In recent days we have seen a new alarm and debate about the amount of eggs we should eat. Many question this fact, although they give free rein to the intake of red meat, coffee, wine or pastries; On the other hand, eggs are foods with a good supply of vitamins and proteins, which give us a shot of energy.
Un recent study, published in JAMA, has released a new piece of information about this ancestral question. After analyzing nearly 30.000 adults in six different studies spanning 31 years of follow-up, the researchers concluded that consuming 300 milligrams of cholesterol in the diet daily (one egg yolk provides 185 mg) increases incident cardiovascular disease by 17% and premature death from any cause in 18%.
Eating just three to four eggs a week was associated with a 6% increased risk of cardiovascular disease and an 8% increased risk of any other cause of death.. And if we eat two eggs a day, the study says that we will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease by 27% and the risk of premature death by 34%.
In the study, high egg consumption had these findings regardless of age, physical activity levels, race, whether they were smokers, blood pressure or cholesterol levels. In fact, a certain safe amount to consume eggs is not suggested, it has only been related to an increase in cardiovascular disease and mortality, since a dose-response action is associated. So you can see that higher consumption increases the risk.
Can we fully trust this study?
The debate about eggs is given by the "high" cholesterol content that the yolks contain. That is why people were warned to consume less of this food. Many experts think that cholesterol from certain healthy foods may not be as harmful as people think. It is true that we must have some control and pay attention to their levels, but their heart or death relationship is not that great. There are many other factors that negatively affect this problem.
Some theoretical gaps can be found in the research, so it is important that these are reviewed before drawing such radical and extremist conclusions. For example, the amount of danger talked about in the study is totally trivial; and the way in which they calculated it is also not reliable enough to consider that someone is in danger.
The same authors of the study are the ones who recognize that it can make a Measurement error because the diet data were based on recalls. I mean, it's like someone asking you how many eggs you ate last month. The data provided is not entirely reliable, but the researchers decided to continue with the study for 17 years.
In addition, all the participants used different methods to evaluate their diet, so they had to create their own methodology to harmonize the data of all. So the results of the study are observational, and while they may suggest a relationship between the two, they cannot prove that one caused the other.
This study cannot be maintained anywhere. There is a rather strong contradiction that is: his hypothesis says that eggs increase bad cholesterol the more you eat, but it is known from other studies that it is linked to the reduction of bad cholesterol.
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So should we stop eating eggs?
Let's go to what really interests most of those who are reading this article. Should we use the results obtained to change our habits? Definitely not. Until now there are no reliable data that lead us away from the usual intake of this food. Any moderate consumption of any food is the key to a proper diet. For example, eating a 3-egg omelette every day for breakfast is not the best thing in the world, especially if we add sauces like Homemade Mayonnaise. Especially if you also combine it with other sources of saturated fat (red meat) and lack of physical exercise.
There is clear evidence that an egg every day provides health benefits. In addition, we must take into account other factors to determine our diet, such as health status and other individual risk factors.
It's a scary study for all of us who are healthy and love to enjoy a varied and balanced diet. Experts recommend observing the genetic predisposition of each one of us and our cholesterol production. Even our family history.