Eating Eggs and Health

The debate about eggs and health has been open again by a new report on death and egg consumption.

On the one hand, the study shows a higher death rate among men who eat seven or more eggs per week, especially among diabetic men.

But on the other hand, the study shows no link between egg consumption and heart attack or stroke.

And eating up to six eggs a week did not affect men’s health. The higher death rate linked to eating seven or more eggs per week is “surprising” and needs to be confirmed, notes an editorial published with the study.

Eggs are like all other foods and they are neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad,’ and they can be part of an overall heart-healthy diet.

During the study, the men noted their egg consumption, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, consumption of vegetables and breakfast cereals, diabetes, high blood pressure, and use of aspirin. Participants were not asked to change their diets.

The typical participant reported eating one egg per week. Older, heavier, less active men who smoked, had high cholesterol, and had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure tended to eat more eggs.

Even after adjusting for other risk factors, men who reported eating seven or more eggs per week were 23% more likely to die of any cause during the study; the risk rose among those with diabetes.

But egg consumption was not linked to increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, even among men who ate more than seven eggs per week.

If we want to have more than one egg on a given day, we may have them less often or try adding more egg whites and fewer egg yolks.

Anyone with a chronic condition such as diabetes needs to be more careful about dietary choices and would benefit from a consultation with a registered dietitian.

By and large, eggs are super nutritious, good food. We just need to make sure we do not overdo it.

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