Nutrition in the News

Nutrition is a changing science.  What you may have believed a few years ago, may change as science comes up with new research and new findings.  Sometimes science reinforces what we already know, but sometimes science says just the opposite of what we long believed was true.  One of the changing beliefs is about eggs – good or bad for your heart?  There are other topics of interest in the news recently and here are some of them.

Do eggs increase your risk of heart disease?  So many people have learned “eggs are bad” because eggs contain cholesterol and are therefore bad for your heart.  Yes, it is true eggs do contain cholesterol and not a small amount.  The Mayo Clinic notes one large egg has about 186 mg of cholesterol.  For years the American Heart Association recommended we limit eggs because of this cholesterol.  So, what has changed?  

Eggs can be good for your heart.  What??? How can this be true when everyone has been told that eggs are bad for your heart.  Then they said, well, maybe not as bad as we thought and you can eat up to 1 egg a day or 7 a week and that is OK.  Now, some researchers are saying eggs are good for your heart and it is OK to eat more than one egg a day.  So confusing.  What changed?  Scientists reviewed 23 studies on heart disease between 1996 and January 2020 that looked at 1,415,839 people consuming no eggs, one egg a day, and more than one egg a day to see if egg consumption increased risk of heart disease.  Their findings may surprise you.  Believe it or not, they found that people eating MORE THAN 1 EGG A DAY did not increase their risk of heart disease.  They actually found eating more than 1 egg a day, decreased one’s risk of heart disease.  Here is the conclusion of their research”:

Our analysis suggest that higher consumption of eggs (more than 1 egg/day) was not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but was associated with a significant reduction in risk of coronary artery disease.

I remember a relative visiting that had high cholesterol and his doctor said, “no eggs”.  So, I made some muffins with only egg whites (egg whites have no cholesterol).  At home, his wife noted she often used egg beaters to skip the cholesterol.  (Egg beaters are made with egg whites, no yolks, so no cholesterol.)  Maybe now, his physician would say, “enjoy some eggs”.  But maybe not “too many” eggs.  Years ago, I was eating a lot of eggs every week, a lot.  Then I had my cholesterol checked and it was way up, 280 mg/dL, which is a high total cholesterol level.  They now want your total cholesterol to be below 200 mg/dL.  Needless to say, I cut back on my egg consumption.  I enjoy eggs and I like egg salad sandwiches.  But regardless of the research, I am not going to go back to eating eggs almost every day.  A few eggs a week for me is fine.   

Are there “no-calorie” foods?

Have you ever heard someone say, eat celery as it has negative calories?  Celery is very low in calories but one doesn’t burn up more calories eating celery than one gets from celery.  Weight Watchers, now WW, has some “free” foods or ZeroPoint foods, meaning you can eat them as you wish because these foods are low in calories.  But there aren’t really any “negative-calorie” foods.  

It is interesting that it does take some calories to digest, absorb, and metabolize the food you eat.  Fats take the least calories to digest and use, about zero to 5% of calories.  Carbs are next at about 5-10% of calories.  Protein foods are the highest, taking 20-30% of calories to digest and utilize.  That is another reason to eat some protein at each meal.  Eggs would be a good protein to eat as eggs are low in calories and provide a high-quality protein. Milk, yogurt or cheese would also be high quality proteins to include at meals.  

The next time someone tells you not to eat eggs as they increase your risk of heart disease, you can tell them about this latest research.  If someone posts about negative-calorie foods, you know there isn’t any truth to it. 

Sources:  Mayo Clinic , research , egg beaters , ZeroPoint   Image Sources:  Eggs , Negative calorie foods , snacks