Science / Medicine : Cholesterol Debate Flares Anew

The strange case of an 88-year-old man who ate 25 eggs a day and had normal cholesterol levels is the latest evidence fueling an ongoing debate over the impact of dietary cholesterol on heart disease.

The report in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine suggests that consuming high amounts of cholesterol may not necessarily elevate an individual’s blood level.

The senile but otherwise healthy 88-year-old man, who lives in a retirement community, ate normal meals and never smoked or drank excessively. But he had been consuming at least 25 soft-boiled eggs each day for as long as 15 years, keeping meticulous notes on his consumption.

A psychiatrist termed the habit a type of compulsive behavior, and the man admitted: “Eating these eggs ruins my life, but I can’t help it.”

However, eating the eggs apparently did not ruin his health. Scientists found that the man’s blood cholesterol levels were normal and he showed no sign of atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty deposits in blood vessels.

Researchers attributed this to the reduced ability of his intestine to absorb cholesterol. Rather than storing cholesterol, his body converted an unusually high amount of it into bile acids. Studies have shown that most people absorb 50% to 60% of dietary cholesterol.