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Are Eggs Healthy? Study Denies Link to Cardiovascular Disease
Greatist News examines and explains the trends and studies making headlines in fitness, health, and happiness. Check out all the news here.
Some like ’em green and with ham; others eat them scrambled; but it seems some people are just plain confused about whether they should eat eggs at all.
For years now, eggs have made new headlines every few months, with one study declaring their nutritional benefits and another implicating yolks as a potential cause of cardiovascular disease. Now, researchers say eating one whole egg a day (hold the ham) is just fine, and isn’t associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke. Egg-cellent.
What’s the Deal?
In the latest research, researchers reviewed a set of studies conducted between January 1966 and June 2012 [1]. All the studies examined the link between egg consumption and the risk of CHD and stroke. Additionally, all studies were prospective, meaning they followed people throughout their lives and didn’t just look back at their egg-eating habits. It turns out, for non-diabetic people, there was no association between eating up to one egg a day and CHD or stroke. For diabetics, on the other hand, high egg consumption (up to one egg per day) was linked to an increased risk of heart disease, though the researchers say they didn’t look at enough studies of diabetic patients to draw any definite conclusions.
Is It Legit?
Possibly. The researchers really did their homework, and backed up their claims with a slew of reasons why eggs might not be linked to an increased risk for CHD or stroke. For one thing, some research suggests lowering the amounts of cholesterol in our diet by eating fewer eggs doesn’t actually decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [2]. Instead, eating a diet that’s overall low in saturated fat and cholesterol might be a better bet to help reduce the risk of CVD [3]. The study authors also point out that eating eggs promotes the formation of larger LDL and HDL particles, which might actually protect against artherosclerosis [4]. And there’s some evidence that eating protein-rich foods (such as eggs) instead of carbohydrates could lower the risk of CHD [5]. Even the dose of vitamin D in eggs might help keep CVD at bay [6].
These findings support a range of other research suggesting that, in non-diabetic men and women, an egg a day isn’t associated with an increased risk of heart disease [7] [8]. It’s also worth noting that some of the recent research demonizing eggs suggests that egg consumption is only a problem for people already at risk for heart disease [9].
Of course, the study authors acknowledge that there could have been errors in the measurement of egg consumption and other eating habits. And there definitely needs to be more research on the effects of high egg consumption in diabetics and people at risk for heart disease.
Those who are concerned about their cholesterol intake might consider eating just the egg whites. For everyone else, the only question is: fried, poached, or sunny-side up?
Are you concerned that eating too many eggs is unhealthy? Does this research change your mind? Let us know in the comments below or tweet the author at @ShanaDLebowitz.
Works Cited
- Egg consumption and risk of coronary heart disease and stroke: dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Rong, Y., Chen, L., Zhu, T., et al. Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Hubei Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China. BMJ 2013 Jan 7;346:e8539.⤴
- Exploring the factors that affect blood cholesterol and heart disease risk: is dietary cholesterol as bad for you as history leads us to believe? Kanter, M.M., Kris-Etherton, P.M., Fernandez, M.L. Egg Nutrition Center, Park Ridge, IL, USA. Advances in Nutrition 2012 Sep 1;3(5):711-7.⤴
- Dietary lipids and blood cholesterol: quantitative meta-analysis of metabolic ward studies. Clarke, R., Frost, C., Collins, R. Clinical Trial Service Unit, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. BMJ 1997 Jan 11;314(7074):112-7.⤴
- Plasma LDL and HDL characteristics and caretenoid content are positively influenced by egg consumption in an elderly population. Greene, C.M., Waters, D., Clark, R.M., et al. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. Nutrition and Metabolism 2006 Jan 6;3:6.⤴
- Effects of protein, monounsaturated fat, and carbohydrate intake on blood pressure and serum lipids: results of the OmniHeart randomized trial. Appel, L.J., Sacks, F.M., Carey, V.J., et al. Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. JAMA 2005 Nov 16;294(19):2455-64.⤴
- The role of vitamin D in cardiovascular disease: from present evidence to future perspectives. Brandenburg, V.M., Vervloet, M.G., Marx, N. Department of Cardiology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany. Atherosclerosis 2012 Dec;225(2):253-63.⤴
- A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. Hu, F.B., Stampfer, M.J., Rimm, E.B., et al. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass. JAMA 1999 Apr 21;281(15):1387-94.⤴
- Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in the SUN Project. Zazpe, I., Beunza, J.J., Bes-Rastrollo, M., et al. Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Physiology and Toxicology, University of Navarra, Spain. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2011 Jun;65(6):676-82.⤴
- Egg yolk consumption and carotid plaque. Spence, J.D., Jenkins, D.J., Davignon, J. Stroke Prevention & Atherosclerosis Research Centre, Robarts Research Institute, London, Canada. Atherosclerosis 2012 Oct;224(2):469-73.⤴
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Comments Leave a comment
Staleek
There's a whole lot of government backed studies in your reasoning. New studies, plus history, are showing that the entire low-fat, low-cholesterol mythos is inaccurate. For example, some studies are saying that the body makes both HDL and HDL from cholesterol. Not to mention the fact that some fatty acids are essential and that a no-fat diet will kill you.
