Enjoy eggs — just skip the bacon
Although high in cholesterol, eggs can be part of a heart-healthy diet.
- Reviewed by Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
If you’re concerned about your LDL (bad) cholesterol — a key culprit in artery-clogging plaque — it seems intuitive to avoid cholesterol-rich foods like eggs. In fact, that’s what the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended for decades, dating back to the 1960s.
But in 2015 — 10 years ago — the guidelines removed all mention of limiting dietary cholesterol, as our understanding of this topic has evolved. The guidelines now acknowledge that too much saturated fat in the diet plays a far bigger role in raising blood cholesterol levels. “It’s an important message that still hasn’t fully permeated the public consciousness,” says Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A recent clinical trial reaffirmed the message (see “Unscrambling the effect of eggs on LDL cholesterol”). The results showed that eating two eggs per day didn’t raise LDL levels — as long as people stuck to a diet low in saturated fat.
Unscrambling the effect of eggs on LDL cholesterolAlthough a single egg contains nearly 200 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol, it has very little saturated fat — just under 2 grams. To better understand how eating eggs affects a person’s “bad” LDL cholesterol, researchers conducted a clinical trial that compared three separate diets featuring varied amounts of eggs, cholesterol, and saturated fat. The study findings, published in the July 2025 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, are summarized below. Who: 61 adults were recruited for the study. Their average age was 39, and their average LDL was 135 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). How: All three diets had the same number of calories, with either low or high amounts of cholesterol (300 or 600 mg per day) and saturated fat (6% or 12% of total calories), as follows:
When: Each diet lasted for five weeks; 48 people completed all three diet phases. Key findings: Compared to the control diet, the two-eggs-per-day plan resulted in lower LDL values, while the egg-free diet did not. The authors concluded that saturated fat in the diet — not dietary cholesterol — is what drives up LDL values. |
Cholesterol and saturated fat
Although we measure cholesterol in the blood, it’s found in every cell in the body. A waxy, whitish-yellow fat, cholesterol is a crucial building block in cell membranes. It’s also used to make vitamin D, hormones, and fat-dissolving bile acids. Cholesterol is so important that your liver makes what you need to stay healthy. Only about 10% to 20% comes from what you eat. So for most people, dietary cholesterol doesn’t have much of an effect on what ends up in your bloodstream.
Saturated fat is a different story. Liver cells have receptors that pull LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream into the liver to be broken down. Eating too much saturated fat prevents those receptors from working well, which causes cholesterol to accumulate in the blood. That’s why nutrition experts urge people to limit saturated fat, which is found in meat and full-fat dairy products, as well as baked and fried foods made with lard, beef tallow, or tropical oils like palm oil or palm kernel oil.
The typical American diet includes about 11% to 12% of calories from saturated fat, which is just over the 10% that the dietary guidelines suggest. The American Heart Association is more conservative, suggesting no more than 6% (the same amount used in the recent study for people on a low-saturated-fat diet). McManus and many other nutrition experts recommend 7%. That limit is based on the typical amount of saturated fat in a Mediterranean-style diet, which is known for its heart-protecting qualities, she says.
Swap in unsaturated fat
To get an idea of your own target, see “Saturated fat: Know your limit.” When you cut back on saturated fat, the best way to replace those lost calories is with foods that contain more unsaturated fat, says McManus. “If you replace 5% of your saturated fat intake with healthy monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat, you can reduce your risk of heart disease by 15% to 25%,” she says. Most liquid oils made from vegetables, nuts, and seeds (olive, corn, peanut, walnut, safflower, soybean, and canola, for example) are good choices. So are avocados, nuts, and nut butters.
A plant-forward diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains, and nuts is the way to go. In addition to eggs, foods such as chicken, fish, tofu, and low-fat dairy products are good sources of protein that contain less saturated fat than beef, pork, and processed meats.
Saturated fat: Know your limitHere’s how to calculate a saturated fat intake that corresponds to 7% of your daily calories—a goal many nutrition experts suggest. STEP 1 Calculate your daily calories using the USDA’s MyPlate Plan. Your daily calories: _____ STEP 2 Multiply that number by 0.07 to find 7%. [Answer in Step 1] × 0.07: _____ STEP 3 Divide the number in Step 2 by 9 to get grams of saturated fat. [Answer in Step 2] ÷ 9: _____ For women, a common calorie intake is 2,000 per day, which translates to about 16 grams of saturated fat. For men, the respective values are 2,500 calories and about 19 saturated fat grams. You can look up the saturated fat content of foods on individual labels and with free apps such as Lose It!, MyFitnessPal, or CalorieKing, which include popular brands from stores and fast-food restaurants. |
Making the most of eggs
Instead of pairing eggs with less-healthy, highly processed foods such as white toast and bacon or sausage, enjoy eggs combined with vegetables. For example, scramble eggs with onion, mushrooms, and spinach sauteed in olive oil, or top a salad with a sliced hard-boiled egg. McManus also recommends shakshuka, a dish originally from North Africa and the Middle East that features eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, often featuring onions, peppers, and spices.
Image: © Carlo A/Getty Images
About the Author

Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter
About the Reviewer

Christopher P. Cannon, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Heart Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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