Could diet soft drinks cause heart attacks and strokes?

The diet sugar-free soft drink…often seen as a beneficial tool in the quest for weight loss and a staple in the diet of many people trying to lose weight that may have a sweet tooth. With almost zero calories and apparently none of the spoonfuls of sugar that has been lumped into their full-sugared counterparts, diet drinks are almost too good to be true.

However, this too good to be true mantra, may actually be fitting after the alarming findings of a new study into artificially sweetened fizzy drinks and the impact they can have on our body.

Worryingly, those people who are drinking two or more diet soft drinks each day may be a staggering 50% more likely to die because heart disease. This conclusion was arrived at after health experts looked at the diet drink consumption of nearly 60,000 people taking part in the women’s health initiative, a long-term US study into the cardiovascular health of post-menopausal women.

The average age of the women was calculated at 62.8 and all women must have had no prior history of cardiovascular problems to be involved in the study.

Through a questionnaire, women were asked to document how many diet drinks they drank over a duration of three months, with a drink being taken as a 12oz (355ml) sized beverage including diet soft and fruit drinks.

The researchers tracked the women for an average follow-up time of about 9 years, variety of negative outcomes occurred in 8.5% of those who drank at least two diet drinks each day. These negative outcomes included: coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, heart attack, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease and cardiovascular death.

In contrast, negative outcomes occurred in 6.9% of the women who drank between five and seven drinks each week, within 6.8% that had drank one to four drinks per week, and 7.2% drinking between zero and three diet drinks each month.

“Our findings are in line with and extend data from previous studies showing an association between diet drinks and metabolic syndrome,” commented Dr Ankur Vyas, of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, lead investigator of the study. The syndrome has been linked to a number of risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.

“We only found an association, so we can’t say that diet drinks cause these problems,” Dr Vyas added, highlighting there may be other reasons for the link between diet drinks and a risk of heart attack and stroke.

Dr Vyas stressed that the women who had drink two or more diet drinks each day were typically younger in age, more likely to smoke, with a higher prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure and of being overweight, adding that further research should be conducted to see if there is an actual definite link between diet drinks and cardiovascular risk.

Earl Grey tea as good as statins at fighting heart disease?

Every office has that one person who is brew-shy and will avoid having to fill up the kettle at all costs! However, these type of people may reconsider after scientists discovered that drinking Earl Grey tea could help to protest against the onset of heart disease.

The tasty beverage – a popular drink in television program Downton Abbey -  contains a fragrant Mediterranean citrus fruit bergamot, an extract responsible for the distinct taste and smell which experts found can be as beneficial as statins like Atorvastatin or Pravastatin in lowering bad cholesterol and ultimately lowering the risk of heart disease.

New research has shown that Earl’s Grey tea contains enzymes called HMGF (hydroxy methyl glutaryl flavonones), which work at fighting the body’s proteins that help to cause cardiovascular disease – something which is the primary reason for a quarter of deaths in the UK.

The study was conducted by scientists from Italy’s University of Calabria, who worked with concentrations of HMGF on the proteins that are responsible for ‘bad’ cholesterol and heart disease.
Writing in the Journal of Functional Foods, they said that a dietary supplement of HMGF could be as comparable as statin therapy in fighting low-density proteins (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol, with the bergamot extract with HMGF working just as well as the medications after comparison.

Not only were levels of the bad LDL cholesterol reduced, but researchers also found that the bergamot extract also increased HDL, also referred to as ‘good cholesterol’.

Citrus foods belong to the heavily praised ‘Mediterranean diet’, something which adhered to,  many health experts argue it can dramatically lower the risk of heart disease. Food and drink from this diet that can aid health include a moderate consumption of ethanol – derived from the wine, low consumption of meat, and high intake of vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes, fish and olive oil.

Bergamot has only been added to many traditional Mediterranean‘folk’ medicines for the treatment of wounds, inflammation and as an antiseptic, in addition to its boost for the heart.

The journal’s report said: “High cholesterol is a common health concern for us all and often statins are given to help treat the condition. Extract from bergamot – most commonly used in Earl Grey tea – reduced total cholesterol and LDL levels but there was an increase in HDL levels (good cholesterol). Therefore a daily supplement of bergamot fruit extract could be very effective for the treatment of high cholesterol.”

