To Eat an Egg or Not to Eat an Egg – That is STILL the Question

Eggs and Blood Pressure
According to recent research emerging from Canada, eggs, long frowned upon for their high cholesterol content, may in fact be helpful in reducing high blood pressure.  The report, which focused on eggs and blood pressure, appeared in the February, 2009 issue of ACS’ Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.  It identified a specific group of egg proteins that actually mimic the effects of many popular prescription medications in lowering blood pressure.

The authors of the study, Jianping Wu and Kaustav Majumder, noted that eggs are a widely available and inexpensive source of protein and other essential nutrients.

To Eat Eggs
Over the last 40 years, consumption of eggs has been in steady decline, mostly due to concerns about cholesterol. However, this study, along with other recent studies may suggest that, in fact, healthy people can safely consume eggs without creating an increased risk factor for heart disease.

Separate, unrelated research has also indicated that eggs contain certain proteins that might produce similar effects to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which are pharmaceutical medications used to inhibit ACE activity (an enzyme which results in high blood pressure and narrowing of the blood vessels), By inhibiting this enzyme, blood vessels enlarge and hence blood pressure is reduced.

Scientists, pursuing this lead in laboratory studies, have also identified several varieties of peptides in both boiled and fried eggs that demonstrate the ability to behave as very potent ACE inhibitors.  Research has shown that enzymes in the stomach and small intestine produce these peptides when eggs are consumed.  Ironically, fried eggs, the worst culprit for high cholesterol, produced the highest level of ACE inhibitory activity.

The scientists were quick to point out that clinical research using human subjects will be necessary to determine if egg proteins do in fact lower blood pressure in people.

Or Not To Eat Eggs
However, it seems that where eggs and blood pressure is concerned, for every positive there is a negative shortly to follow.

In an egg study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that men who reported eating seven or more eggs per week had a 23% higher chance of dying from any cause as compared to men who ate fewer or no eggs.

Still, even in that study, egg consumption was not linked to an increased risk factor for heart attacks and stroke, even among those who consumed seven or more eggs on a weekly basis.

That study followed the progress of 21,300 male doctors over a period of twenty years, beginning when they were at an average age of 54.  Critics were quick to point out that the study failed to specify what the men died of, or to take into account what other foods or beverages they might have been consuming during the period in which the study was conducted. It is similarly unclear as to whether genetic factors were taken into account in the resulting analysis.

That Is Still the Question
Nutrition expert Kathleen Zelman had this to say, “By and large eggs are super-nutritious, good-for-you foods.  You just need to make sure you don’t overdo it.”

She advised a higher ratio of egg whites to egg yolks and cautioned anyone with diabetes in particular to avoid eating too many eggs.

As the research indicates, the on-again, off-again debate about eating eggs shows no sign of abating anytime soon.  However, before you start cooking up that 3-egg omelet, consider this.  One egg has approximately 200 mg of cholesterol. The recommended daily allowance for adults is just 300 mg.

So perhaps moderation is the best course of action when it comes to egg consumption.

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