Are eggs healthy for weight loss and for our health in general according to scientific research?
Eggs are one of the most popular foods so in this article we’ll review some scientific research to find out how many eggs a day are healthy for us (if any).
Are eggs good for your heart?
Meta-analyses of egg consumption and stroke risk shows that a decreased risk of stroke was observed for the intake of one to four eggs weekly and an increased risk for the intake of more than six eggs weekly. A significant risk was at an intake of 10 eggs weekly [1].
Another study says that egg consumption was not associated with elevated risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), irrespective of BMI in overall analysis. However, in a sensitivity analysis restricted to cohorts with older ages, there was a 30% higher risk of CHD in people consuming 5-6 eggs/week and no meaningful association in other categories of egg consumption [2].
One more systematic review of 16 studies suggests that egg consumption is not associated with the risk of CVD and cardiac mortality in the general population. However, egg consumption may be associated with an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes among the general population and CVD comorbidity among diabetic patients [3].
Do eggs increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D)?
A pooled analysis of nine US cohorts says that consumption of 2 or more eggs per week was associated with an elevated risk of T2D, whereas infrequent consumption of eggs (up to 1 egg per week) was not related with T2D risk [2].
Are eggs good for high blood pressure?
Meta-analyses of fifteen Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) with a total of 748 participants shows that egg consumption has no significant effects on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults. However, high-quality RCTs with longer durations are needed to further confirm the effects of egg consumption on blood pressure [4].
Do eggs increase the risk of cancer?
One study investigating the effect of cholesterol on the risk of various types of cancer found that cholesterol intake increased the risk of stomach, colon, rectal, pancreas, lung, breast, kidney, bladder, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma [5].
Considering that one egg on average contains about 186 mg of cholesterol, and the desired daily allowance for adults is up to 200 mg (more than 240 mg is considered high cholesterol), then according to the results of the study [5], the risk of developing cancer increases if you eat more than 2 eggs per day (excluding other sources of cholesterol such as meat, shrimp, etc.).
Meta-analyses of 12 studies with 629,453 participants shows that eating eggs may increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer [6].
Another meta-analyses says that eating ≥2 and ≤5 eggs per week increases the risk of developing breast cancer [7].
A pooled analysis of 15 prospective cohort studies examining the effect of processed and unprocessed meat, poultry, seafood, eggs on prostate cancer suggests that eating more than 3 eggs per week (compared to eating less than 1 egg per week) increased the risk of developing prostate cancer [8].
However, one study says that eating eggs does not increase the risk of developing a bladder cancer, except for a possible positive relationship with the intake of fried eggs based on the limited number of studies [9].
Are eggs good for cholesterol?
Meta-analyses of 55 studies and 2,772,486 participants shows that high-dietary intake of eggs and cholesterol was associated with all-cause and cancer mortality. Little evidence for elevated risks was seen for intakes below 0.5 egg/day or 250 mg/day of dietary cholesterol [10].
Summary
So, are eggs healthy for weight loss and are eggs good or bad for you in general according to scientific research? Well, the short answer is no. Although, some studies say that egg consumption has no significant effects on blood pressure in adults and is not associated with the risk of CVD and cardiac mortality in the general population but still eggs may be bad for our health. Most of the studies say that egg consumption may increase the risk of stroke, type 2 diabetes, all-cause and cancer mortality.
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