Cholesterol-busting statins such as Crestor (Rosuvastatin) and Lipitor (Atorvastatin) are currently prescribed to around 7 million Brits and function by raising good/protective cholesterol (HDL) and lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides. The higher your cholesterol level, the higher your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke due to your arteries being clogged up with the fat-like substance known as cholesterol.

Heart disease risk for men who often skip breakfast

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and this popular phrase may actually be true. In fact, so important, it could save your life.

Regularly missing breakfast may put older men at risk of suffering from a fatal heart attack or coronary heart disease by as much as a quarter in comparison to their peers who eat a morning meal, according to the findings from a U.S. study.

The new research was published on Monday in the journal Circulation, and was derived from a study spanning 16 years between 1992 and 2008. Participating in the study were 26,902 male health professionals (i.e. dentists and veterinarians) aged between 45 and 82 years, who completed food frequency questionnaires.  To be involved in the study, the men could not have a history of cancer, coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack or stroke.

Researchers noted over the course of the follow-up period that 1,572 men had experienced a ‘first-time’ cardiac event such as a non-fatal heart attack or died due to coronary heart disease. This included 171 who said they skipped breakfast.

Therefore, over 7% of the men who skipped breakfast had heart attacks, compared to nearly 6% of those who did not skip breakfast.

Assessing all the data, taking into account factors such as smoking, drinking, diet and health problems like high blood pressure and obesity, researchers discovered that the men who admitted they did not eat breakfast were at a 27% higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than those who said they did eat a morning meal.

Typically those who didn’t bother with a breakfast were younger, single, heavier drinkers, smokers, in full-time employment and who did not do as much exercise. A potential flaw with the study though could simply be that people who make sure they have a regular breakfast also tend to have a healthier lifestyle.

Eric Rimm, one of the study authors at the Harvard School of Public Health, says past research may have found a connection between breakfast and obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems seen as precursors to heart problems, “But no studies looked at long-term risk of heart attack”, he says.

However, lead author Leah Cahill, tried to explain possible reasons behind the new findings of the study: “Skipping breakfast may lead to one or more risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which may in turn lead to a heart attack over time.”

The British Heart Foundation’s senior dietician, Victoria Taylor, attempted to alleviate some degree of panic, and said further research needs to be conducted – highlighting the fact no women were actually included in the study.

She commented on the study findings: “In the morning rush it can be all too easy to skip breakfast, but this study suggests this could have a bigger impact on our health than we might think. However, these researchers only looked at men aged over 45, so we would need to see further research to confirm that breakfast has the same impact on the heart health of other groups of people. What we do know is that a healthy and filling breakfast can make that mid-morning biscuit less tempting, as well as giving you another opportunity to widen the variety of foods in your diet. Wholegrain toast or cereals like porridge with low-fat milk are a good way to start the day. Try a sliced banana or dried fruit on top and you’ll be on your way to five-a-day before you’ve even left the house.”

Chemical contained red meat may cause heart damage

A study carried out by researchers from Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, US, has found that the chemical L-carnitine can increase the risk of suffering from heart problems. Saturated fat and the manufacturing process involved with how meat is preserved are widely believed to be related to heart problems, but many health experts think there is more to it. 

Lead researcher of the new study, Dr Stanley Hazen, commented: “The cholesterol and saturated fat content of lean red meat is not that high, there’s something else contributing to increases in cardiovascular risk.”

L-carnitine is a nutrient which is contained in red meat, dairy products and some dietary supplements.  The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, showed that the carnitine contained red meat was broken down by naturally occurring bacteria in the gut. 

However, this later resulted in higher levels of cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease as the resulting broken down product - trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), is known to speed up the build-up of plaque in arteries and cause them to harden (atherosclerosis) – a main cause of heart disease.

Part of the researchers’ investigations was conducted in humans, whilst other testing was carried out with mice. Studies involving animals can be sometimes difficult to interpret, and some degree of caution should be shown when generalising the findings to humans.

For the study, 77 healthy volunteers were administered a supplement of L-carnitine. Of this total, 26 were classified as vegans or vegetarians. Some of the meat-eaters in the group were told to eat an eight-ounce sirloin steak - this works out at around 180mg of L-carnitine.

Researchers then gave antibiotics to the participants for a one week period. These prevented bacteria in their gut from converting L-carnitine into TMAO. After this, the 77 people again were given L-carnitine. Tests were conducted on blood and urine at the beginning of the study and up to three weeks following L-carnitine being given. Some of the people also had their faeces analysed.

