Consuming up to one egg per day does not appear to be associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, according to a new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The relationship between egg intake and CVD risk has been a topic of debate among scientists in recent decades. In the past 12 months, for example, three studies have reported conflicting results.
The new findings update a 1999 study, the first major analysis of eggs and cardiovascular disease, that found no association between eggs and CVD risk.
For this study, researchers analyzed health data from 173,563 women and 90,214 men participating in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) I and II, and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) who were free of CVD, type 2 diabetes, and cancer at the beginning of the study. Diet was repeatedly measured for to 32 years of follow-up to gain a detailed picture of lifestyle factors such overweight and red meat intake.
This new study is the largest meta-analysis of this topic, including 28 prospective studies with up to 1.7 million participants.
The researchers found no association between moderate egg intake and risk of CVD. Results from the meta-analysis supported this finding in U.S. and European populations.
One of the study’s researchers stated that while eggs can be part of a healthy diet, they are not essential. There are many other foods that can be included in a healthy breakfast, such as whole grains, unsweetened yogurt and fruit.
Source: BMJ, March 4, 2020.
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