Eggs and cholesterol: how many can you eat per week?

Eggs and cholesterol are not incompatible: with high blood cholesterol, you can still eat up to 7 eggs a week, while paying most attention to what comes with them. This benchmark comes from Australia’s Heart Foundation, for people who need to lower their LDL or who live with type 2 diabetes. An average egg provides 186 mg of cholesterol, all of it in the yolk. In controlled trials, eating more eggs raises LDL by 5.55 mg/dL on average.

Eggs: definition and what a 50 g egg contains

A hen’s egg consists of a white, rich in water and protein, and a yolk that concentrates the fats, the fat-soluble vitamins and all of the cholesterol. An average egg weighs about 50 g (1.8 oz) without its shell. According to FoodData Central, the database of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), it provides 72 kcal and 6.3 g of protein. Its 186 mg of cholesterol sit in the yolk: the white contains none.

In food, cholesterol comes exclusively from animal products, as the US National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus points out. Eggs are one of its leading sources: in the United States, they supply on average 25% of dietary cholesterol, according to the American Heart Association. Their saturated fat content, however, remains modest. The table below details an average egg.

The yolk also supplies most of the egg’s choline, a nutrient whose role we explain in our article on choline, the brain and the liver. This profile explains the special place of the egg in the debate on eggs and cholesterol. Eggs contain a lot of dietary cholesterol and little saturated fat. Yet these two components do not act on blood LDL in the same way.

Mechanism: why the cholesterol in eggs barely raises blood levels

The cholesterol in eggs changes LDL only slightly in most people, because the body adjusts its own production. The liver makes most of the cholesterol that circulates in the blood. When dietary intake rises, the gut absorbs only part of it and the body’s synthesis slows down. ANSES, France’s food safety agency, describes a “fine regulation” of synthesis and absorption that keeps levels stable in the body.

• Feedback regulation: the liver cuts its own production when dietary intake increases.
• The plateau effect: the rise in blood cholesterol tapers off when the diet already contains a lot of it. An analysis of 27 metabolic-ward studies describes a curve that flattens out (Hopkins, 1992).
• The parallel rise in HDL: in people who respond, eggs also raise “good” cholesterol, so the LDL/HDL ratio changes little.
• Individual variability: about 70% of people respond little or not at all to dietary cholesterol. The others, known as hyper-responders, see their LDL rise more (Fernandez, 2006).
• Saturated fat: in excess, lauric, myristic and palmitic acids are atherogenic, according to ANSES. They promote the buildup of plaque on artery walls.

A crossover trial in 40 men illustrates this variability. For 30 days, they consumed an extra 640 mg of cholesterol a day, supplied by about three eggs. The LDL of the hypo-responders did not move. In the hyper-responders, LDL and HDL rose together, and the LDL/HDL ratio stayed within the limits of US guidelines (Herron et al., 2003).

This adjustment of the liver to what we eat is part of the way the body senses nutrients. This hallmark of aging is the subject of our pillar on nutrient sensing.

What the science says about eggs and cholesterol

Controlled trials show that eggs raise LDL slightly. Large cohorts do not link one egg a day to more cardiovascular events in the general population. Two signals stand out as exceptions: people with diabetes, and heart failure in men.

Controlled trials: a modest rise in LDL

Rouhani’s meta-analysis pooled 28 studies published since 2000. Compared with control diets, higher egg consumption raised total cholesterol by 5.60 mg/dL, LDL by 5.55 mg/dL and HDL by 2.13 mg/dL. The LDL/HDL and total/HDL ratios did not change, and neither did triglycerides (Rouhani et al., 2018). A second review of 17 trials in healthy people found LDL 8.14 mg/dL higher. The effect was stronger beyond two months (Li et al., 2020).

Converted into the unit used on French lab reports, 5.55 mg/dL equals 0.055 g/L. An analysis of 17 studies and 556 subjects gives a practical order of magnitude. Every 100 mg of dietary cholesterol added per day raises total cholesterol by 2.2 mg/dL (Weggemans et al., 2001). One egg a day, with its 186 mg, therefore corresponds to about 4 mg/dL.

