More good news research has been produced on eggs - this time by scientists working at the University of Sydney in Australia.
The latest report has been produced by a team of Australian scientists who have been looking for some time at the impact of egg consumption on diabetics.
Historically, there had been some concern that people with type 2 diabetes may increase their cardiovascular risk by eating too many eggs. But the Sydney team has concluded that diabetics do not need to refrain from eating eggs.
"Despite differing advice around safe levels of egg consumption for people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, our research indicates people do not need to hold back from eating eggs if this is part of a healthy diet," Dr Nick Fuller, lead author of the research, which has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Dr Fuller and his team published earlier findings in 2015, following research that was carried out over a three month period.
The latest results were based on an extended study, which lasted for 12 months. The conclusion was that eating up to 12 eggs a week does not increase cardiovascular risk factors in people with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, despite conflicting dietary advice continuing around the world.
“While eggs themselves are high in dietary cholesterol – and people with type 2 diabetes tend to have higher levels of the ‘bad’ low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol – this study supports existing research that shows consumption of eggs has little effect on the levels of cholesterol in the blood of the people eating them,” said Dr Fuller.
He said the findings of the study were important because of the potential health benefits of eggs for people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, as well as the general population.
“Eggs are a source of protein and micronutrients that could support a range of health and dietary factors, including helping to regulate the intake of fat and carbohydrate, eye and heart health, healthy blood vessels and healthy pregnancies,” he said.
Conflicting advice
The research team said its aim was to help clear up conflicting dietary advice about egg consumption. The work was based in the University of Sydney’s Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders at the Charles Perkins Centre.
It was conducted with the University of Sydney’s Sydney Medical School and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
In the initial trial, participants aimed to maintain their weight while embarking on a high egg diet of 12 eggs per week or low egg diet of fewer than two eggs per week.
No difference in cardiovascular risk markers were identified at the end of three months, at which point Dr Fuller said: “Our findings show that eggs are not dangerous in the context of a healthy diet and that people with type 2 diabetes could actually benefit from eating them, as eggs are a nutritious and convenient way of improving intake of protein and micronutrients like carotenoids (for eye health), arginine (for healthy blood vessels) and folate (for healthy pregnancies and heart health).”
He said: “We also found people on a high-egg diet were less likely to feel hungry after breakfast, so eggs could have an important role in weight management. However, this would need to be confirmed in longer follow-up studies.”
Weight loss
For the extended study, the same volunteers then embarked on a weight loss diet for an additional three months, while continuing their high or low egg consumption.
For a further six months – up to 12 months in total – participants were then followed up by researchers and continued their high or low egg intake.
The research team said that at all stages both groups showed no adverse changes in cardiovascular risk markers and achieved equivalent weight loss – regardless of their level of egg consumption.
“The different egg diets also appeared to have no impact on weight,” said Dr Fuller. “Interestingly, people on both the high egg and low egg diets lost an equivalent amount of weight – and continued to lose weight after the three month intended weight loss phase had ended,” he said.
A healthy diet as prescribed in this study emphasised replacing saturated fats, such as butter, with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as avocado and olive oil.
The extended study tracked a broad range of cardiovascular risk factors including cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure, with no significant difference in results between the high egg and low egg groups.
The research was supported with a grant from Australian Eggs, although they had no role in the research design, conduct, analyses or writing of the manuscript.
