If you have a history of disordered eating, restrictive diets of any kind (including the boiled-egg diet) aren’t for you. Those living with chronic health conditions, especially any that require taking medication, would be wise to check with their healthcare team before making any dramatic changes to their diet — and the boiled-egg diet would count as dramatic.
On the other hand, people who don’t have a history of eating disorders or a current health condition are unlikely to face health issues if they do the boiled-egg diet in the short term. “I consider this a red-carpet diet. It’s only something to try when you want to see results quickly and you’re okay with feeling restricted for a short period of time,” says Shapiro. She notes that this diet takes its cues from the 1960s, a time when “it was considered ladylike and demure to restrict yourself,” she says. But that’s not a healthy headspace to be in.
Plus, there is continuing confusion about whether eggs are good for you, as they contain dietary cholesterol. Each boiled egg has 186 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol.One studyconcluded that each additional 300 mg of dietary cholesterol consumed per day was associated with a 17 and 18 percent increased risk, respectively, ofcardiovascular diseaseand death from any cause.
The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise that dietary cholesterol consumption should be “as low as possible without compromising the nutritional adequacy in the diet.” The guidelines note that cholesterol naturally appears in small amounts in some animal foods.
Eggs are also flagged for theirsaturated fatcontent. Each large egg contains 1.6 g of saturated fat.The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend capping daily intake of saturated fat at less than 10 percent of calories per day for optimal heart health. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s the equivalent of 22 g of saturated fat or less per day.
So are eggs good or bad for you? Taking into account the research as a whole, Shapiro notes that it’s saturated fat in food thatraises cholesterol, not necessarily dietary cholesterol. What’s more, “it’s thesimple carbohydratesand sugars in foods that increase cholesterol andtriglycerides. I wouldn’t worry about eating hard-boiled eggs daily,” she says.
However, while eggs are not especially high in saturated fat, if that’s the majority of what you’re eating, the saturated fat could add up. A diet high in saturated fat can lead to high LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol, levels, raising your risk of heart disease, notes the AHA. Individuals with high LDL cholesterol levels should consider reducing sources of both saturated fat and dietary cholesterol. To be safe, if you have any risk factors for heart disease, ask your healthcare team how many eggs are right for you to eat.
