How many eggs a week are healthy?

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This has seemed to be a debatable subject for awhile, just wanted to see if there are any informed opinions on here...

Seriously, I could easily eat like 5-6 a day, everyday, between breakfast, picking up a soft-boiled one at work, then putting a few into whatever I stir up for supper.

I understand that not so long ago cholesterol was the new bad boy on the block, but recently the cholesterol in eggs was found to be pretty good. Still, the official nutritionist types still often put caution on the # of eggs per week.

Help me GAF, etc...
 
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50 in an hour is healthy.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
An egg is not that different from 1 oz. of meat, really, and it usually has more good stuff for you too. I wouldn't worry about it. And your body naturally produces cholesterol, so reducing your intake of the dietary stuff just means your body will produce it for you. And yes, the cholesterol in eggs is good for you - it turns your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) into the bigger, fluffier version of LDL, which is far less harmful than the tiny globule version of LDL.

I eat 3-4 eggs for breakfast everyday, fwiw.
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really? I ned to boil way more eggs then.
 
Dietary cholesterol has little to no effect on blood cholesterol (provided you're not genetically sensitive to it, which is actually pretty rare). As long as you're not eating so many that your daily calorie intake is insane, go nuts. Eggs are awesome.
 
6 eggs is only about 450 calories. So that's not unhealthy. But it depends on how much other stuff your eating.
 
Damn six eggs a day isn't going to give me a heart attack by age 45? Me needs to rethink a new plan. Hows about 11 pieces of bacon and 6 sausage links?
 
I have to watch my cholesterol, but I keep it under 200 with diet and exercise, no meds needed. My doctor told me that three eggs per week was fine for me.
 
madara said:
Damn six eggs a day isn't going to give me a heart attack by age 45? Me needs to rethink a new plan. Hows about 11 pieces of bacon and 6 sausage links?
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Just eat a McGangbang for every meal, every day. Be sure to have a King Size side of fries with extra extra salt, too.
 
Well, so far the best answer has be Go, Egger, Harder!

The Cons have showed up but haven't really brought there game. I'm still listening though.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
And yes, the cholesterol in eggs is good for you - it turns your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) into the bigger, fluffier version of LDL, which is far less harmful than the tiny globule version of LDL.
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Which may or may not have any impact on cardiovascular health in the end; it still doesn't explain why fibrate drugs, which are top-notch in doing exactly what is described above, aren't as good as statin drugs in reducing coronary heart disease (Statins reduce LDL altogether, it doesn't give a shit if it's bigger or smaller).

My opinion: go ahead and eat as many eggs as you want. There are far worse things you could be eating. Go nuts.
 
icarus-daedelus said:
An egg is not that different from 1 oz. of meat, really, and it usually has more good stuff for you too. I wouldn't worry about it. And your body naturally produces cholesterol, so reducing your intake of the dietary stuff just means your body will produce it for you. And yes, the cholesterol in eggs is good for you - it turns your LDL ("bad" cholesterol) into the bigger, fluffier version of LDL, which is far less harmful than the tiny globule version of LDL.

I eat 3-4 eggs for breakfast everyday, fwiw.
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yeah, that's a bit misleading. Your body produces most of the cholesterol you need no matter what, and how much it produces is based on genes, etc. so dietary cholesterol just adds to it. It's not like your body eases up on the cholesterol production if you've just eaten a Mcgangbang or whatever.
 
Dietary cholesterol does not increase your serum cholesterol. There have never been any actual studies that show that. There was in fact a study I read about somewhat recently that showed eating a number of eggs (can't remember how many, more than the "recommended" amount though) actually reduced cholesterol a little bit. I've eaten shitloads of eggs over the past year and a half to two years, and my cholesterol is perfectly fine. Cholesterol is not something to worry about when it comes to eating eggs. It's a giant myth, just like dozens of other dietary "facts" from the past few decades.
 
demon said:
Dietary cholesterol does not increase your serum cholesterol. There have never been any actual studies that show that. There was in fact a study I read about somewhat recently that showed eating a number of eggs (can't remember how many, more than the "recommended" amount though) actually reduced cholesterol a little bit. I've eaten shitloads of eggs over the past year and a half to two years, and my cholesterol is perfectly fine. Cholesterol is not something to worry about when it comes to eating eggs. It's a giant myth, just like dozens of other dietary "facts" from the past few decades.
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Those bastards from the egg council have gotten to you too!
 
demon said:
Dietary cholesterol does not increase your serum cholesterol. There have never been any actual studies that show that.
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Here's one from 1981 that directly refutes your claim:

J Nutr. 1981 Dec;111(12):2069-80.
Influence of dietary cholesterol and fat on serum lipids in men.
Chenoweth W, Ullmann M, Simpson R, Leveille G.

