How Many Eggs Can I Eat a Day Safely?

Eggs contain high amounts of cholesterol. 1 large egg has about 200mg cholesterol and 5g of fat. Almost half of that fat is saturated fat.

The logic is that since eggs are high in cholesterol, a high egg consumption will increase your blood cholesterol. So by cutting eggs from your diet, your blood cholesterol will decrease. This, however, isn’t how your body works.

The concern with eggs has to do with their high cholesterol content – 190 milligrams per one egg. Nutrition guidelines to keep LDL (bad) blood cholesterol in the desirable range have emphasized limiting dietary cholesterol – abundant in egg yolks, shrimp, liver and duck – to less than 300 milligrams per day. (Elevated LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream is a major risk factor for heart disease.)

Research has shown that eating one egg a day does not boost the risk of heart disease or stroke in healthy adults. That said, research does suggest that people with diabetes are more efficient at absorbing cholesterol from foods than people who don’t have diabetes.

In a 2008 study, men who ate 7 or more eggs per week versus less than one had a twofold greater risk for all cause mortality, presumably from heart disease. An earlier study from Harvard School of Public Health found that among those with diabetes, egg-a-day eaters were a bit more likely to develop heart disease than those who rarely ate eggs.