In addition, L-carnitine levels were checked in the blood of 2,595 other people, all of whom had attended a heart check-up. The researchers thought this would be an effective measure of assessing a potential link with L-carnitine levels and known cardiovascular disease, or risk of a cardiovascular event (i.e. a heart attack or stroke).

Finally, plaque levels were studied in the arteries of mice and this was done by comparing mice fed normally against a group of mice fed L-carnitine, for a 10 week period. Some of these mice were given antibiotics beforehand. 

The main findings were:

. Meat-eaters produced more TMAO compared to vegans or vegetarians following L-carnitine ingestion.

. A ‘significant’ link was found between L-carnitine concentrations and risk of cardiovascular event in those having heart check-ups. However this was only for those with a high TMAO concentration. Researchers state they believe this shows that TMAO, rather than L-carnitine, is the main factor of this link.

. A study of the faeces showed L-carnitine affected how much TMAO was in the blood.

. Mice given L-carnitine, were at a double risk of developing a plaque build-up in their arterial walls, - but only when they had their normal gut bacteria. When the animals were given antibiotics to clear the gut, L-carnitine did not cause the same arterial wall build-up.

Dr Hazen says that TMAO can be underestimated, and said: “It may be a waste product but it is significantly influencing cholesterol metabolism and the net effect leads to an accumulation of cholesterol. The findings support the idea that less red meat is better. I used to have red meat five days out of seven, now I have cut it way back to less than once every two weeks or so.”

A vegetarian diet can boost blood pressure and cholesterol

A Cancer Research UK and the UK Medical Research Council-funded study featured in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that those who adhere to a vegetarian diet and ditch meat and fish will see major health benefits over their meat-eating peers.

The findings of what is the largest study of its kind, could persuade some people to give-up meat in favour of veg and comes ironically only weeks after the Tesco horse meat scandal where some of their own-branded beef burgers were found to contain as much as 29% horse meat.

Scientists at the University of Oxford analysed 44,561 people in England and Scotland, recruiting participants over the age of 20 during 1993 to 1997. They specifically wanted vegetarians and vegans in the study to look at associations between nutrition and general health in contrast to the general UK population.

All participants were required to fill out a food-frequency questionnaire that quizzed them on what food they ate over the previous year, in addition to asking them about exercise, smoking habits and alcohol consumption. The researchers classified people as either non-vegetarian if they said they had eaten any meat or fish, or as vegetarian if they reported eating no meat or fish. For study purposes, vegetarians and vegans were categorised together (about 15,100 in total).

Over the course of an average 11.6 years of follow-ups, there were 1,235 cases of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). From this number, 169 people in the study had died as a result of heart disease and there were 1,066 recorded hospital admissions.

After taking into account factors such as age, gender, physical activity, smoking, alcohol intake, education and social background, it was calculated that being a vegetarian can decrease the risk of death or hospital admission from heart disease by a staggering 32%. Amazingly, a reduced risk was evident in both continuous vegetarians and in those who had begun eating meat at the five year follow-up.

If that wasn’t enough of a persuader to ditch the meat, vegetarians were also found to have lower levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol in their blood and a lower systolic blood pressure reading. Moreover, they were typically more slender with a lower body mass index (BMI) than the meat eaters, and had a reduced risk of developing diabetes.

Dr Francesca Crowe, author of the study at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, said: “Most of the difference in risk is probably caused by effects on cholesterol and blood pressure, and shows the important role of diet in the prevention of heart disease.”
Co-author Professor Tim Key, deputy director of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford, added: “The results clearly show the risk of heart disease in vegetarians is about a third lower than in non-vegetarians.”

Red meat – particularly processed meat – comprises of numerous ingredients that have been regular attributed to increased risk of chronic diseases including bowel cancer. Such ingredients include heme iron, saturated fat, sodium, nitrites and certain carcinogens that are formed during the cooking process. At least by hitting the daily recommended intake of five portions of fruit and veg means that people can benefit from their antioxidant properties that work at reducing cholesterol, control blood glucose levels and reduce the risk of many types of cancer.

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for the largest number of deaths in the developed world. According to World Health Organisation statistics, it claimed 17.3 million lives in 2008 worldwide, with 6.2 million of these from strokes. A famous figure who almost succumbed to heart disease was former U.S. President Bill Clinton, once notorious for his strong penchant for hamburgers; he was required to have a coronary bypass operation in 2004 and is now leads a much better lifestyle.

