You can now enjoy those eggs leftover from Easter weekend. A new study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session suggests that eggs aren’t the villain in heart disease, and they may improve cardiovascular fitness.

In fact, people who ate 12 or more fortified eggs, enriched with nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and selenium each week for four months had no significant differences in their cholesterol levels than participants who ate fewer than two eggs a week. This was true even though the participants were all at high risk of heart disease, says Study Finds.

Eggs are full of important nutrients. A single egg has about six grams of protein with all nine essential amino acids. Eggs also contain vitamins A and D, iron, choline, and other nutrients. The yolks are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, two antioxidants that benefit eye health.

The great egg debate has been going on for decades, starting back in the 1970s, when the American Heart Association (AHA) first recommended limiting egg consumption to reduce the risk of heart disease. The concern was that there are 186 milligrams of cholesterol in egg yolks which is more than half the recommended daily limit at that time. While eggs are high in cholesterol, it may not have an impact on heart disease, according to new research.

Studies from Harvard Medical School that have followed hundreds of thousands of people over decades did not find higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, or other cardiovascular disease in people who ate one egg daily. In fact, one Harvard Study published in 2018 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that people who were free from heart disease and diabetes who routinely ate eggs had a lower risk of death from stroke and heart disease compared with those who did not eat eggs.

In 2015, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans lifted its recommended limit on cholesterol intake adding that they still advised eating as little dietary cholesterol as possible.

Now the new study, called the PROSPERITY trial, funded by Eggland’s Best, affirms that eggs are fine foods for heart health.

“This is a small study, but it gives reassurance that eating fortified eggs is OK with regards to lipid levels over four months, even among a high-risk population,” said lead author Dr. Nina Nouhravesh, a research fellow at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Interestingly, the group that ate the fortified eggs showed improvement in other markers of heart health, such as total cholesterol, LDL particles, and insulin resistance scores.

But there is a link between saturated fat and heart disease, says USA Today, so cooking eggs alongside bacon and sausage and slathering on the butter or cheese may indeed increase your heart health risk. Instead, serve them boiled, poached, fried, or scrambled in a little oil alongside heart-healthy vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. As always, check with your doctor if eating eggs is right for your cardiovascular health.