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Eggs: To eat, or not to eat. That is the question!

Posted: Jan 26 in Health And Wellness, Nutrition by
eggs

For decades, people have debated whether or not it is healthy to eat eggs. I remember long heated discussions with my grandmother about this very issue back when I was in medical school. “Eat eggs – they are filling with lots of protein and healthy!” she would say. I’d reply, “Yeah, but what about the cholesterol? Aren’t you afraid this will cause heart disease?”

Every few years there is another study looking at egg consumption, and one was published this month in the American Journal of Medicine here. This meta-analysis looked at 23 studies over 12.28 years comprising 1,415,839 individuals in whom a total of 157,324 cardiovascular disease events were recorded.

The authors reviewed egg consumption reported among the nearly 1.5 million people and looked at those who ate no eggs, 1 egg per day, or more than 1 egg per day, and the results were surprising. The analysis revealed that high consumption of eggs (> 1 per day) was NOT associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and in fact was associated with a significant reduction in risk for coronary artery disease!

Now, I’d hate to put all my eggs in one basket, but this study casts significant doubt on the long-held belief that cholesterol in eggs poses a risk to our hearts, and indeed suggests exactly what my grandmother told me – that eggs are a good source of protein, they are filling, and in spite of the cholesterol they contain, they appear to be helpful to prevent heart disease!

See, never doubt your grandmother’s advice!

Comments

4 Responses to “Eggs: To eat, or not to eat. That is the question!”
  • Sheri says:

    Great information! I had always wondered about this. Grew up on a farm, eating eggs for breakfast has always been something I’ve enjoyed but did worry about the frequency.

    • Dr. Lazarus says:

      Yes – me too! Obviously, this is just one study and they seem to flip opinions on this every several years. But, I love the associations found in this study between eating eggs and reducing the risk of heart disease. Just keep in mind this is observational data – to really answer the question, we’d need a prospective double-blinded placebo-controlled study. Not sure how this could be accomplished??? Time to call the chicken farmers to sponsor a study showing whether or not their eggs reduce heart attack risk!

  • Brad says:

    “All your eggs in one basket!” Really? You had to go there?
    Other than that, this is great news! Thanks for sharing.

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