Dietary and nutritional content reviewed by Jasmin Gorostiza, DT, DM, DSS, CFPP.️
Some say eggs are good. Some say they’re bad. The debate on eating eggs every single day of the week goes on. So here’s the latest on this common everyday food.
According to a new study, folks who eat more than three eggs a week are at risk of suffering from heart disease. Compared to the folks who ate less eggs, folks who added more eggs to their diet are at risk of early death.
Now that’s pretty alarming especially for folks who have always thought that eating eggs every single day was completely safe. Apparently, it’s not and there’s a current study that says so.
The study, led by Dr. Victor Zhong of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg in Chicago, cites that the cholesterol content of a large egg is about 186 milligrams. If eaten daily, eggs could add an additional 300 milligrams of cholesterol. This, obviously, is not good for the health.
The study lasted for 17 and a half years and it was based on data that consisted of 29,000 people from six US study groups.
According to the study:
Over the follow-up period, a total of 5,400 cardiovascular events occurred, including 1,302 fatal and nonfatal strokes, 1,897 incidents of fatal and nonfatal heart failure and 113 other heart disease deaths. An additional 6,132 participants died of other causes.
Rise In Heart Disease Among Respondents
Based on the study, there is quite a number of cardiovascular diseases arising from the respondents. While some are non-fatal, it’s hard to ignore the fact that there are some fatal strokes.
The study goes on to show the dangerous repercussion of adding more eggs to the diet.
Consuming an additional 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day was associated with a 3.2% higher risk of heart disease and a 4.4% higher risk of early death, Zhong’s analysis of the data showed. And each additional half an egg consumed per day was associated with a 1.1% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and 1.9% higher risk of early death due to any cause, the researchers found.
The question is, should we take this particular study seriously? How different could it be from the other studies in the past that came out with findings that eating eggs every single day was perfectly safe?
Unlike the past studies, this current study has taken in consideration the relationship between egg consumption and other unhealthy behaviors.
Unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, low physical activity, and unhealthy diet were carefully assessed as well.
“In contrast, the current study included comprehensive assessment of these factors,” Zhong and his co-authors wrote.
That makes the current study a lot stronger and credible.
Study Relevant To Everybody
According to Dr. Robert H. Eckel of University of Colorado School Medicine, the current study should be relevant to everybody.
Why? He wrote:
“The association of egg consumption and dietary cholesterol with [cardiovascular disease], although debated for decades, has more recently been thought to be less important,” wrote Eckel, who was not involved in the research. However, compared with previously published analyses, the new report “is far more comprehensive, with enough data to make a strong statement that eggs and overall dietary cholesterol intake remain important in affecting the risk of [cardiovascular disease], and more so the risk of all-cause mortality.”
Dr. Eckel, who is not part of the study, stresses the importance of limiting egg intake.
“Considering the negative consequences of egg consumption and dietary cholesterol in the setting of heart-healthy dietary patterns, the importance of limiting intake of cholesterol-rich foods should not be dismissed.”
Another health expert, Victoria Taylor, clamors for more research to further understand the cause and effect of eating more eggs. She also stresses the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet.
“Eggs are a nutritious food and, while this study focuses on the amount we’re eating, it’s just as important to pay attention to how the eggs are cooked and to the trimmings that come with them,” said Taylor, who was not involved in the research. “Eating healthily is all about balance.”
With health experts weighing in on the dangerous effects of eating more than three eggs a week, it makes more sense to play it on the safe side. Even if there have been studies in the past that prove eating eggs on a daily basis is safe, why not just lessen the intake to play it safe?
After all, the key to staying healthy is eating in moderation. If it takes just three eggs a week to have a moderate intake, then be it. It really wouldn’t hurt, would it?
Sources: CNN.com, JAMANetwork.com
