Holistic Health
An egg a day keeps consensus away
Researchers still cannot agree on the health benefits of eating eggs
R
esearch into eating eggs shows that it’s devilishly
difficult to find a conclusive answer to whether
they are good or bad for heart health, especially
in people with certain diseases, such as diabetes.
For every study that shows eggs can reduce the risk
of cardiovascular disease, another contradicts it.
For example, a 2018 Chinese study of almost half
a million people found that eating an egg a day could
reduce the risk of stroke by 26 percent compared to
people who don’t eat them. It also showed that daily
egg consumption was associated with a lower risk of
cardiovascular disease overall.
In particular, daily egg consumers had a 26
percent lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke, which has
a higher prevalence in China than in high-income
countries, accompanied by a 28 percent lower risk of
haemorrhagic stroke death. They also benefited from
an 18 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease
death.
Daily egg consumption similarly produced a 12
percent reduction in the risk of ischaemic heart
when compared with the “never/rarely” consumption
category.
As this was an observational study, however, no
firm conclusions could be drawn about cause and
effect, but its large sample size had taken into account
established and potential risk factors for cardiovascular
disease, the authors said.
In contrast, American research published last March
found that high sources of dietary cholesterol, such
as eggs, were associated with a higher risk of heart
disease.
In analysing the dietary intake of nearly 30,000
American adults over more than 17 years, the team
found that each additional half an egg consumed
increased the risk of heart disease by over three
percent. This study was also observational.
Despite being a prominent source of dietary
cholesterol, eggs also contain high-quality protein,
many vitamins, and bioactive components, such as
phospholipids and carotenoids.
They’ve also been found to help regulate the
intake of fat and carbohydrates, protect eye health,
and promote healthy blood vessels and healthy
pregnancies.
Given these health benefits, how does egg
consumption affect those suffering from certain
diseases such as diabetes?
A 2018 study at Sydney University’s Boden Institute
of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders
found that eating 12 eggs a week for a year did not
increase cardiovascular risk factors in people with pre-
diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
20
MARCH 2020
Dr Nick Fuller, who led the study, told Global Health
Asia-Pacific that a number of previous epidemiological
studies had indicated that high egg consumption could
be associated with worse outcomes, however.
“The findings in such studies are affected by many
confounding factors. For example, at the time that
these epidemiological studies were being conducted,
a public health campaign was advising people to limit
their cholesterol intake, including their consumption of
eggs,” Dr Fuller said.
“Individuals consuming more than six eggs per week
at that time may have been less likely to be following
healthy dietary and lifestyle advice in general.”
GlobalHealthAndTravel.com