Eggs and cholesterol: how many is OK?

Updated November 14, 2026 Well Day Media Editorial Team

A man making scrambled eggs with spinach and tomatoes

The short answerFor most healthy people, moderate egg intake, up to about one a day, is not linked to higher cardiovascular risk, according to three large cohorts and a meta-analysis. Another study found that high dietary cholesterol was associated with somewhat higher risk. Moderation and overall diet quality matter more than any single food.

Key points

Up to 1 egg a day was not linked to higher cardiovascular risk in large cohorts.
Another study: each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol a day was linked to 17% higher cardiovascular risk.
What you eat with eggs matters: bacon and white toast or vegetables and whole grains.
People with diabetes or high LDL cholesterol should discuss intake with their doctor.

Conflicting data

Three large cohorts and a meta-analysis. Researchers analyzed data from more than 215,000 participants in the Nurses’ Health Studies and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, followed for up to 32 years, and combined the results with other cohorts. Eating up to one egg a day was not linked to higher cardiovascular risk (Drouin-Chartier et al., 2020).

Pooled U.S. cohorts. Another analysis of six U.S. cohorts with nearly 30,000 adults found that each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol a day was linked to a 17% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and each additional half egg a day to a 6% higher risk (Zhong et al., 2019).

How to reconcile them

Eggs are not a “superfood” or a poison. For most people, an egg a day as part of a healthy diet is fine. Context matters: eggs with bacon, sausage and white toast differ from eggs with vegetables and whole-grain bread. The EAT–Lancet Commission suggests a few eggs a week as part of a sustainable diet (Willett et al., 2019).

In practice

Healthy people can eat up to one egg a day.
Pair eggs with vegetables and whole grains.
If you have diabetes or high LDL cholesterol, talk to your doctor about the right amount.

Frequently asked questions

Did the Dietary Guidelines drop the cholesterol limit?

Yes. Since 2015 they no longer set a specific daily limit of 300 mg, but they advise eating as little dietary cholesterol as possible within a healthy eating pattern.

Are egg whites better?

Egg whites contain protein without cholesterol. Whole eggs also provide nutrients such as choline and lutein. For most people, a whole egg a day is fine.

Sources

Drouin-Chartier et al. (2020). Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: three large prospective US cohort studies, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis. BMJ :m513. doi:10.1136/bmj.m513
Zhong et al. (2019). Associations of Dietary Cholesterol or Egg Consumption With Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality. JAMA 321(11):1081. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.1572
Willett et al. (2019). Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet 393(10170):447-492. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31788-4

Prepared according to our evidence methodology and the principles of lifestyle medicine. For education only; it does not replace advice from your doctor.