Does eating a lot of eggs lead to gallstones?

Your gallbladder is an organ that aids digestion. Located beneath your liver, it's a small sac that contains bile, bilirubin, bile salts, fats, proteins, and cholesterol. After your liver has filtered out any toxins you may have ingested, those toxins are transported and stored in the gallbladder.

According toMedical News TodayThe gallbladder produces bile, which helps the body digest fats. Consuming large amounts of fat, especially saturated and trans fats, can put additional stress on this process.

Researchers have found that people who consume red meat, processed meat, and eggs as part of an overall unhealthy diet have a higher risk of developing gallstones.

Eating certain foods can disrupt gallbladder function, even if you are healthy and have never had any gallbladder problems.

Egg yolks are particularly high in cholesterol. One large egg yolk contains 213mg, enough cholesterol that you should limit your cholesterol intake for the rest of the day. If you are a healthy adult with no cholesterol problems, you can safely consume around 300mg of cholesterol.

According toMayo ClinicMost people with high cholesterol are usually kept at around 200mg of cholesterol. Cholesterol can seriously affect the gallbladder if you consume too much.

Because your gallbladder stores cholesterol, it may not be able to break down excess cholesterol. The excess cholesterol that isn't broken down begins to harden, which is what causes gallstones.

According to Dr. Tran Xuan Phuc, Department of General Surgery, Thu Duc Regional General Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City), eggs are a nutritious food that is easy to eat and easy to prepare. However, egg yolks contain a lot of cholesterol, and consuming too many eggs in the diet increases the risk of developing kidney stones.

The case of the 23-year-old man from An Giang is an example. The patient incidentally discovered he had gallstones during a military conscription examination.

Dr. Phuc stated that the abdominal ultrasound results showed the patient had multiple gallstones, the largest measuring 2.5x1.5cm, almost the size of a small quail egg. However, the patient did not have any symptoms such as right lower abdominal pain, jaundice, or loss of appetite, nor did they have any accompanying metabolic disorders.

Upon investigating the patient's diet, the doctor was shocked to learn that the patient ate eggs every day, in large quantities, for an extended period. Therefore, the expert concluded that the cause of his gallstones was his excessive egg consumption.

How many eggs should you eat per week?

According to the National Institute of Nutrition (Ministry of Health), children over 6 months old and adults can eat eggs 3-4 times a week. People with high blood pressure or high cholesterol can still eat eggs. This is because lecithin in eggs helps regulate cholesterol levels, prevents cholesterol accumulation, promotes the breakdown of cholesterol, and facilitates the elimination of its components from the body.

Specifically:

- For infants aged 6-7 months, give them 1/2 egg yolk per meal.

- For children aged 8-9 months, each meal should include 1 chicken egg yolk or 4 quail eggs.

- For children aged 10-12 months, feed them both the yolk and the white, one egg per meal.

- Children aged 1-2 years should eat 3-4 fruits per week.

- Adults should only eat 3 eggs per week. People with high blood pressure or high cholesterol can still eat eggs, as they do not increase blood pressure or cholesterol levels; however, they should only eat 1-2 eggs per week.

Moderate egg consumption is safe for most healthy people, but experts advise those with heart disease or diabetes to talk to their doctor about whether eggs can be a healthy addition to their diet.

Nutritional value of eggs

Eggs are a food with exceptionally high nutritional value. They contain sufficient amounts of protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and several digestive enzymes. The proportions of these nutrients in eggs are very suitable and balanced.

Egg protein is an excellent source of essential amino acids that play many important roles in the body, especially for children's weight and height development.

Eggs are a valuable source of fat called lecithin. Lecithin is often scarce in other foods and is a component of cells and tissues, especially brain tissue.

Eggs are also a good source of vitamins and minerals. Minerals such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, etc., are mostly concentrated in the yolk.

Both the yolk and the egg white contain biotin, which is vitamin B8 and is involved in the body's energy production cycle.

According to Dr. Hoang Minh Duc, Department of General Surgery, Tuyen Quang Provincial General Hospital, gallstones are formed due to the following reasons:

- Bile contains too much cholesterol.

Bile aids in digestion and has the ability to dissolve cholesterol. However, gallstones can form if excess cholesterol is not completely dissolved.

- The bile contains too much bilirubin.

Conditions such as cirrhosis, infections, and dyslipidemia can cause the liver to produce too much bilirubin, leading to the formation of gallstones.

- Bile becomes concentrated, forming gallstones.