Egg yolk may be as bad as smoking

ISTANBUL

Eating egg yolks accelerates atherosclerosis in a manner similar to smoking cigarettes, Science Daily has reported. In a newly published study, Dr. David Spence surveyed more than 1,200 patients and found regular consumption of egg yolks is about two-thirds as bad as smoking when it comes to increased build-up of carotid plaque, a risk factor for stroke and heart attack. Atherosclerosis, also called coronary artery disease, is a disorder of the arteries where plaques, aggravated by cholesterol, form on the inner arterial wall. Plaque rupture is the usual cause of most heart attacks and many strokes.

Spence said the effect of egg yolk consumption over time on increasing the amount of plaque in the arteries was independent of sex, cholesterol, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index and diabetes.