Eggs fit into heart-healthy diet....

At least one-half of the traditional eggs-and-bacon breakfast can show up again on the plates of some people with high concentrations of cholesterol in their blood. A new study by researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle finds that eggs needn't be off-limits for some people with elevated cholesterol as long as they stick to a low-fat diet.

The team studied 161 men and women who had either elevated cholesterol or a combination of elevated cholesterol and elevated blood triglyceride concentrations. For 12 weeks, the participants added either two eggs or the same amount of egg substitute to a diet with less than 30 percent of its calories from fat. At the end of the study, those people with elevated triglycerides who added eggs to their diets increased their total cholesterol from 238 to 250 milligrams per deciliter of blood. But those with simply elevated cholesterol who ate eggs saw no increase in their total cholesterol, although they did enjoy an increase in their HDL, or "good," cholesterol.

"For those individuals with simply elevated cholesterol, eggs can be added in the context of a low-fat diet without raising cholesterol," says study leader Robert H. Knopp. For people with both elevated cholesterol and elevated triglycerides, he suggests that they forego the eggs entirely.

So eggs are back, sort of. But don't expect vindication for bacon anytime soon. The researchers stress that a low-fat diet is essential for controlling cholesterol and heart disease.