Too Many Eggs Risky?
Too Many Eggs Risky?
Study Shows Higher Death Rate Among Men Who Eat 7 or More Eggs per Week; Egg Advocates Unconvinced
April 9, 2008 -- The on-again, off-again debate about eggs and health has been cracked open again by a new report on death and egg consumption.
On the one hand, the study shows a higher death rate among U.S. men who eat seven or more eggs per week, especially among diabetic men.
But on the other hand, the study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows no link between egg consumption and heart attack or stroke. And eating up to six eggs a week didn't affect men's health.
What to make of it all? The higher death rate linked to eating seven or more eggs per week is "surprising" and needs to be confirmed, notes an editorial published with the study.
"Remember: eggs are like all other foods -- they are neither 'good' nor 'bad,' and they can be part of an overall heart-healthy diet," writes editorialist Robert Eckel, MD, of the University of Colorado, Denver.
The study included 21,300 male doctors followed for 20 years, starting when they were about 54 years old, on average.
Every year during the study, the men noted their egg consumption, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, consumption of vegetables and breakfast cereals, diabetes, high blood pressure, and use of aspirin.
Participants weren't asked to change their diets. The typical participant reported eating one egg per week. Older, heavier, less active men who smoked, had high cholesterol, and had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure tended to eat more eggs.
The researchers -- who included Luc Djousse, MD, MPH, DSc, of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School -- counted 5,169 deaths among the men during the follow-up period.
Even after adjusting for other risk factors, men who reported eating seven or more eggs per week were 23% more likely to die of any cause during the study; the risk rose among those with diabetes.
But egg consumption wasn't linked to increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, even among men who ate more than seven eggs per week.
Djousse's team calls for further studies to investigate their findings.
Too Many Eggs Risky?
Study Shows Higher Death Rate Among Men Who Eat 7 or More Eggs per Week; Egg Advocates Unconvinced
April 9, 2008 -- The on-again, off-again debate about eggs and health has been cracked open again by a new report on death and egg consumption.
On the one hand, the study shows a higher death rate among U.S. men who eat seven or more eggs per week, especially among diabetic men.
But on the other hand, the study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows no link between egg consumption and heart attack or stroke. And eating up to six eggs a week didn't affect men's health.
What to make of it all? The higher death rate linked to eating seven or more eggs per week is "surprising" and needs to be confirmed, notes an editorial published with the study.
"Remember: eggs are like all other foods -- they are neither 'good' nor 'bad,' and they can be part of an overall heart-healthy diet," writes editorialist Robert Eckel, MD, of the University of Colorado, Denver.
Egg Study
The study included 21,300 male doctors followed for 20 years, starting when they were about 54 years old, on average.
Every year during the study, the men noted their egg consumption, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, consumption of vegetables and breakfast cereals, diabetes, high blood pressure, and use of aspirin.
Participants weren't asked to change their diets. The typical participant reported eating one egg per week. Older, heavier, less active men who smoked, had high cholesterol, and had a history of diabetes and high blood pressure tended to eat more eggs.
The researchers -- who included Luc Djousse, MD, MPH, DSc, of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School -- counted 5,169 deaths among the men during the follow-up period.
Even after adjusting for other risk factors, men who reported eating seven or more eggs per week were 23% more likely to die of any cause during the study; the risk rose among those with diabetes.
But egg consumption wasn't linked to increased risk of heart attacks or strokes, even among men who ate more than seven eggs per week.
Djousse's team calls for further studies to investigate their findings.
