Throughout the past few decades, the research on whether or not eggs are healthy for you has followed the path of a coin flip. Prior to the research, eggs were considered a staple food both as an ingredient and stand-alone. However, in 1968 when the American Heart Association (AHA) recommended that adults consume no more than 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol a day and 3 eggs per week.
The AHA’s recommendation impacted the egg industry immediately, and in 1984 the Egg Nutrition Center (later adopted by the American Egg Board) was formed to study the effects of the cholesterol found in eggs and its impact on the health of consumers.
The AHA dropped their parameters for recommended egg consumption in 2002.
After decades of research demonstrating that the cholesterol from eggs made no difference in the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) for men and women, the AHA dropped their parameters for recommended egg consumption in 2002. This was, in part, a response to a research study published in 1999 of over 117,000 men and women, which documented that there were no differences in CVD risk between those consuming one egg a week versus one egg a day. Additionally, proceeding studies confirmed similar findings reporting that egg intake is not associated with CVD risk.
Evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol.
In 2015, the AHA dropped their recommendation for 300 mg of cholesterol a day, citing that “evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol, consistent with the conclusions of the AHA/ACC report.”
In May of 2018, a study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that consuming at least 12 eggs a week for three months did not increase cardiovascular risk factors for people with pre-diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. In fact, studies have shown that consuming eggs regularly is in fact good for your health due to the amount of protein, vitamins and minerals contained in one egg. In many ways, they are nature’s multivitamin with the combination of more essential vitamins, minerals, and protein naturally occurring in a single product than any other.
Eggs are nature’s multivitamin
With all the recent research on the health benefits of eggs, it could easily be argued that an egg a day will indeed keep the doctor away! Check out our recipe page for a plethora of delicious ways you can enjoy the benefits of eggs today!
