due to metabolic changes from his low carb diet.
Why didn't the eggs increase cholesterol? One theory suggests HDL binds to receptors in the intestines, releasing a hormone called cholesin, signaling the liver to produce less LDL, helping maintain balance. It's important to note this experiment was conducted on one person, and genetic, metabolic, and lifestyle factors could significantly impact the outcome.