The effect of changes in dietary cholesterol and fat on serum lipids was studied in 32 healthy men (mean age = 24.8 years). Subjects were fed a controlled diet for 10 days providing 42 to 45% of the total calories from fat, a P/S ratio of 0.3 to 0.5 and two eggs per day. During the next eight weeks, 16 subjects received each of the following diets for four weeks in a crossover design: 1) a control diet with two eggs per day or 2) the control diet with eggs replaced by a cholesterol-free egg substitute. The remaining 16 subjects received each of the following diets in a similar crossover design: 1) a modified-fat diet containing 35% of the total calories from fat, a P/S ratio greater than or equal to 1.0 and two eggs per day or 2) the same modified-fat diet with the egg substitute replacing the eggs. The two-week cycle of menus repeated throughout the study included a wide variety of foods commonly consumed in this country. Although the response of individual subjects varied, analysis of variance showed a significant decrease in serum total cholesterol related to replacement of eggs with the egg substitute and to modification in the type and amount of dietary fat. A significant diet-treatment interaction or sequencing effect was not found. Change in cholesterol intake related to addition or deletion of two eggs in the daily diet had no significant effect on serum triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, or relative lipoprotein concentrations.
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Here's a recent study from Harvard which found an association between increased mortality and egg consumption at 7 or greater per week.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Apr;87(4):964-9.
Egg consumption in relation to cardiovascular disease and mortality: the Physicians' Health Study.
Djoussé L, Gaziano JM.

Division of Aging, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 1620 Tremont Street, 3rd floor, Boston MA 02120, USA. ldjousse@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

BACKGROUND: A reduction in dietary cholesterol is recommended to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although eggs are important sources of cholesterol and other nutrients, limited and inconsistent data are available on the effects of egg consumption on the risk of CVD and mortality. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the association between egg consumption and the risk of CVD and mortality. DESIGN: In a prospective cohort study of 21,327 participants from Physicians' Health Study I, egg consumption was assessed with an abbreviated food questionnaire. Cox regression was used to estimate relative risks. RESULTS: In an average follow-up of 20 y, 1550 new myocardial infarctions (MIs), 1342 incident strokes, and 5169 deaths occurred. Egg consumption was not associated with incident MI or stroke in a multivariate Cox regression. In contrast, adjusted hazard ratios (95% CI) for mortality were 1.0 (reference), 0.94 (0.87, 1.02), 1.03 (0.95, 1.11), 1.05 (0.93, 1.19), and 1.23 (1.11, 1.36) for the consumption of <1, 1, 2-4, 5-6, and > or = 7 eggs/wk, respectively (P for trend < 0.0001). This association was stronger among diabetic subjects, in whom the risk of death in a comparison of the highest with the lowest category of egg consumption was twofold (hazard ratio: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.26, 3.20; P for interaction = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Infrequent egg consumption does not seem to influence the risk of CVD in male physicians. In addition, egg consumption was positively related to mortality, more strongly so in diabetic subjects, in the study population.
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So, these Harvard researchers couldn't pinpoint egg consumption with increased heart attack or stroke, but something was apparently killing the doctors who were eating at least 7 eggs a week, confounding accounted for.

My final advice to OP: okay to go more than 3, but maybe keep it at less than 7 per week.
 
I have read things recently they say that eggs are basically the best shit ever and they are good cholesterol, i don't know what to believe, but I've been eating 2 eggs a day since i can eat solids and I'm a healthy motherfucker.
 
hockeypuck said:
Here's one from 1981 that directly refutes your claim:
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The first study you link is one where they also modified the amount and type of dietary fat in the peoples' diets. Dietary fat is known to have a direct correlation with serum cholesterol, so that study doesn't conclude that eggs alone raise blood cholesterol.

Your second study is discussed here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103547.php Basically they did not control other aspects of the participants diets or lifestyles, so you can't say the increased mortality rate was due to eating eggs.

From that link:

In addition, the high egg consumers exhibited other lifestyle and dietary patterns associated with increased health risks.
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It's also easy to find studies that show there is no effect on blood cholesterol from egg consumption, such as this or this
 
Struct09 said:
The first study you link is one where they also modified the amount and type of dietary fat in the peoples' diets. Dietary fat is known to have a direct correlation with serum cholesterol, so that study doesn't conclude that eggs alone raise blood cholesterol.

Your second study is discussed here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103547.php Basically they did not control other aspects of the participants diets or lifestyles, so you can't say the increased mortality rate was due to eating eggs.

It's also easy to find studies that show there is no effect on blood cholesterol from egg consumption, such as this or this
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The first study controlled for both egg consumption and dietary fat independently. Moreover, I consider the 1981 study to have better internal validity as the diets were more controlled, as opposed to the ones you cite. But this is a very controversial topic so until a consensus is reached I won't really pick a side. The main point of me bringing up that study, however, was more to refute demon's claim that no study has ever been done to show the effects on serum cholesterol from intake.

