Eat two eggs daily 'to cut your cholesterol'

Are eggs good or bad for health? Well, the on-again, off-again debate on the subject has again been cracked open by a new study which claims that eating two eggs a day could help one lose weight and cut cholesterol.

Earlier studies suggested a direct link between eating eggs and an increase in blood cholesterol levels, which raises the risk of heart disease.

Now, a team at Surrey University has found that those who eat two eggs daily while on a calorie-restricted diet not only can lose weight but also could slash their cholesterol levels, the Daily Mail reported.

According to them, eating eggs at breakfast actually contributes to weight loss by making people feel fuller for longer in the day.

"There is no convincing evidence to link an increased intake of dietary cholesterol or eggs with coronary heart disease. Indeed, eggs make a nutritional contribution to a healthy, calorie-restricted diet," lead researcher Dr Bruce Griffin said.

For their study, the researchers recruited 50 obese volunteers who were fed with two eggs everyday for 12 weeks.

They also had to follow a reduced-calorie diet recommended by the British Heart Foundation.

They also recruited another group of healthy subjects who followed the same diet, but cut out eggs altogether. Both groups lost weight and experienced a fall in the average level of blood cholesterol, the researchers found.

This study, they said, also provides evidence to support the scientific consensus that saturated fat, found in pastry, biscuits and cakes, is more responsible for raising blood cholesterol than cholesterol-rich foods such as eggs.

The study is to be published in The European Journal of Nutrition.