Saturated fat: the factor that weighs more

An Australian crossover trial published in 2025 separated the two effects. Its 61 adults followed three 5-week diets with the same calorie intake. The diet high in cholesterol (600 mg a day, including 2 eggs) but low in saturated fat (6% of calories) lowered LDL to 1.04 g/L (104 mg/dL). The control diet, high in saturated fat with a single egg a week, left it at 1.09 g/L (109 mg/dL). Across all the diets, saturated fat intake correlated with LDL, while cholesterol intake did not (Carter et al., 2025).

Two caveats apply. The study was funded by the Egg Nutrition Center, an organization of the US egg industry. And this diet increased small LDL particles, which are considered more atherogenic than large ones.

Large cohorts: one egg a day is not linked to more cardiovascular events

Drouin-Chartier’s team followed 215,618 US health professionals for up to 32 years. Eating at least one egg a day was not associated with more cardiovascular disease than eating less than one a month (HR 0.93, not significant). After adding 33 risk estimates covering 1,720,108 people, each additional daily egg gave a relative risk of 0.98 (Drouin-Chartier et al., 2020). One detail matters for our topic: the people who ate the most eggs were less often treated with a statin.

The PURE study points the same way on a global scale. Among 146,011 participants from 21 countries, eating 7 or more eggs a week was not associated with blood lipids, mortality or major cardiovascular events. The result was the same in 31,544 patients who already had vascular disease (Dehghan et al., 2020). In China, a cohort of 461,213 adults even links daily egg consumption with 11% less cardiovascular disease (Qin et al., 2018).

Not all studies agree. Zhong and colleagues pooled six US cohorts, totaling 29,615 people followed for 17.5 years. Each additional half egg a day was associated with 6% more cardiovascular disease and 8% more deaths. This association disappeared once total dietary cholesterol was taken into account (Zhong et al., 2019). All these cohorts are observational: they describe associations, not cause and effect.

Diabetes and heart failure: two signals to take seriously

In people with diabetes, several meta-analyses find an unfavorable signal. Shin and colleagues compared at least one egg a day with less than one a week. In people with diabetes, this level was associated with 69% more cardiovascular disease, compared with no association in the general population (Shin et al., 2013). Another meta-analysis puts the increase in coronary risk in this subgroup at 54% (Rong et al., 2013).

The Australian DIABEGG trial tempers this signal. It included 140 adults with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Over 3 months, 12 eggs a week changed neither LDL, HDL nor blood glucose, compared with fewer than 2 a week (Fuller et al., 2015). Participants replaced saturated fats with unsaturated fats. No unfavorable effect appeared after 12 months either (Fuller et al., 2018). The first phase was funded by the Australian egg industry.

The second signal concerns heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, three cohorts link more than one egg a day to a 20% to 30% higher risk in men. This link does not appear in women (Carson et al., 2020).

In practice: how many eggs per week for your profile

With high cholesterol, the most precise published benchmark is a maximum of 7 eggs a week. Australia’s Heart Foundation sets it for people who need to lower their LDL, particularly after cardiovascular disease, and for those who live with type 2 diabetes. The American Heart Association asks people with dyslipidemia to be careful with cholesterol-rich foods, especially if they have diabetes or are at risk of heart failure, without setting a figure.

In France, the question of eggs and cholesterol concerns many people. In the 2006-2007 French National Nutrition and Health Study (ENNS), nearly 30% of 18-74 year-olds and 55% of 65-74 year-olds had high LDL cholesterol, above 1.6 g/L (160 mg/dL). The LDL target then depends on overall risk. The 2019 European guidelines aim for below 1.16 g/L (116 mg/dL) at low risk and below 1.0 g/L (100 mg/dL) at moderate risk. The target drops to 0.70 g/L (70 mg/dL) at high risk and 0.55 g/L (55 mg/dL) at very high risk (Mach et al., 2020). Our article on what your cholesterol reveals about your longevity details these thresholds.

Familial hypercholesterolemia is an exception. This genetic disease affects about one person in 500, according to Inserm, France’s national institute for health and medical research, with high LDL from birth. Drug treatment takes precedence over diet in this case. All these benchmarks include the eggs hidden in quiches, cakes and mayonnaise.

