Eggs and Your Health

Since I touched on Cage Layer Osteoporosis in my last blog entry – that painful condition that laying hens in factory farms suffer greatly from, due to the excessive number of eggs they are forced to lay – I thought I would give you more reasons to give up eggs this week: Eggs are horrible for your health. 

I’ve heard it said (although I didn’t look it up) that eggs have more cholesterol in them than anything else humans eat.  I expect this could be true, perhaps with the exception of liver.  Eggs are also full of fat, and everyone has read what a fatty diet does for your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and death.  But where’s the data?  Here are some specifics for you to chew on, next time you are considering making eggs for breakfast.  Scrambled tofu is delicious!

·      The Physician’s Health Study found that there was a 23% increase in the risk of death in people who ate just one egg a day.^[1] 

·      Just 3-4 eggs a week has been linked with an increase in heart disease^[2] – many people can eat that in just one omelet! 

·      In a large meta-analysis of 14 studies, researchers found that people who ate the most eggs had a 19% increased risk for developing heart disease compared with those who ate the fewest eggs^[3].

·      In the same meta-analysis of 14 studies, researchers also found that those who ate the most eggs had a 68% increased risk for developing diabetes compared with those who ate the fewest eggs; if they already had diabetes, their risk of developing heart disease jumped by 83%[4].

·      Another study found that diabetic patients had a 5-fold greater risk of cardiovascular death by eating 1 egg a day or more.^[5] 

So the data are out: eggs are horrible for your health, and the health of your loved ones.  They are not the perfect protein, nor are they a great source of anything you can’t get from a healthier source.  Consider using tofu in place of scrambled eggs, baking with EnerG Egg Replacer or another natural substitute like bananas or applesauce, or just skipping them altogether.  I have regularly made boxed baking mixes (my husband loves Trader Joe’s boxed cornbread mix) by leaving out both the eggs and the oil, and adding an extra ¼ cup of water, and they generally turn out wonderfully!  Yes, you can live without eggs – and your health and the hens will be much better off for it.  J

Peace,

Sarah

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[1] Djousse L, Gaziano JM. Egg consumption in relation to cardiovascular disease and mortality: the Physicians' Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:964-969.

[2] Weggemans RM, Zock PL, Katan MB. Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in humans: a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 2001;73:885-891.

[3] Li Y, Zhou C, Zhou S, LiL.  Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular diseases and eiabetes:  A meta-analysis.  Atherosclerosis.  Published ahead of print April 17, 2013.

[4] Li Y, Zhou C, Zhou S, LiL.  Egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular diseases and eiabetes:  A meta-analysis.  Atherosclerosis.  Published ahead of print April 17, 2013.

[5] Trichopoulou A, Psaltopoulou T, Orfanos P, et al. Diet and physical activity in relation to overall mortality amongst adult diabetics in a general population cohort. J Intern Med 2006;259:583-591.