In India, with metabolic syndrome rates rising, even moderate egg consumption in hyper‑responders may compound risk.
A well‑conducted study at AIIMS New Delhi (Gayatri Chakrabarty et al., 2004) involving healthy Indian adults showed:
• Participants ate one boiled egg per day for 8 weeks.
• About one‐third were “hyper‐responders”—their LDL cholesterol rose by more than 15%, and the total/HDL ratio worsened significantly. Others showed minimal change.
This highlights strong individual variability—and suggests that many Indians may still experience unhealthy lipid changes with regular egg intake.
Why Measuring Only Fasting Cholesterol Is Misleading?
Egg‐industry–sponsored studies tend to measure only fasting lipid profiles—typically 10–12 hours after the last meal. But:
• Postprandial (after‐meal) triglyceride and cholesterol levels can spike sharply—especially with egg yolk and fat intake.
• These chylomicrons circulate at night or between meals and can deposit in artery walls, contributing directly to atherosclerosis.
Because we spend much of our day in a postprandial state, fasting values alone seriously underestimate CVD risk from regular egg consumption.
India‑Relevant Meal Patterns: Eggs + Saturated Fat
A recent Indian‐contextual article highlighted a global study (University of South Australia, 2025):
• Eggs with high saturated fat (like ghee, fried foods, processed meats) significantly raised LDL cholesterol, while eggs in low‑saturated fat diets did not.
For Indians consuming eggs alongside ghee-roti, fried breakfast items, and processed meats, egg cholesterol may amplify the LDL‐raising effect of saturated fat.
Breeding “Hyper‑responders”
• Up to 35% of Indians (as per AIIMS study) may be hyper-responders—whose LDL and total/HDL ratio rises significantly with daily egg intake.
Yet most industry-funded studies:
• Omit this variability.
• Measure only at fasting baseline, ignoring repeated post-meal spikes experienced daily.
• Argue that eggs are safe, based on average effects—not real-world patterns.

The Misleading Design: What the Egg Board Prefers
To minimise perceived harm:
1. They ensure participants consume low‑saturated fat meals.
2. They measure lipids only in the fasting state, hours after egg intake, when chylomicrons have cleared.
3. They claim no significant LDL elevation and promote eggs as harmless.
But this approach misses the repeated lipid surges that occur in an egg‑heavy diet—those surges happening multiple times per day are exactly when vascular damage occurs.
What the Scientific Literature Actually Highlights?
• Postprandial triglyceride peaks, especially after high‑fat meals including eggs, are stronger predictors of cardiovascular risk than fasting LDL.
• Elevated dietary cholesterol (≈186–275 mg/egg yolk) correlates with higher long-term mortality and CVD risk in Western cohort studies—even when adjusted for lifestyle factors.
Final Takeaway:
• Eggs contribute dietary cholesterol, which elevates postprandial chylomicrons and LDL levels—risk not captured in fasting tests.
• Many Indian meals combine eggs with saturated fats—creating a synergistic lipid rise.
• A significant minority (hyper-responders) may see persistent adverse effects.
• Industry-funded studies often ignore these real-world dynamics by designing tests to show minimal impact.
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