Remember when for years eating eggs was viewed as unhealthy? And people were told to only eat egg whites? Well, well... how views have changed. Another recent study of 8756 older adults found that frequently eating eggs has health benefits - it is associated with a lower incidence of heart-disease related death and death from any cause.
How much lower? The study found a 29% lower incidence of cardiovascular disease death in relatively healthy older (70+ years) adults who ate eggs 1 to 6 times per week, when compared to adults who didn't eat eggs or ate them infrequently. The 1 to 6 times per week egg eaters also had a 17% lower rate of death from any cause, when compared to those who ate eggs infrequently or not at all.
Eggs are a great food. They are a good source of protein and essential nutrients, such as B vitamins, folate, unsaturated fatty acids, choline (very important for the brain!), selenium, fat-soluble vitamins (E, D, A, and K), and numerous other minerals and trace elements. A large egg is about 72 calories and 6 grams of protein.
Other studies have similar findings, as well as a lower risk of diabetes and a lower risk of hemorrhagic stroke in those consuming eggs frequently.
From Medical Xpress: Regularly eating eggs supports a lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, finds study
Regular consumption of eggs is associated with a 29% lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death in relatively healthy older adults, new research from a Monash University-led team has found.
Published in the journal Nutrients, the researchers found that for relatively healthy older adults, consuming eggs 1–6 times per week was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (death from any cause) and CVD mortality compared to those who rarely or never eat eggs.
The study involved 8,756 adults aged 70 years or older, who self-reported the frequency of their total egg intake: never/infrequently (rarely/never, or 1–2 times/month), weekly (1–6 times/week), and daily (daily/several times per day), as part of the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons (ALSOP) sub-study.
First author Holly Wild, a Ph.D. candidate and lecturer from the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said compared to older adults who never or infrequently ate eggs (up to to twice a month), those who ate eggs 1–6 times a week had a 15% lower risk of death from any cause, and a 29% lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death.
The study also explored the relationship between egg consumption and mortality across different levels of diet quality (low, moderate, high).
"The study found that older adults with a moderate to high diet quality reported a 33% and 44% lower risk of CVD-related death, suggesting that the addition of eggs to moderate and high-quality diets may improve longevity," the researchers wrote.
The current Australian Dietary Guidelines and the American Heart Association (AHA) recommend that adults with normal cholesterol can eat up to seven eggs per week, while some European countries suggest limiting it to 3-4 eggs per week. The AHA also supports up to two eggs per day for older adults with normal cholesterol.
"We found a 27% lower risk of CVD-related death for participants with dyslipidemia (clinically diagnosed high cholesterol) who consumed eggs weekly, compared to their counterparts that consumed eggs rarely or never, suggesting that in this study cohort, the presence of dyslipidemia does not influence the risk associated with egg consumption.