Eating >3 eggs/week may lower bad cholesterol levels

Individuals with chronic metabolic disorders who consume more than three eggs a week do not seem to have worse blood lipid parameters, according to a study. Among those without such conditions, consumption of more eggs even leads to a better lipid profile.

“[T]he consumption of >3 eggs per week by an adult with a body weight of 70 kg is associated with a 7-mg/dL decrease in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and a reduced LDL-C/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio compared with the consumption of up to 1 egg per week,” the researchers said.

This multicentre cross-sectional study examined the association between egg consumption and lipid parameters, as well as explored whether such relationship changes according to the presence of chronic metabolic disorders.

Adult participants (n=728, mean age 52.1 years, 61.9 percent) in the EVIDENT II trials were enrolled in the current study. The researchers stratified adjusted linear regression models based on the main chronic metabolic disorders.

The mean egg consumption for participants with a 70-kg weight was 5–6 eggs per week. Fully adjusted analysis revealed no association of egg intake with total and HDL-C and triglyceride levels. Compared with the first quartile of consumption, the fourth quartile correlated with lower LDL-C levels (coefficient, ‒7.01, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], ‒13.39 to ‒0.62) and a lower LDL-C/HDL-C ratio (coefficient, ‒0.24, 95 percent CI, ‒0.41 to ‒0.06). [J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2022;107:e963-e972]

In analyses stratified by chronic metabolic diseases, higher egg consumption showed no association with lipid profile in participants with obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidaemia, or treated with hypolipidemic drugs. Furthermore, higher egg intake resulted in a better lipid profile among those without such conditions.

The finding for the absence of an association between egg intake and lipid parameters is consistent with previous studies. [J Am Coll Nutr 2015;34:113-119; Nutrients 2017;9:687; Nutrients 2019;11:1105; Public Health Nutr 2019;22:2033-2042; Nutr Hosp 2018;35:153-161; Am J Clin Nutr 2020;111:795-803]

Clinical guidelines

“Although these results must be confirmed in prospective studies that adjust for total caloric intake, quality of diet, and physical activity, this study reinforces the evidence in favour of the current guidelines that recommend the maintenance of moderate egg consumption as part of a balanced diet,” the researchers said. [https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/health-promotion-knowledge-gateway/food-based-dietary-guidelines-europe-table-10_en; https://health.gov/our-work/food-nutrition/previous-dietary-guidelines/2015/advisory-report/]

On the other hand, these findings have relevant clinical implications because they also provide evidence that argue with recommendation in clinical guidelines from years ago to restrict egg consumption, both in healthy adults and those with cardiometabolic disorders.

“Although eggs are one of the main sources of dietary cholesterol (a large 60-g egg contains ~230 mg of cholesterol), they also contain other bioactive components that may modify the body’s response to the dietary cholesterol found in eggs, such as phospholipids, amino acids (ie, glycine, methionine, cysteine), and mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids,” the researchers said. [Cholesterol 2018;2018:6303810; www.bedca.net/bdpub/index.php/]

“In this sense, future studies are needed to examine the potential benefits of these other components in eggs on the blood lipid profile and cardiometabolic risk,” they added.