A recent study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition comes to the conclusion that there is no risk from eating up to twelve eggs a week. Look closer. There are some important details --
-- The study was paid for by the Australian Egg Corporation.
-- The "low egg" group ate two eggs per week, BUT ate more meat to make up for eating fewer eggs.
Another recent study has led to headlines like, "An egg a day to keep the doctor away" The article, "Associations of egg consumption with cardiovascular disease in a cohort study of 0.5 millon Chinese adults," was featured in BMJ Heart. Issues with this study:
-- This was an observational study. You can't make definitive cause and effect conclusions from observational studies.
-- People in China who consume more eggs tend to be more affluent
-- The study relied solely on dietary recall, a questionnaire asking people what they eat, not observing what they eat.
I'm not about to start recommending eggs to my patients. Eggs do contain a large amount of cholesterol, and while dietary cholesterol is not the sole cause of high cholesterol in humans, it definitely contributes. Eggs also have choline which increases the risk of developing and dying from several kinds of cancers. PCRM's The Exam Room Podcast from last week does a great job of tackling the subject of eggs and health.
Some people may suggest that the egg itself isn't the problem, but rather the foods that often accompany eggs -- ham, bacon, sausage, butter, and cheese, for example.
There are so many healthier foods to enjoy for breakfast. Oatmeal is my favorite easy go-to breakfast, but if you want something hearty with the consistency of eggs, a tofu scramble is a filling and healthier choice. One of my first blog posts twelve years ago featured a tofu scramble, or you can check out my book on Amazon for a great tofu scramble recipe, along with many other recipes.
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