Eating up to one egg per day is sufficient—there is no need to eliminate eggs completely

Eating an extra half whole egg each day raises the overall mortality risk by roughly 7% in some observational models. Swapping that half egg for egg whites, fish, poultry, or nuts actually lowers the risk of death across all categories. There’s no need to cut eggs out of your diet entirely; eating up to one egg per day is completely safe.

No cost involved, and it takes no extra time.

A U.S. study tracking 521,000 people found that 129,000 participants died over time. Those who ate an extra half whole egg daily had a 7% higher mortality risk (hazard ratio 1.07, 95% CI 1.06–1.08, a reliable range). Replacing that half egg with equal amounts of egg whites, poultry, fish, dairy, or nuts and legumes further reduces mortality risk, including for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory conditions. Large multi-cohort meta-analyses (such as Drouin-Chartier 2020 BMJ) confirm that consuming up to one egg per day shows no association with elevated cardiovascular risk.

This topic remains highly debated: other long‑term studies of large populations and meta‑analyses have found no link between moderate egg consumption and mortality. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines have removed previous rigid dietary cholesterol limits. The key empirical takeaway is that eating up to one egg per day is fine; there is no scientific basis for completely eliminating eggs.

Zhuang P, Wu F, Mao L, et al. (2021). Egg and cholesterol consumption and mortality from cardiovascular and different causes in the United States: A population-based cohort study. PLoS Medicine, 18(2), e1003508. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003508；Drouin-Chartier JP, Chen S, Li Y, et al. (2020). Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: three large prospective US cohort studies, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis. BMJ, 368, m513. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m513；U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture (2015). 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Chapter 1：「The Key Recommendation from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines to limit consumption of dietary cholesterol to 300 mg per day is not included in the 2015 edition, but this change does not suggest that dietary cholesterol is no longer important to consider」「individuals should eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible while consuming a healthy eating pattern」. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2019-05/2015-2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf