> More on Eggs - A limited consumption of eggs has been widely
> recommended to lower blood cholesterol and prevent
> cardiovascular disease, although epidemiologic studies on
> egg consumption and such health risks are scarce. In an
> analysis of the dietary habits of over 100,000 participants
> in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals
> Follow-up Study, researchers found no significant increase in
> risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke in
> those who consumed up to 7 eggs per week. Egg
> consumption was, however, linked to higher CHD risk in those
> with diabetes mellitus.
>
> Reference: Hu, F., Stampfer, M. et al. 1999. A prospective study of
> egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and
> women. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 281(15):1387-1394.

The authors note, p. 1393:

"[P]articipants who consumed more eggs had lower intakes of
carbohydrate, suggesting that, in reality, people often substitute
eggs for carbohydrate-rich foods such as breakfast cereals."

[JL's comment: this perhaps suggests that eggs and breakfast cereals
are equally "bad"].

Authors also note:

"A 50g egg contains about 213 mg of cholesterol, 6 g of protein, and 5
g of fat. Of the fat, nearly half is monounsaturated fat and 16% is
polyunsaturated fat. The equation derived by Keys and Parlin predicts
that adding 1 egg to an average diet (assume 200 mg background
cholesterol and 7560 kJ/d) will result in about 4% increase in total
serum cholesterol (...). If we assume that raising cholesterol levels
is the only effect of egg consumption, this would translate into about
an 8% increase in CHD risk, an effect generally too small to be
detectable in this and most epidemiologic studies or clinical trials."

--Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>