[...] “consumption of seven or more eggs a week pushed up the chances of dying from any cause by 23 per cent”. It says that this latest research could re-open the debate about how many eggs are safe to eat, just when it seemed clear that it was safe to consume them.
So much for my fortifying myself before a long day at work with two eggs cooked in olive oil.
Shit!!!
This was a prospective cohort study of 21,327 men who took part in the Physicians’ Health Study. This study was a randomised controlled trial which began in 1981. It was designed to test whether low-dose aspirin and beta-carotene, an anti-oxidant supplement, could prevent heart disease, stroke or cancer among US male doctors. Only those aged between 40 and 85 years old were invited to enter the trial. Participants also had to be healthy, without previous illnesses such as stroke, warning stroke, heart attack, ulcers, gout or cancer.
As part of this large study, all participants were asked to give details of how many eggs they ate using a simple, short questionnaire. They were asked to estimate their average egg consumption during the past year five times throughout the study, which ran for over 20 years. Their answers were recorded as: rarely or never, one to two times a month, once a week, two to four times a week, five to six times a week, daily and more than twice a day. They were also asked similar questions about other food groups, including vegetables and breakfast cereals.
[...]
Over the course of the study 1,550 new heart attacks, 1,342 first strokes and 5,169 deaths occurred.
The researchers report that egg consumption was not associated with first heart attack or first stroke in their models. However, in contrast, there was an association with overall mortality: those who ate more eggs were at greater risk.
The highest risk was in the men who ate more than seven eggs a week. They were 23% more likely to die of any cause than those who ate fewer than one. Any small increases in mortality in those men who ate one to six eggs a week were not significant.
Good thing I got the oatmeal out of the freezer.
7 Comments
What kind of consideration did they do for confounding factors? For example, how many of those people also ate bacon or sausage with that bacon every day? It is extremely difficult to isolate the actual data from other interferences.
Also, does this include eggs eaten as eggs per se, or does it include eggs in other foods?
I would not stop eating eggs over this study. I have a feeling that it is not as representative as the authors have concluded.
Do you have a link?
Warmest regards,
Doc
Link’s at the top at the first Shit!!!
They state in the original that they need to do more studies, including studies that include women and professions other than doctors. The original study was only looking at the possible beneficial effects of low dose aspirin and beta carotene, and this showed up as a – a – an artifact, I think.
But I’m still switching to oatmeal.
Sorry, B,
I love eggs on the weekend for breakfast and eggs in anything I want during the week. I really think these kind of studies are not very accurate in zeroing in on just the eggs. So many things have gone in and out of favor: sugar, olive oil, butter, eggs, meat, potatoes, pasta, even apples. I have come to the conclusion that anything in moderation is permissible. We eat eggs on the weekend and eggs in anything we cook during the week. Well, the eggs are natural, yard eggs from free roaming hens that are soooo cute!! Ahem, well, to be more dignified, eggs from teh best kind of chickens in the USofA! So there!
Pffft! I went to the J. Clin. Nut. to read the original, and dear biscuit, take heed your own sweet self.
This article is the kind of thing that finds its way into the Tubez and makes otherwise right-minded intelligent individuals such as yourself run screaming away from the egg carton unnecessarily.
They did not measure cholesterol. They did not measure triglycerides. They did not measure caloric intake versus calories spent – i.e., they did not correct for physical activity.
And, dear biscuit, unless I have completely got the wrong take on you because of the anonymity of the Intertubes, they did not measure anything in 51% of the human population – WOMEN.
So, don’t run away from your little feathered friends…don’t forsake your chickens, especially because of junk medical reporting.
Joy! Happiness!!!! I can still have my two eggs cooked in olive oil every morning before work!
:dots:
Y’all,
I eat eggs 2-4 times a week, I eat 2-4 tsp sugar every day (with tea), I LOVE butter! I eat whole wheat flour, I eat potatoes, I eat rice, I eat pasta, I eat bread, I eat all these things that are as close as can be to the “land”. In other words, I shop at my local Farmer’s Market that is organic. I also make most of our food from scratch. It really makes a difference! As does exercise. I ride the bus and walk a lot!
Second: my cholesterol last June was 235……..LDL was 128 and HLD was 98!!! My PA kept saying, “I’ve never seen an HDL that high!” It can be done. Just be a locavore!!!
I really, really love you all and hope you can be healthy, wealthy and wise, my friends.
I am glad that you had access to the primary literature. I have read in the popular literature that everyone who eats carrots eventually dies for some reason or another.
This is just my intuition, but I do think that one eats nothing but eggs, there is bound to be a nutritional imbalance. Variety and plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables certainly are beneficial, but a few eggs, with their low fat, high quality protein content are in my opinion an excellent source of nutrition for most people.
Warmest regards,
Doc
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