New Research Sheds Light On Eggs Surprising Health Benefits

A new study of egg consumption in healthy young adults found that whole eggs increase the amount of beneficial nutrients without negatively affecting markers of cardiovascular disease or diabetes. The study also highlights gender-specific dietary responses and lays the groundwork for future research on personalized nutrition.

New research expands understanding of the effects of egg consumption on the diets of healthy young adults.

Are eggs healthy?

Scientists have studied this controversial topic for many years. Some have found that egg consumption increases LDL or "bad" cholesterol and inflammatory markers linked to heart disease and diabetes, while others cite the nutritional benefits of egg consumption.

Katherine J. Andersen, an assistant professor of nutrition in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, recently published a study in the journal Nutrients that examines the effects of egg consumption on nutrition in healthy young adults more broadly.

Most existing research articles evaluating the health effects of eggs tend to focus on a narrower range of standard clinical measures, examining biomarkers of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, body composition, inflammation, immunity and anemia individually rather than together. . Participants in these studies also tended to have pre-existing risk factors for chronic disease. Additional dietary changes, such as weight loss plans, usually follow as well. These factors can make it difficult to interpret the effects of eggs on health in general or in young, healthy populations.

Kathryn Andersen recently published a study in the journal Nutrients that more broadly examines the effects of egg consumption on the diets of healthy young adults. Photo by Jason Sheldon/UConn Photo

Andersen and colleagues conducted a more comprehensive clinical study that looked at many of the health indicators doctors should look for during a routine physical exam.

"This helps provide a comprehensive picture of the effects of egg consumption in young, healthy populations using standard and routine clinical biomarkers," says Andersen. “We believe this will give a better translation to the general public. »

Results on choline and cardiovascular disease risk

The study compared avoiding eggs, eating three egg whites a day and eating three whole eggs a day. Participants could cook the eggs however they wanted.

Andersen found that blood samples showed significant increases in choline, an important nutrient found in egg yolks, when participants ate whole eggs daily. Choline consumption has been linked to increased levels of a metabolite called TMAO, which has been linked to heart disease. But Andersen's study found that OTMA did not change in this population, despite increasing choline levels.

"That's the best-case scenario," Andersen says. "We want to have access to large amounts of this important nutrient, but without increasing the amount of this metabolite, which can contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases ."

Effects on inflammation, cholesterol and diabetes.

The researchers also saw no adverse changes in inflammation or blood cholesterol levels. They also found that eating whole eggs had less negative effects on markers associated with diabetes risk than eating egg whites.

Overall, participants had higher dietary nutrient concentrations when they ate whole eggs, as well as higher hematocrit, a measure of red blood cell density that can be reduced in anemia.

"The fact that we look at a wide range of measures enables us to better estimate the overall effect that can be expected from egg consumption," says Andersen. "I think this is important because if you see less positive changes in one marker, you may see contextually beneficial changes in others."

Gender effects and future research.

Both men and women participated in the study. About half of the participants were taking combined oral contraceptive pills. This allowed Andersen to investigate possible differences between the nutritional outcomes of women who took the pill and those who did not.

"These are very common medications, and there are not enough studies examining the effect of taking them on a person's response to dietary interventions," says Andersen.

Although not all were statistically significant, the researchers noted some differences in this subgroup.

Blood samples from participants who did not take the pill showed a greater increase in the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, which is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

"It was the complete opposite of what we expected," says Andersen. “Because hormonal contraceptives are often associated with adverse metabolic changes. But in this case it seems to have a more protective effect in response to the eggs.

Participants who did not take the pill also had a greater increase in monocytes in their blood compared to participants who took the pill. Monocytes are part of the body's first line of immune defense. Interestingly, regardless of drug intake, changes in clinical immune profiles due to whole egg consumption were correlated with several clinical measures of HDL.

This article is the first in a series in which Andersen examines the mechanisms involved in egg consumption and the link between HDL immunity. Other questions his lab has addressed include the composition of HDL particles and their ability to regulate immune cell activity, since it was recently discovered that HDL can transport hundreds of proteins, not just cholesterol. Andersen also plans to study differences in egg feeding between older and younger participants.

“The trend in nutrition is to create a framework to make precise or personalized nutritional recommendations and to explore how differences in age, gender, genetics, microbiome composition, and more. They can "influence a person's response to dietary intervention," says Andersen. "It's definitely something that my lab and others in my department are starting to pay more attention to."

Reference. "Consumption of different egg-based diets alters clinical metabolic and hematological parameters in healthy young men and women," Catherine J. Andersen, Lindsey Huang, Fangy Zhai, Christa Palancia Esposito, Julia M Greco, Ruzhi Zhang, Rachel Woodruff, Alison Sloan. and Aaron R. Van Dyke, 26 August 2023, Nutrients .
DOI: 10.3390/nu15173747

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