Looking at 1200 middle-aged male and female patients in a vascular prevention clinic, researchers at the University of Western Ontario's Medical School in Canada have found that people who eat egg yolks regularly have about 2/3 as much plaque buildup as smokers.  The results of the study, which linked egg yolk consumption to stroke and heart attack risk factors, were published in the journal Atherosclerosis.

www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/eg...

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/15/egg-yo...

The controversial study concluded that regular consumption of egg yolk should be avoided by persons at risk of cardiovascular disease. 

However, the study itself has been questioned by several physicians, who argue that total dietary habits of people, such as their overall intake of high-fat, high-cholesterol foods, should have been taken into consideration. 

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/201...  

Aug 18, 2012 -- 12:34AM, solfeggio wrote:

Looking at 1200 middle-aged male and female patients in a vascular prevention clinic, researchers at the University of Western Ontario's Medical School in Canada have found that people who eat egg yolks regularly have about 2/3 as much plaque buildup as smokers.  The results of the study, which linked egg yolk consumption to stroke and heart attack risk factors, were published in the journal Atherosclerosis.

www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/eg...

www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/15/egg-yo...

The controversial study concluded that regular consumption of egg yolk should be avoided by persons at risk of cardiovascular disease. 

However, the study itself has been questioned by several physicians, who argue that total dietary habits of people, such as their overall intake of high-fat, high-cholesterol foods, should have been taken into consideration. 

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/201...  

The egg yolk hysteria was put to bed years ago. I am on a strict nutritionist program and am allowed to eat eight eggs a week, yolk and all. The egg white craze was just that, a lot of hype and no substance.

I don't know anybody who chows down a Dozen Egg Yolks every Day ...

"Moderation," you see ... It's GOOD for you ...

Well, the study was considered important enough to be ini the news, so it qualified as a 'hot' topic.  So, I thought: What the heck, let's put it out there.

But, as I've seen over the years in any thread here in which a popular food is found to be perhaps not quite as healthy as everybody once thought, cultural behaviour patterns always win out, and as a rule the general public will dismiss the findings out of hand. 

Because culture is still the strongest force in human life, and if the food item is one that everybody dearly loves to eat, most people will not be swayed by any sort of research - no matter how convincing - that casts doubt on their beloved food.

What is indisputable, though, is that eggs are high in cholesterol, and a diet high in cholesterol can contribute to high blood cholesterol.  One egg yolk has 213 mg of cholesterol and 5 grams of fat.  Dietary cholesterol raises LDL cholesterol levels, which is a major risk for coronary heart disease.

What is interesting is that egg consumption is positively associated with smoking, lower physical activity, and a generally unhealthy eating pattern (more whole milk, bacon, fewer fruits and vegetables) in men.

I like the last sentence of their abstract:   Probably egg yolks should be avoided by persons at risk of vascular disease.

I note that this is a clinical population--that is, people who were referred for existing heart disease, not the general population.  I also note that according to their data, the lowest egg intake group was also highly significantly younger than the highest egg group--.0001.  It looks like greater than 200 egg yolk years was required for the biggest difference. Less than 50 to 150 was essentially the same. Even 150-200 overlapped with the less than 50 when you look at the standard deviations. 

IMO, to be meaningful, they need to look at egg consumption in the general populace, not just those who have heart disease.  Those people may have genetic differences in metabolizing cholesterol not found in those who do not develop heart disease.