Sunny-Side Up

By Christine Gorman

I stopped eating eggs about 15 years ago. It was one of those offhand decisions, made with very little thought or research. I'd just finished whipping up a chocolate mousse--full of raw egg whites--when a college friend warned me ominously about salmonella poisoning. (Talk about deflating!) Then came all those stories about eggs being loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol, and somehow I lost my taste for them. Whenever I did eat a hard-boiled egg, I'd feel guilty.

Not anymore. Eating as much as an egg a day doesn't appear to increase your risk of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke, according to a study published in last week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. That doesn't mean you should chow down endless servings of omelet, quiche and souffle, however. For one thing, many Americans like their eggs fried in butter or served with bacon, both of which contain lots of saturated fat, the ingredient that does the most to clog your arteries. For another, the study shows that eating a lot of eggs may be unhealthy for folks with diabetes, although that's a preliminary finding that still has to be confirmed.

It turns out that the most damning evidence doctors had against eggs was circumstantial. Eggs, or really egg yolks, contain about 215 mg of cholesterol. There is no question that eating a diet rich in cholesterol raises the level of cholesterol in the blood. A high cholesterol count (more than 240 mg/dl, or 6.18 millimoles/L) is clearly tied to a greater risk of heart disease and stroke. So it seemed logical to conclude that everyone should stop eating eggs.

Logical, but wrong. When scientists measured exactly how much eggs raise cholesterol levels in the blood, they found the increase was small. (One exception is the folks whom doctors call responders, who churn out cholesterol when they eat eggs.) Researchers from Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston went a step further in the study released last week and looked at actual egg consumption among 120,000 nurses and other health professionals with normal cholesterol levels. After eliminating the "bacon effect," the researchers found no link between eggs and heart disease or stroke. The major exception: folks with diabetes, who are already at greater risk for both conditions.

What should we make of this study (besides the fact that even health columnists make mistakes)? It's fine for scientists to focus on individual foods or nutrients. That's how they learn. But you and I have to consider our overall diet and health habits. Start by cutting down--not cutting out--the amount of saturated fat (ice cream, butter, whole milk) in your diet. Eat more whole grains (whole wheat, barley, oatmeal), which contain lots of fiber and phytochemicals, rather than refined cereal products. Load up on fruits and vegetables. Keep your weight under control. Don't forget to exercise. The American Heart Association's recommendation that you eat no more than four egg yolks a week still seems prudent. But if you decide to add more, you may want to have your cholesterol tested again in six months just to be safe.

To read an abstract of the JAMA study on the Web, visit www.jama.com You can e-mail Christine at gorman@time.com