An egg a day may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.
Consumption of up to one egg daily was linked with lower rates of strokes and heart disease, according to the research published in journal Heart.
Daily consumers also had a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease when compared to those who did not eat eggs.
The researchers, from Peking University Health Science Centre, examined data from 416,213 participants in China.
At the start of the study, 13.1 per cent of participants reported daily consumption of eggs and 9.1 per cent said they never or rarely ate them.
The group were followed up around nine years later, with daily egg consumption found to be linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease overall.
Those who ate up to one a day had a 26 per cent lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke, 28 per cent lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke death and an 18 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease death, the study found.
5.32 eggs
There was also a 12 per cent reduction in the risk of ischaemic heart disease, or coronary heart disease, in those consuming an estimated 5.32 eggs a week compared to those eating around two.
Haemorrhagic strokes, caused by bleeding in and around the brain, are less common than ischaemic strokes, which are the result of a blockage.
But they have a higher prevalence rate in China than in high-income countries.
“This present study finds that there is an association between moderate level of egg consumption (up to one egg per day) and a lower cardiac event rate,” the authors wrote.
“Our findings contribute scientific evidence to the dietary guidelines with regard to egg consumption for the healthy Chinese adult.”
Previous studies examining the impact of eggs on health have been inconsistent and most have found insignificant associations between consumption and coronary heart disease or stroke.
Commenting on the findings, Tim Chico, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Sheffield, said: “It is very difficult to determine the part any single element of our diet plays in our risk of developing heart disease.
“This study has shown that people who eat more eggs have lower rates of a range of diseases including heart attack and stroke.
“It is important to stress that this does not prove that eating eggs protects against these diseases, as there may be other differences between the people eating more eggs that cause these differences.”