New research has provided more evidence to support the benefits of eating eggs. Latest statistics produced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that eggs contain less cholesterol and more vitamin D than previously thought.
This latest research adds to a growing body of work that indicates eggs are an important and healthy part of the diet. Canadian research has shown that eggs help in lowering blood pressure. Another study involved participants consuming two eggs daily for twelve weeks. None of them suffered from increased cholesterol levels. There is evidence that eggs can lower the risk of heart disease, lower breast cancer risk, lower the risk of age related eye disease and lower muscle loss. A recent study by Surrey University found that eating two eggs for breakfast could help individuals to lose weight because their high protein content makes you feel fuller for a long time.
Such research has helped transform eggs from fear food to health food. Organisations like the British Heart Foundation, which until fairly recently recommended that consumers should restrict the number of eggs they ate, have now removed any suggested limit. Other health organisations have similarly moved away from advising that individuals restrict the number of eggs they eat. The change in the health debate has clearly helped to boost demand for eggs. Sales of eggs in the UK increased by five per cent in the last quarter of 2010 compared with the same period in the previous year. The growth figure was one of the biggest in recent years. At the same time, articles extolling the virtues of eating eggs can be regularly seen in magazines and newspapers.
The latest figures released by the USDA were produced by the department’s Agricultural Research Service. They were collated during a review of the nutrient composition of standard large eggs. The results show the average amount of cholesterol in one large egg is 185 mg - 14 per cent lower than previously recorded. British research commissioned by Noble Foods has previously shown that a medium-sized egg contains about 100 mg of cholesterol.
The latest American analysis also shows that eggs now contain much more vitamin D than had been measured previously. Statistics indicate a 64 per cent increase in the amount of vitamin D in an egg compared with figures from 2002.
"We collected a random sample of regular large shell eggs from 12 locations across the country to analyse the nutrient content of eggs," said Dr. Jacob Exler, nutritionist with the Agricultural Research Service’s Nutrient Data Laboratory. "This testing procedure was last completed with eggs in 2002, and while most nutrients remained similar to those values, cholesterol decreased by 14 percent and vitamin D increased by 64 percent from 2002 values," he said.
The collected eggs were sent to a laboratory at Virginia Tech University to be prepared for nutrient analysis at certified nutrient analysis laboratories. The samples were randomly paired for the testing procedure and the laboratories tested samples to determine composition of a variety of nutrients, including protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Accuracy and precision were monitored using quality control samples.
According to Dr. Exler, the procedure that was used is standard for the National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program (NFNAP). The NFNAP is responsible for analysing the nutrient composition of a wide variety of foods and making nutritional information publicly available.
Some researchers believe the decrease in the cholesterol level of eggs could be related to changes in the hens’ feed. The birds are now fed a high quality nutritionally balanced diet of feed. Poultry nutrition specialists analyse the feed to ensure that the natural nutrients hens need to stay healthy are included in their diets. Nutrition researchers at Iowa State University are currently compiling a report to outline potential reasons for the natural decrease in cholesterol in eggs. This may well throw more light on why cholesterol levels have reduced.
The statistics showing increased vitamin D content are particularly significant because eggs are one of the few foods that are a naturally good source of vitamin D. One egg provides at least 10 per cent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA). Vitamin D plays an important role in calcium absorption, helping to form and maintain strong bones. One recent study indicated that vitamin D could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 33 per cent, it could reduce type two diabetes by 55 per cent and metabolic syndrome by 51 per cent. There has been a threefold increase in sales of vitamin D supplements in the United States recently.
The amount of protein in one large egg – six grammes of protein or 12 percent of the recommended daily value – remains the same, according to the USDA study. The protein in eggs is one of the highest quality proteins found in any food, and eggs are completely natural. The nutrients found in eggs can play a role in weight management, muscle strength, healthy pregnancy, brain function and eye health.
Eggs are also inexpensiv
e compared with other sources of protein – a particularly important consideration at a time when UK households are seeing disposable income constrained as a result of the Government’s austerity measures.
For many years it was widely considered that the consumption of eggs should be restricted for health reasons. Research now indicates that the opposite is true.
"My research focuses on ways to optimise diet quality, and I have long suspected that eliminating eggs from the diet generally has the opposite effect," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Centre. "In our own studies of egg intake, we have seen no harmful effects, even in people with high blood cholesterol," he said.
The message that eggs are good for you is now being heard loud and clear in America in the United Kingdom and also elsewhere in the world. The Australian Heart Foundation now recommends that people should eat six eggs a week, New Zealand has removed recommended restrictions on consumption, in Canada eggs display the heart check mark and in Ireland billboards show "an egg a day is OK."
