Starting the day on an egg could keep your blood pressure in check, research suggests. Scientists have shown that eggs produce proteins that mimic the action of powerful blood pressure-lowering drugs.

The finding comes a few days after a study exploded the myth that they can increase the danger of heart attacks.

It now appears that eggs may be good for the heart, lowering blood pressure in the same way as Ace inhibitors, prescription-only pills taken by millions around the world. The drugs lower blood pressure by stopping the hormone angiotensin narrowing the body's blood vessels.

The researchers, from the University of Alberta in Canada, showed that when eggs come in contact with stomach enzymes they produce a protein that acts in the same way.

Fried eggs proved particularly successful at blocking angiotensin, lab-based tests showed, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports. But the researchers, whose study was funded by the poultry industry, said more work was needed to show the effects outside a lab and in the human body.

Earlier this month, British researchers proclaimed that, contrary to popular perception, it is healthy to go to work on an egg. Researchers for the British Nutrition Foundation - part-funded by the poultry industry - concluded that the type of cholesterol found in eggs has minimal effect on raising heart disease risks.

It is saturated fat, rather than the cholesterol found in eggs, that is the main dietary culprit in raising cholesterol levels.

Smoking, being overweight and lack of exercise also influence blood fat and cholesterol levels and heart disease risk.

Researcher Professor Bruce Griffin, of the University of Surrey, said: 'The ingrained misconception linking egg consumption to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected. 'The amount of saturated fat in our diet exerts an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of dietary cholesterol.

The UK public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat. 'They can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of nature's most nutritionally dense foods.' The British Heart Foundation dropped its three-egg-a-week limit in 2005. However, almost half of Britons believe the limit still applies, a poll found. ...And a slice of cheese might just prevent cancerEating cheese and other calcium-rich dairy products could cut your risk of cancer.

Such foods appear to be particularly effective against bowel and other cancers of the digestive system, according a U.S. study of almost half a million volunteers.

Researchers tracked the health and dietary habits of more than 490,000 adults for up to eight years.

Women taking in the most calcium, a mineral normally associated with bone health, were 23 per cent less likely to have developed bowel, stomach and other digestive cancers than those who ate the least.

For men, high levels of calcium cut the risk of these cancers by 16 per cent, the journal Archives of Internal Medicine Reports.

These men and women took in more than 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day - more than twice the level recommended by the Food Standards Agency. A 100g wedge of cheddar provides about 720mg of calcium.

The researchers, from the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, said: 'Calcium has been shown to reduce abnormal growth and induce normal turnover among cells in the gastrointestinal tract.'

研究表明：每天清晨吃一個雞蛋，可以控制血壓。科學家已經表示，雞蛋里含有蛋白質，可以起到降壓藥的作用。

這個發現，在雞蛋會增加患心臟病危險的說被打破的幾天后被發現的。

現在看來雞蛋可能對心臟有好處，通過血管緊張素轉化酶抑制劑（處方藥，全世界有數百萬人只吃這種藥丸）降血壓的方式降低血壓。藥物通過抑制導致血管狹窄的荷爾蒙高血壓素的分泌降低血壓。

加拿大亞伯達大學的研究人員表示，雞蛋與胃里的酶發生反應，產生一種蛋白質，它與藥物控制血壓的方式是相同的。

《農業與食品化學雜志》報道說：實驗室測試表明，煎雞蛋在控制高血壓素方面是尤其有效的。但是一些由家禽工業提供資金進行研究的研究人員說，需要更多的工作來證明實驗室外和人體內的效果。

本月早些時候，英國研究人員宣布，與大眾的看法相反的是，上班前吃個雞蛋對身體是有益健康的。由家禽工業部分自助的英國營養基金會的研究人員得出結論：雞蛋中發現的膽固醇種類，對提高患心臟病風險的影響很小。

飽和脂肪是飲食中提高膽固醇水平的主要罪魁禍首，而不是在雞蛋里所含的膽固醇。

吸煙，肥胖，以及缺乏鍛煉都是影響血液脂肪膽固醇水平和心臟病的風險的因素。

薩里大學教授、研究員布魯斯.格里芬：“我們必須把吃雞蛋同高血液膽固醇和心臟病聯系起來的根深蒂固的錯誤觀念改正過來。”我們飲食中飽和脂肪含量對血液膽固醇發揮的影響，是相對少量的食物膽固醇的影響的好幾倍。

英國公眾沒有必要限制每日雞蛋的攝入量。“可以鼓勵他們把雞蛋列入到健康飲食里面，因為雞蛋是自然界中最營養豐富的食品之一。”英國心臟基金會于2005年取消了限制每周吃三個雞蛋的說法。然而，從一項投票發現，幾乎一半的英國人認為這個說法仍然存在。…另外一片奶酪也許正好能預防癌癥。吃奶酪和其他富含鈣的奶制品能降低患癌癥的風險。

根據美國一項有50萬自愿者參加的調查，這樣含鈣的食物仿佛對腸癌和其他消化系統的癌癥尤其有效。

研究人員用8年多的時間，跟蹤了49萬多成年人的健康飲食習慣。

正常情況下，一種與骨質健康有關的礦物質鈣攝入最多的女性，比那些鈣攝入量少的女性患腸、胃和其他消化道癌癥的機率低23%。

對于男性來說，這個比例是16%，《內科醫學檔案期刊》報道說。

這些男性和女性，每日鈣攝入量達到1500毫克以上，是食物標準局推薦攝入量的二倍以上。一個100克的楔形干酪能提供大約720毫克的鈣。

馬里蘭的國立癌癥研究所的研究人員指出：“鈣已被證明，可以減少消化道內細胞的反常的增長，引導正常細胞代謝。”