Your medicalnewstoday.com article is sponsored by the American Egg Board and the Egg Nutrition Center, with vested financial interests. This article shouldn't need to end with a plug for incredibleegg.org. The criticisms brought up are valid, as they are valid to any non-randomized trial. But it doesn't help the article's argument when they bash the study but then point out, "The most credible point in the study is that the researchers demonstrated there is no relationship between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease risk." They pick and choose which parts of the study they like, even though the method and design are all the same.
 
Sorry to bump last week's thread, but BBC News just posted this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7882850.stm?lss

Regular eggs 'no harm to health'
Limiting egg consumption has little effect on cholesterol levels, research has confirmed.


A University of Surrey team said their work suggested most people could eat as many eggs as they wanted without damaging their health.

The researchers, who analysed several studies of egg nutrition, said the idea that eating more than three eggs a week was bad for you was still widespread.

But they said that was a misconception based on out-of-date evidence.


Writing in the British Nutrition Foundation's Nutrition Bulletin, they said eating saturated fats was far more likely to cause health problems.
Researcher Professor Bruce Griffin said eggs were actually a key part of a healthy diet, as they were particularly packed full of nutrients.

Ingrained misconception

He said: "The ingrained misconception linking egg consumption to high blood cholesterol and heart disease must be corrected.

"The amount of saturated fat in our diet exerts an effect on blood cholesterol that is several times greater than the relatively small amounts of dietary cholesterol.

"The UK public do not need to be limiting the number of eggs they eat - indeed they can be encouraged to include them in a healthy diet as they are one of nature's most nutritionally dense foods."

While elevated blood cholesterol levels increase the risk of heart disease, only around a third of the cholesterol in the body comes from the diet.

Other factors such as smoking, being overweight and physical activity can influence blood fat and cholesterol levels and heart disease risk.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) dropped its advice to limit egg consumption to three a week in 2007 in light of new evidence.

However, research by the British Egg Information Service suggests 45% of consumers still believe it was sensible to limit consumption.

Victoria Taylor, a senior BHF dietician, said: "We recommend that eggs can be eaten as part of a balanced diet.

"There is cholesterol present in eggs but this does not usually make a great contribution to your level of blood cholesterol.

"If you need to reduce your cholesterol level it is more important that you cut down on the amount of saturated fat in your diet from foods like fatty meat, full fat dairy products and cakes, biscuits and pastries."

In 2007 the Egg Information Service was banned from re-running a television commercial from the 1950s which urged viewers to "go to work on an egg" to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre said the slogan went against the principle of eating a varied diet.
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hockeypuck said:
Here's one from 1981 that directly refutes your claim:



J Nutr. 1981 Dec;111(12):2069-80.
Influence of dietary cholesterol and fat on serum lipids in men.
Chenoweth W, Ullmann M, Simpson R, Leveille G.

The effect of changes in dietary cholesterol and fat on serum lipids was studied in 32 healthy men (mean age = 24.8 years). Subjects were fed a controlled diet for 10 days providing 42 to 45% of the total calories from fat, a P/S ratio of 0.3 to 0.5 and two eggs per day. During the next eight weeks, 16 subjects received each of the following diets for four weeks in a crossover design: 1) a control diet with two eggs per day or 2) the control diet with eggs replaced by a cholesterol-free egg substitute. The remaining 16 subjects received each of the following diets in a similar crossover design: 1) a modified-fat diet containing 35% of the total calories from fat, a P/S ratio greater than or equal to 1.0 and two eggs per day or 2) the same modified-fat diet with the egg substitute replacing the eggs. The two-week cycle of menus repeated throughout the study included a wide variety of foods commonly consumed in this country. Although the response of individual subjects varied, analysis of variance showed a significant decrease in serum total cholesterol related to replacement of eggs with the egg substitute and to modification in the type and amount of dietary fat. A significant diet-treatment interaction or sequencing effect was not found. Change in cholesterol intake related to addition or deletion of two eggs in the daily diet had no significant effect on serum triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, or relative lipoprotein concentrations.
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Last sentence seems to clear 'eggs only', as I would expect, the prior reference to eggs being replaced by egg substitute with modifaction in dietary fats seems to have too many variables to simply point at eggs.

Regardless, full text of the study would be useful I suppose :)

For normal people, I'd say that 6-8 eggs a week at most, for athletically inclined people and weight lifters, 2-3 whole eggs a day (arachidonic acid is great for muscle growth)
 
What the bloody hell is this world coming to? People actually eat eggs without the yolk?

That's the best part! Goddamn.
 
Dandy said:
What the bloody hell is this world coming to? People actually eat eggs without the yolk?

That's the best part! Goddamn.
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This.

Why would anyone eat eggs without the yolk? At least by choice. I'd love to hear explanations.
 
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