We’re seeing more and more research showing that eggs are ok and can be part of a healthy diet. It’s about time! Myself and my fellow nutritionists/integrative doctors have been saying this for years. I even say “yes, you can eat the yolk” on the back of my business card.
Here is some of the recent research:
An article on Webmd, Egg-Rich Diet Not Harmful in Type 2 Diabetes discusses the results of a new study to be published later this month. The findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2014 Meeting last month by Nicholas Fuller, PhD, from the Boden Institute Clinical Trials Unit, University of Sydney, Australia
The findings suggest that eating two eggs per day, 6 days a week can be a safe part of a healthy diet for people with type 2 (that’s 12 eggs a week – yeah!)
Eggs don’t have a bad effect on cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
…those in the high-egg group showed a trend toward HDL improvement
Researchers also found that eating an egg-rich diet for 3 months was linked to better appetite control, and may also provide a greater sense of feeling full.
The high-egg group also reported more enjoyment of foods, less boredom, and more satisfaction with the diet (I really like this finding!)
A paper published last month in the British Journal of Nutrition : “Cholesterol and egg intakes and the risk of type 2 diabetes: The Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study“ found that:
higher intake of cholesterol or eggs may not be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in Japanese populations
This interesting animal study “Orally administered whole egg demonstrates antidepressant-like effects in the forced swimming test on rats” published in August:
demonstrated that whole-egg treatment exerts an antidepressant-like effect
It is suggested that whole egg may be an excellent food for preventing and alleviating the conditions of major depression
Skipping breakfast can increase depression, anxiety and stress levels and eggs can be part of a healthy breakfast. This May 2014 paper “A cross-sectional investigation of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms and health-behavior participation in Australian university students” found that:
For males, depressive symptoms were associated with skipping breakfast and poor sleep quality.
For females, depressive symptoms were associated with skipping breakfast, inadequate vigorous physical activity, and short or long sleep hours.
You don’t want to skip breakfast – ever! Low blood sugar can result in anxiety, mood swings, irritability and feeling easily overwhelmed, so it’s really important to get a good start to the day with good quality protein like eggs. Here is a simply yet delicious Egg Muffin recipe from Make It Paleo: Over 200 Grain-Free Recipes for Any Occasion.
We’re going to be talking more about the health and mood benefits of eggs (and animal protein) during season 2 of The Anxiety Summit. It runs from Nov 3-16 and you’ll learn about this and many other nutritional and natural solutions for anxiety, panic attacks, OCD and social anxiety. We’ll cover the research and practical solutions too.
I love eggs. But I am somehow concerned about many of them (say, over 2 a week).
Recent research shows that Phosphatidylcholine (PC – obviously contained in eggs, among other foods) contributes to increased cardiovascular risk through increased TMAO via the microbiota.
Reference:
Intestinal Microbial Metabolism of Phosphatidylcholine and Cardiovascular Risk
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1109400
Just wondering what your opinion on this is.
Thank you.
Emanuela.
Hi Emanuela
Chris Kresser does a nice synopsis as to why this study doesn’t seem to be relevant http://chriskresser.com/choline-and-tmao-eggs-still-dont-cause-heart-disease. Two interesting takeaways:
(1) “Differences in the gut microbiota that predispose toward increase TMAO production. Previous work by Dr. Hazen’s group has shown that people with higher levels of Prevotella bacteria in their gut produce higher levels of TMAO. Interestingly enough, other research has shown that consumption of whole grains—not animal products—is associated with higher levels of Prevotella”
and
(2) “If food really did make a significant contribution to TMAO levels, and high TMAO levels cause heart disease, then we’d expect to see much higher rates of CHD among people who eat more fish—since fish has a much greater effect on TMAO than eggs. Yet this is the opposite of what studies indicate: Eating more fish (especially cold-water, fatty fish) has consistently been shown in both observational and randomized controlled trials to reduce the risk of death from heart disease.”
Also, the authors of the paper you list state “An alternative potential therapeutic intervention is targeting the composition of the microbiota or biochemical pathways, with either a functional food such as a probiotic or a pharmacologic intervention.” I’d support the former ie targeting the composition of the microbiota with probiotics or fermented foods – rather than limiting choline-rich eggs.
Here is a recent (Sept 2014) paper addressing the possible TMAO concerns saying additional research is need http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24944063. “Additional study is needed to both confirm the association between TMAO and atherosclerosis and identify factors, microbiota and genetic, that influence the generation of TMAO before policy and medical recommendations are made that suggest reduced dietary choline intake.”
And a paper published August this year saying egg consumption is ok when it comes to heart disease http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24887016 “Our findings do not support current vascular health guidelines suggesting the extreme limitation or avoidance of egg consumption due to its cholesterol content.”
I am not concerned about TMAO – hope this helps you feel less concerned!
Trudy
Trudy, I absolutely love and crave eggs daily! That is how I start my day and I do think it makes me feel more full and satisfied throughout the day. Hope your Summit goes great!
Great information Trudy, thanks for sharing your expertise.
I can attest to this! I worked with Trudy back in 2010 and have been eating eggs to start my day ever since! It has improved my energy, mood, and my cholesterol test have always been great! As the commercial jingle said, “I love eggs, from my head down to my legs…”
fabulous Jessica …I must say I’m new to that jingle…
I agree, eggs are wonderful. And I often encourage people to incorporate more of them into their diet and, yes, to eat the yolk. Eggs are such a great source of protein and so satisfying. Skip the bagel and cream cheese though. Instead have some yummy cooked greens, a sauteed tomato, and other vegetables.
Love it! an yes skip the bagel and cream cheese!
Trudy,
My morning meal has eggs in it every single day.
Agree with everything you wrote about eggs and our
daily diet.
Good for you Mitch!
I’ve never bought the theory that eggs are bad for you. Like anything else, in excess, maybe so. But on the surface of it, given eggs are the starters of life, how bad could they possibly be? I do worry over chemicals and hormones in eggs, and hopefully avoid that by buying brown eggs from chickens not fed hormones.
Love that – eggs are the starters of life. I’d also suggest getting pastured eggs (i.e from chickens that eat bugs) and next best after that organic so you know the chickens are not being fed GMO corn or soy. They will be hormone and antibiotic free too