Giving Compass' Take:

• A new study reports that adults who eat more dietary cholesterol—such as that in eggs—have a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease and of death from any cause.

• What could this research mean for the egg industry? Could these findings mean the current US dietary guideline recommendations for dietary cholesterol and eggs need re-evaluation?

• Here's an article on the variety of possible animal product alternatives. 

“The take-home message is really about cholesterol, which happens to be high in eggs and specifically yolks,” says co-corresponding study author Norrina Allen, associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “As part of a healthy diet, people need to consume lower amounts of cholesterol. People who consume less cholesterol have a lower risk of heart disease.”

Egg yolks are one of the richest sources of dietary cholesterol among all commonly eaten foods. One large egg has 186 milligrams of dietary cholesterol in the yolk. Other animal products including red meat, processed meat, and high-fat dairy products (butter or whipped cream) also have high cholesterol content, says lead author Wenze Zhong, a postdoctoral fellow in preventive medicine at Northwestern.

Scientists have for decades debated the existence of a link between eating dietary cholesterol—or eggs—and cardiovascular disease and death. Eating less than 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day was the recommendation before 2015—but the most recent dietary guidelines omitted a daily limit for dietary cholesterol and included weekly egg consumption as part of a healthy diet.

Read the full article about the debate over the health of eggs by Marla Paul at Futurity.