The egg has made a comeback, so stop blaming the yolk! These bad fats are harmful to your heart!

When it comes to cholesterol, some people shake their heads at eggs. They firmly believe that the yolk in eggs is the killer of bad cholesterol, and they stay away from them for fear that it may cause cardiovascular disease. Nutritionists say that although egg yolks do contain 200 mg of cholesterol, they also contain additional nutrients with high physiological value and should not be ignored. The main factors that actually affect blood cholesterol are saturated fat and trans fat, not cholesterol. So, stop blaming the egg yolk.

Egg yolk contains 200 mg of cholesterol and contains nutrients of high physiological value

Each egg contains about 5 grams of fat. Although the egg yolk does contain 200 mg of cholesterol, it also contains additional nutrients with high physiological value, including high-quality protein, unsaturated fatty acids, lecithin, choline, biotin, vitamin A and lutein, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease and cardiovascular disease.

In recent years, many nutritional medical evidences have pointed out that the main factors affecting blood cholesterol are saturated fat and trans fat rather than cholesterol. Therefore, in 2015, the United States announced the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and removed the limit of 300 mg of daily dietary cholesterol intake.

No need to worry about raising blood cholesterol if you eat eggs in moderation

Nutritionist You Weiming pointed out that a large-scale study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association investigated the correlation between egg intake and cardiovascular disease in nearly 120,000 people. The results showed that consuming one egg a day will not cause the risk of cardiovascular disease for healthy adults. On the other hand, the utilization efficiency of egg protein is higher than that of any meat or milk. For growing children and the elderly, it is a very high-quality protein source, so when consuming eggs in moderation, there is no need to worry about increasing blood cholesterol.

Cholesterol plays an important role in providing raw materials in the body, such as male hormones (testosterone) and female hormones (estrogen) that contribute to the development of male and female sexual orientation, vitamin D that promotes bone development, maintains cell membrane integrity, and synthesizes bile acid.

High-fat processed foods are the source of bad cholesterol

About 70% of cholesterol is produced by the liver, and the other 30% is obtained from food. These cholesterols will continue to be used as important raw materials. At the same time, the liver has metabolic and regulatory functions. When too much cholesterol is obtained from food, the liver will reduce the production of cholesterol. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the rumor that cholesterol will accumulate in the liver. Instead, high-fat processed foods, partially hydrogenated fats, excessive use of cooking oils and excessive intake of animal fats are the real invisible killers that cause blood fat and bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL-C) to soar.

Excessive intake of saturated fat and trans fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease

Nutritionist You Weiming said that according to the recommendations of the American Heart Association, daily saturated fat intake should not exceed 10% of total daily calories, and trans fat should not exceed 1% of total daily calories. Excessive intake of saturated fat and trans fat will increase the total amount of bad cholesterol in the blood and increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. This is especially true for people who often eat fast processed meats, fried foods, baked products using partially hydrogenated oils, and refined biscuits. It is very easy to consume excessive saturated fat and trans fat.

To understand whether your body has accumulated too much bad cholesterol, you can do a health check. The tests that are beneficial to cardiovascular health in the health check-up include: total cholesterol (Total Cholesterol) less than 200mg/dL, bad cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol LDL-C) less than 130mg/dL. However, as the body ages, the test values ​​may be relaxed.

In order to avoid an increase in bad cholesterol in the body, nutritionist You Weiming ranked the saturated fat and trans fat in common foods based on the Hong Kong Food Safety Center and the Taiwan Food Nutrition Database, and recommended reducing the intake of high-saturated fat (less than 3 times a week) and avoiding trans fat foods. Invisible saturated and trans fats are hidden in many foods, and the public must pay special attention to avoid invisibly increasing the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

Ranking of common saturated fats and trans fats:

The liver metabolizes cholesterol. Eat more colorful fruits and vegetables to supplement phytochemicals to protect the liver.

Since the liver is an important organ for metabolizing cholesterol, fat and toxic substances, in addition to avoiding excessive intake of saturated fat and trans fat to reduce the workload of the liver, we can also eat more colorful fruits and vegetables to supplement phytochemicals and dietary fiber. Phytochemicals are natural antioxidants, commonly including: lycopene, anthocyanins, carotene, polyphenols, etc., which help protect the liver, enhance the body's immune ability, and inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Dietary fiber can absorb excess fat in the body, forming fecal bulk and excreting it from the body, thereby reducing the harm of excessive fat intake.

Many research papers point out that people who maintain a healthy posture, a good lifestyle and regular exercise habits have lower levels of bad cholesterol in their bodies. Therefore, in addition to diet, people can also check whether their waist circumference is less than 80 cm, whether they have 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity every day, and whether they have enough deep sleep.