24/02/2026
You’ve likely heard that eating too many eggs can impact your cholesterol. In fact, research tells us that egg consumption may actually support heart health. 🥚
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is a type of lipid. It forms part of cell membranes and is used to make vitamin D and hormones. While some cholesterol in our body is essential, the type and amount of cholesterol in our blood correlate with the risk of heart disease.
There are two sources of cholesterol in our bodies. The main source is cholesterol made in our bodies or recycled by the liver. The type and amount of cholesterol our body makes is influenced by the food we eat. This is our ‘blood cholesterol’, for example LDL cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol.
The second source is ‘dietary cholesterol’ from eating animal products that already contain cholesterol. Egg yolks are high in cholesterol and are a major source of dietary cholesterol. 🍳
It was once believed that eating dietary cholesterol would lead to increased levels of blood cholesterol. However, we now know that saturated fat plays a big role in our blood cholesterol. If our diet is low in saturated fat, eating a lot of dietary cholesterol won’t increase blood cholesterol in a meaningful way.
However, every body is different, and dietary cholesterol may cause a small increase in lipids for some people, for example, those with hyperlipidaemia (high lipid levels), or people with heart disease.
The Heart Foundation recommends that if you live with heart disease, have high cholesterol or have type 2 diabetes, limit eggs to no more than seven per week. If you don’t live with these conditions, there is no recommended limit on weekly egg intake.