As highlighted earlier, high cholesterol is a primary contributor for heart disease. However, Medical Specialists Pharmacy provides online consultations for patients with high cholesterol and with our help you can reduce the risk of developing heart problems. For suitable patients our in-house doctors can prescribe statin medication (Lipitor and Crestor), and our in house pharmacists can dispense to patients within 24 hours. We also dispense statins for patients who can provide a private prescription, and in 2012 we introduced the legally available generic Atorvastatin at much lower prices for suitable patients.

Risk of death for female smokers has soared over the years

Research published in today’s The New England Journal of Medicine shows that women who smoke in the present day face a much higher risk of dying from lung cancer and other diseases connected to smoking than they did decades ago in the 1960s.

This is because many are starting to light-up much younger and smoking more cigarettes than their ancestors did.  Another finding to emerge from the study may not be surprising when you consider the thousands of harmful chemicals in a single cigarette but on average, smokers (of either gender) are dying at least a decade earlier than non-smokers.

Researchers in the studies wanted to determine if smoking was still as lethal as it was during 1980s as cigarettes now contain less tar, many smokers have quit, and treatments for many smoking-related diseases have improved.

Part of the analysis comprised of a study led by Dr. Michael Thun of the American Cancer Society, who used seven population surveys to track the number of smoking related fatalities between three time periods: 1956 – 1965, 1982 – 1988 and 2000 – 2010. In total, 2.2 million men and women were assessed, just a small fraction however of the 1.3 billion estimated smokers around the globe.
During the 1960s it was established that smoking increased a woman’s chances of succumbing to lung cancer by 2.7 times. However, by 2000 to 2010, the risk had now skyrocketed 25-fold. It was determined that both current smokers of either sex today were almost equally more at risk than non-smokers of developing conditions such as COPD, heart disease, lung cancer and strokes, the research showed.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is similar in certain characteristics to asthma and therefore can be treated with the use of Ventolin Evohaler with symptoms including chronic cough, tightness in the chest, and excessive phlegm. Like asthma, it is often an underestimated condition and not taken seriously enough as a life-threatening health problem.  However this study showed that the risk of dying increased four times greater than it was for people who had never smoked in the 1960s, to 22.5 times.

Dr. Thun implies that an explanation for the rise in risk of dying from lung cancer among women smokers between 1960 and 2000 could be linked to tobacco manufacturers releasing milder ‘light’ products solely aimed at the female market. For example it was in the 1960s when tobacco giant Philip Morris introduced its Virginia Slims brand – the very first cigarette marketed just at women.

He says: “The steep increase in risk among female smokers has continued for decades after the serious health risks from smoking were well established, and despite the fact that women predominantly smoked cigarette brands marketed as lower in tar and nicotine. So not only did the use of cigarette brands marketed as ‘light’ and ‘mild’ fail to prevent a large increase in risk in women, it also may have exacerbated the increase in deaths from chronic obstructive lung disease in male smokers, since the diluted smoke from these cigarettes is inhaled more deeply into the lungs of smokers to maintain the accustomed absorption of nicotine.”

In the U.S. there are over 35 million smokers — about 20% of men and 18% of women. It was during the 1980s though when women began smoking in their masses – two decades later than when large smoking rates were witnessed for males. Smoking rates were particularly high during the ’60s, when around 1 in 3 adult women smoked.

Dr. Thun says that the data in his study shows that women who smoke have the same risk for death as men. “When women smoke like men, they die like men”, Thun explained.
Within the same journal were the findings of a study led by Dr. Prabhat Jha of the Center for Global Health Research in Toronto, who looked at data contained on 217,000 Americans over the age of 25 who had responded to federal health surveys between 1997 and 2004. It was observed that around 16,000 of these people had died many years later.

Dr. Jha and colleagues found that:

. Those who stopped smoking in their mid-30s to mid-40s managed to extend their lifespan by nine years. Those who quit from their mid-40s to mid-50s gained six years. Those quitting later than this period this but prior to age 65, gain about four years.
. Smokers aged 25 to 79 were around three times more likely to die as non-smoking counterparts in the same age group.
. Those who had never smoked are twice as more likely to reach the age of 80 than smokers.
Over one hundred thousand people in the UK die each year due to smoking. Smoking-related deaths are mainly due to cancers, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and heart disease.