The second lever in the eggs and cholesterol equation is the plate around the eggs. The WHO caps saturated fat at 10% of energy intake, and ANSES at 12%. Take a two-egg omelet cooked in 10 g (about 2 teaspoons) of butter, with 30 g (1 oz) of Emmental and 30 g (1 oz) of bacon. The sides provide 14.2 g of saturated fat, compared with 3.2 g for the two yolks.

The table shows two opposite profiles. Eggs and shrimp provide a lot of cholesterol and almost no saturated fat. Butter, cheese and pastries do the reverse, and according to the 2025 trial, they are the foods that weigh most on LDL.

Tips: how to eat eggs when you have high cholesterol

The most useful step on eggs and cholesterol is to lighten the sides before cutting the number of eggs. The following habits stem from the trials and from the benchmarks of medical societies.

• Count all the eggs you eat in a week, including those in pastries, pancakes and ready meals.
• Favor cooking methods without added fat: soft-boiled, medium-boiled, hard-boiled or poached.
• Cook omelets and scrambled eggs with a spoonful of olive or canola oil rather than butter.
• Serve them with vegetables, whole-grain bread or legumes rather than processed meats or cheese.
• Add egg whites to bulk up an omelet: one white provides about 3.6 g of protein and no cholesterol.
• Keep the yolk in your meals, because it supplies the egg’s choline, lutein and vitamin D.
• Check your personal response at the next lipid panel ordered by your doctor.
• Never stop or reduce a cholesterol-lowering treatment on your own initiative.

Substitution matters as much as quantity. In the NIH-AARP cohort, which followed 521,120 Americans aged 50 to 71 for 16 years, each additional half whole egg a day was associated with 7% higher mortality. Replacing that half egg with egg whites, fish, dairy or legumes was associated with lower mortality (Zhuang et al., 2021). Here again, these are observed associations, not proof.

A handful of nuts can also replace a fattier snack: our guide to walnuts and the heart quantifies their effect on LDL. To receive the studies that matter on nutrition and healthy aging each month, subscribe to our health newsletter.

Frequently asked questions about eggs and cholesterol

How many eggs a week can you eat if you have high cholesterol?

The most precise published benchmark is a maximum of 7 eggs a week, counting those in pastries and ready meals. Australia’s Heart Foundation sets it for people who need to lower their LDL and for those who live with type 2 diabetes. With a normal lipid profile, the American Heart Association accepts up to one egg a day, and two for older adults.

Does egg yolk raise cholesterol?

A little, and not in everyone. The yolk contains the egg’s 186 mg of cholesterol. In 28 trials, eating more eggs raised LDL by 5.55 mg/dL on average, but also raised HDL by 2.13 mg/dL, without changing their ratio. About 70% of people respond little or not at all to dietary cholesterol, while the others respond more.

Should you eat only the white if your LDL is high?

It is not necessary within the limit of 7 whole eggs a week. The white contains no cholesterol and provides about 3.6 g of protein, which lets you bulk up an omelet with fewer yolks. The yolk, on the other hand, supplies the egg’s choline, lutein and vitamin D. Cutting it out completely deprives you of these nutrients.

What is the difference between egg cholesterol and saturated fat?

Dietary cholesterol is a molecule found in animal products, which the liver partly offsets by reducing its own production. The saturated fats in butter, cheese or processed meats raise LDL more. In a 2025 trial, two eggs a day with little saturated fat produced a lower LDL than a single egg a week with a lot of saturated fat.

Can you eat eggs while taking a statin?

Yes. No interaction with statins has been described, unlike grapefruit juice with some drugs in this class. The benchmark remains about 7 eggs a week for people who need to lower their LDL. Diet complements treatment without replacing it: according to Inserm, statins lower LDL by about 30%. Never change a treatment without medical advice.

Should eggs be avoided if you have diabetes?

They are not forbidden, but caution is warranted. In people with diabetes, one meta-analysis links at least one egg a day to 69% more cardiovascular disease. Yet the DIABEGG trial found no unfavorable effect of 12 eggs a week on lipids, at 3 and then 12 months, in a diet low in saturated fat. The Heart Foundation advises not exceeding 7 eggs a week.