Also, it wasn't clear to me what the study said about diabetics. Do eggs correlate with a higher risk of heart disease than what diabetics already face? Or do eggs correlate with the same higher risk that diabetics have?
Also, was it Type I or Type II? I would think that would make a difference. Type I diabetics simply stop being able to make insulin. Type II diabetics basically, usually, eat themselves into insulin resistance. Ignoring a possible lifetime of horrible eating and the subsequent damage to the body only to pin the blame on eggs in single study seems pretty irresponsible.
January 29, 2013 • 8:54 pm
ShanaLebowitz
@Staleek
Hi Staleek, and thanks for your feedback! Most of the studies I found suggest that diabetics who eat eggs increase their (possibly already high) risk for heart disease, though they don’t specify exactly why. In fact, recent research (study abstract here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22882905 and news coverage here
http://healthland.time.com/2012/08/16/is-eating-eggs-really-as-bad-for-y...) suggests that, in diabetics, eating an egg a day increases the risk for coronary heart disease two- to five-fold.
But at least based on my research, it doesn’t look like most studies on this topic distinguish between Type I and Type II diabetes. I’ll keep searching — let us know if you find any more information!
January 30, 2013 • 3:04 pm
kastreater
What perfect timing this article comes in. I was lying in bed last night thinking of how badly I was craving a hard boiled egg, and searching endlessly to find out if those delicious things are healthy or not. I'm so happy about this article! I will continue to eat an egg a day!
January 29, 2013 • 10:00 pm
liamrubel
Eggs are always good for carvings or low gylcemic diet. We can have it on breakfast which will decrease our carvings at meal resulting less food during meal.
January 30, 2013 • 7:07 am
Leroy Mccoy
This is another subject my clients ask me about. Are eggs good or bad for you ? My answer to this difficult question each time is exactly what this article talks about. ( base on the lack of research, use your own judgement, but eat them in moderation ).
January 30, 2013 • 10:01 pm
Danny Wu
I have been eating a heavy egg diet within the last 2 years of my life. Stemming from genetics with a history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I was prone to disease sometime in the future. However, a trip to doctor has shown that my blood pressure had decrease significantly and I had a healthy, strong heart. Might be contributed to a "3 eggs a day for breakfast" program + yoga !
February 8, 2013 • 10:32 am
Danny Wu
I have been eating a heavy egg diet within the last 2 years of my life. Stemming from genetics with a history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I was prone to disease sometime in the future. However, a trip to doctor has shown that my blood pressure had decrease significantly and I had a healthy, strong heart. Might be contributed to a "3 eggs a day for breakfast" program + yoga !
February 8, 2013 • 10:33 am
Danny Wu
I have been eating a heavy egg diet within the last 2 years of my life. Stemming from genetics with a history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I was prone to disease sometime in the future. However, a trip to doctor has shown that my blood pressure had decrease significantly and I had a healthy, strong heart. Might be contributed to a "3 eggs a day for breakfast" program + yoga !
February 8, 2013 • 10:33 am
Danny Wu
I have been eating a heavy egg diet within the last 2 years of my life. Stemming from genetics with a history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure, I was prone to disease sometime in the future. However, a trip to doctor has shown that my blood pressure had decrease significantly and I had a healthy, strong heart. Might be contributed to a "3 eggs a day for breakfast" program + yoga !
February 8, 2013 • 10:33 am
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