Smoking is a worldwide issue and not just one in the U.S. Cutting down on the number of cigarettes each day will only go so far to improving health, the best solution is to completely stop altogether. As these studies have highlighted, smoking increases the risk of developing a number of diseases which may not always be fatal, but can result in many years of unpleasant symptoms.

Quit smoking today with the help of the smoking cessation medication Champix. The Doctors at Medical Specialists can help you do this. Complete the simple 4 step online questionnaire, and if the online consultation is approved by one of our Doctors, they will write a prescription that will be dispensed by our in-house pharmacy team.

Certain signs of aging could be a predictor for heart disease

A person’s risk of heart disease could be estimated by examining signs of aging such as hair loss or bags around the eyes, claim researchers in from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. They say such things can be used to determine the true biological age of a person as well as simply a numerical age.

The researchers say that if you have three to four signs of aging such as a receding hairline, baldness (particularly around the crown), earlobe crease or yellow fatty deposits around the eyelid, then you could have a 57% increased risk of a heart attack and a 39% increased risk of heart disease.
They further state that deposits of cholesterol beneath the skin named ‘xanthelasmata’ are one of the biggest signs that can predict the risk for both a heart attack and heart disease. These deposits usually appear as slightly yellow or skin-coloured lumps on the hands or ankles, and are an early sign of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH).

If you are unfamiliar with this term, it is a genetic defect that affects roughly 1 in every 500 of the population and causes them immediately from birth to be lacking in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, which get rid of cholesterol from our blood. Because these people have high cholesterol from the moment they are born, they are at great risk from vascular diseases and hardening of the arteries, much earlier than normal. For anybody unfortunately who has FH, usually the most effective treatment is through statin therapy (e.g. Lipitor or Crestor). These medications decrease the production of LDL cholesterol by the liver, which in turn decreases LDL cholesterol blood levels by around 50%. There are around 120,000 sufferers in the UK and only 15% actually know they have the condition. Medical Specialists would advise everybody to visit their doctor who is able to perform a simple cholesterol check. If your cholesterol is abnormally high then they can suggest ways to best manage this, such as through statin medication.

For the recent study analysing heart risks, the Danish researchers looked at 10,885 people over 40 years of age. It was noted that 7,537 had fronto-parietal baldness - where the hairline is receding at the temples. Furthermore, 3,938 were suffering with crown top baldness. In addition, they also found that 3,405 had earlobe creases and 678 people had fatty deposits around their eyes.

A follow-up period was then carried out, spanning an incredible 35 years. The researchers, led by Professor Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, found that 3,401 people had developed heart disease and 1,708 had suffered from a heart attack.

In the study – presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2012 – researchers explained how the quantity of greying hair, presence of wrinkles, the type and severity of baldness, and presence of earlobe crease and eyelid deposits were linked to a possible increased risk of heart problems.

Professor Tybjaerg-Hansen, said: “Checking these visible aging signs should be a routine part of every doctor’s physical examination. The visible signs of aging reflect physiologic or biological age, not chronological age, and are independent of chronological age.”

Could a ‘Virtual Doctor’ improve patient care and save money?

For many elderly patients particularly ones suffering from diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease or diabetes, getting to the doctors can be an ordeal.

Such patients need to have their vital signs and other parameters regularly monitored in order to effectively control and treat their conditions. However such patients may only see their doctor or nurse for such checks every few months, and if there is a problem in between then often they will have to be admitted to hospital.

However there is now a programme called Telehealth that has been in development since 2007, and is now being trialed by the North Yorkshireand York Primary Care Trust, using 500 patients suffering from diseases such as COPD, heart disease and diabetes.

The equipment called a Telestation is placed in a patient’s home and can monitor key readings from a patient within just five minutes every morning. The equipment has an integral scale to weigh the patient, a blood pressure cuff to take blood pressure readings, a pulse oximeter to measure pulse and blood oxygen levels, a glucose meter to measure blood sugar levels and even has a video camera built in so the doctor/nurse can physically see the patient if the need arises.

The really clever part of the Telehealth system is that the Telestation wirelessly transmits the readings once taken, to the patient’s phone line where they are transmitted directly to the Telehealth central control, where their own dedicated Telehealth nurse will daily review the readings.

