How Many Eggs Can I Eat a Day Without Adverse Effects?

Eggs have been vilified in recent decades because of their high cholesterol content. Many people have replaced their egg-based breakfasts with cereals and toasts to decrease their dietary cholesterol intake, but may actually be depriving their bodies of important nutrients found in eggs.
Most healthy people can include eggs daily without any adverse effect. Enjoy your vegetable omelet for breakfast, hard-boiled eggs for a snack or poached eggs on a salad of leafy greens for lunch.

Eggs Cholesterol Content

Eggs contain an average of 200 milligrams of cholesterol each. In the past, dietitians and nutrition researchers assumed that dietary cholesterol was responsible for high blood cholesterol. However, the types of fat and carbohydrates you eat affect your blood cholesterol levels the most, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Dietary cholesterol is essential to optimal human health and should not be feared. The cells in your body need cholesterol to build their membranes. Cholesterol is also needed to synthesize vitamin D from the sun, produce many hormones and contribute to brain health.

Eggs and Heart Disease

Although people with heart disease used to be advised to eliminate eggs from their diets, recent studies show that the high cholesterol content of eggs has nothing to do with the development of heart disease, as reported in a January 2006 review article published in "Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care." Although eggs increase LDL cholesterol, the so-called "bad" cholesterol, they also increase HDL cholesterol, the type of lipoprotein thought to protect against heart disease. Egg consumption is also associated with the pattern A type of LDL particles, which is less likely to form plaque in your arteries, compared to the pattern B, often seen with a high carbohydrate intake.

Nutritional Benefits

Eggs can be part of a healthy diet to prevent chronic diseases. Egg yolks are one of the best sources of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, two compounds that can benefit your eye health and prevent macular degeneration. Choosing free-range eggs could also help you get more heart-protective omega-3 fats. Eggs from free-ranging fowls contain up to 10 times more of these heart-healthy fats compared to eggs from factory hens, according to EatWild.com.

Amount of Eggs

The exact amount of eggs you can eat without adverse effect will depend on your overall health and individual sensitivity to dietary cholesterol. Have your blood cholesterol checked regularly. Ask to have your LDL and HDL fractions measured in addition to your total cholesterol and triglycerides. You can eat an egg a day for three months, with the supervision of your doctor, and then check your levels. For the next three months, you can experiment with either more or fewer eggs. Record your dietary changes and lipid profile to figure out how many eggs you can eat without an adverse effect on your health.