Eggs are Good!

Eggs have been blamed for causing high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. But there is now enough evidence to show that such a simplistic blame is unfair, and instead, eggs may do good rather than harm. No significant association was found between egg consumption and mortality in US adults. Results from three cohorts and from the updated meta-analysis show that moderate egg consumption is not associated with cardiovascular disease risk overall, and is associated with potentially lower cardiovascular disease risk in Asian populations. Egg consumption is also reported to be associated with lower total mortality among the Chinese population.

The 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans removed the recommendations of restricting dietary cholesterol to 300 mg/day. Most foods that are rich in cholesterol are also high in saturated fatty acids, exceptions are eggs and shrimp. Eggs are also affordable and nutrient-dense, containing high-quality protein with minimal saturated fatty acids (1.56 gm/egg) and are rich in several micronutrients including vitamins and minerals. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to include eggs in moderation as a part of a healthy eating pattern.

Soliman GA. Dietary Cholesterol and the Lack of Evidence in Cardiovascular Disease. Nutrients. 2018;10(6):780. Published 2018 Jun 16. doi:10.3390/nu10060780. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024687/

Xia P-F, Pan X-F, Chen C, Wang Y, Ye Y, Pan A. Dietary Intakes of Eggs and Cholesterol in Relation to All‐Cause and Heart Disease Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study. Journal of the American Heart Association. May 2020;913. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.119.015743. Available at https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.119.015743

Drouin-Chartier J-P, Chen S, Li Y et al. Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: three large prospective US cohort studies, systematic review, and updated meta-analysis

Soriano-Maldonado A, Cuenca-García M, Moreno LA et al. Ingesta de huevo y factores de riesgo cardiovascular en adolescentes; papel de la actividad física. Estudio HELENA. Nutrición Hospitalaria, 2013; 28:868-877 DOI: 10.3305/nh.2013.28.3.6392 See Report

Kuang H, Yang F, Zhang Y, Wang T, Chen G. The Impact of Egg Nutrient Composition and Its Consumption on Cholesterol Homeostasis.  Cholesterol. Volume 2018 |Article ID 6303810 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/6303810. Available at https://www.hindawi.com/journals/cholesterol/2018/6303810/

Zhuang P, Jiao J, Wu F, Mao L, Zhang Y. Egg and egg-sourced cholesterol consumption in relation to mortality: Findings from population-based nationwide cohort. Clinical Nutrition. November 2020;39(11):3520-3527. Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261561420301369

No association between egg consumption and the incidence of cardiovascular disease: A study that examined the association between egg consumption and incidence of CVD in a prospective dynamic Mediterranean cohort of 14 185 university graduates found no association between egg consumption and the incidence of CVD [Zazpe I et al. Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in the SUN Project. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2011;65:676–682; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.30]

Eating two eggs a day could CUT your cholesterol and help you lose weight
Surrey University Study; Reports 1; 2; More Reports Lee A, Griffin B. Dietary cholesterol, eggs and coronary heart disease risk in perspective; Gray J, Griffin B. Eggs and dietary cholesterol – dispelling the myth

Regular eggs ‘no harm to health’
See Full Text Article in Nutrition Bulletin | Report | Report

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