The machine verbally takes the patient step by step throughout the five minute checkup and will also ask pre-set questions as well as taking various readings. If any of the readings fall outside of the pre-set parameters, an alarm will be triggered and the patient will immediately be contacted by their own dedicated Telehealth nurse.

Vera who is 71 and is suffering from COPD was initially skeptical about the scheme, but after taking part in the year long trial Vera claimed that the Telehealth system is “the best thing since sliced bread and that they should be in everybody’s home.” Normally patients suffering from COPD can easily be susceptible to infections that though may be easy to treat, often escalate into much larger problems necessitating hospital admission. The reason for this is that often patients leave it too late to get help, however with the Telehealth system the infection can be nipped in the bud by early diagnosis and treatment. Patients such as Vera suffering from COPD are given medication rescue packs containing antibiotics and steroids that can be taken as soon as needed after a consultation with their Telehealth nurse.

Telehealth nurse Dawn Watson who looks after Vera, tells how by working remotely she can look after more than 200 patients instead of the normal caseload of closer to 30 patients. As well as improved patient care the Telehealth system could obviously cut costs for the NHS especially when you consider that seven out of ten hospital beds are occupied by patients with long term conditions like Vera’s.

Paul Burstow, the minister for care services, claimed at a conference in March that “Telehealth could save the NHS up to £1.2 billion by 2014.” That claim seems to be well backed up as the trial which claims to be a success was launched in 2007, cost £30million, lasted three and a half years and was one of the most complex trials ever carried out by the NHS.

However the jury is still out on whether the Telehealth system is capable of saving the amount of money claimed, and also whether it can provide the improved patient care it claims. The reason the jury is still out on this is that the data analysis is being carried out by five academic institutions, and that for the findings to be both credible and useful, the academic analysis needs to be peer reviewed (a vital process of evaluation by independent experts.)

Breaking news! Eggs are comparable to smoking for heart disease risk

In news that may break the heart of many people across Britain who love nothing more than a good old fashioned fry-up to kick-off their day, it is unfortunately our duty to report that scientists are claiming that the egg yolks are ‘almost as bad as smoking’ in regards to the negative effects they can have on health. The debate about how good eggs are for you has been active for a number of years and no doubt this new study to emerge will add fuel to the fire.

The egg is a staple of many Brits’ morning breakfast, with fry-ups or ‘egg and soldiers’ being most common dishes. The bearer of bad news is Dr David Spence from the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. Dr Spence claims that eating egg yolks for a sustained time period can speed up the onset of atherosclerosis. This is where cholesterol and fat begin to build up in the artery walls and then result in the gradual creation hard structures called plaques. The damaged narrow arteries can then restrict blood flow causing organs to stop functioning correctly, or there is a risk of blood clot. When the blood supply to the heart is restricted this could lead to a possible heart attack, or a stroke may be triggered when the brain’s blood supply has been affected.

Dr Spence conducted an analysis of 1,231 participants in total from London Health Sciences Centre’s University Hospital clinics in Ontario. For a fair result, he looked at a mixture of both men and women. The patients had an overall average age of 61.5 and each patient completed a questionnaire that quizzed them about their lifestyle and medicines taken. Dr Spence wanted to know each patient’s pack-years of smoking (number of packs per day of cigarettes times the number of years), and the number of egg yolks roughly eaten per week times the number of years consumed (egg yolk-years).

An ultrasound machine was utilised to assess the total plaque area levels of each person. After thorough analysis it was discovered that carotid plaque area rose linearly with age after 40, but increased exponentially after several years of frequent smoking and egg yolk consumption. It was also observed that the people who typically ate at least three egg yolks per week had notably more plaque area than those who restricted themselves to consuming just two a week.

Dr Spence warned, “The mantra ‘eggs can be part of a healthy diet for healthy people’ has confused the issue. It has been known for a long time that a high cholesterol intake increases the risk of cardiovascular events, and egg yolks have very high cholesterol content. In diabetics, an egg a day increases coronary risk by two to five-fold.”

He continued to stress that regular egg consumption can actually be two-thirds as dangerous as smoking in terms of plaque build-up. In addition, Dr Spence revealed that a typical jumbo sized egg can contain a whopping 237 milligrams of cholesterol, adding, “It’s more than the cholesterol in a Hardee’s monster thick burger which is two-thirds of a pound of beef, three slices of cheese and four slices of bacon.”