Eggs may Play a Role in Type 2 Diabetes

Eating more than one egg a week may be linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

The authors analyzed data from two randomized trials that included 20,703 men from the Physicians' Health Study I and 36,295 women from the Women's Health Study. These studies were originally designed to test the effects of vitamins and aspirin on heart disease.

On average, the follow-up period was 20 years for the men and 11.7 years for the women. By the end of the follow-up, 1,921 men and 2,112 women developed type 2 diabetes.

The risk of developing type 2 diabetes reportedly increased with the number of eggs consumed. The authors found that men who ate the most eggs (seven or more per week) were 58 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not eat eggs. Women who ate seven or more eggs per week had a 77 percent increased risk of developing the condition.

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Comments

[Lori Rowell, MS, RD, LDN]

This study is not complete! The fact that they did NOT include what else was eaten...pancakes, grits, white toast, orange juice, waffles and any meats that many add to their eggs. Those are the foods that precipitate fatty liver and diabetes!

This is frustrating. In my eyes, eggs are a healthy addition to the diet, and this will be another reason my patients will avoid eggs and their benefits!

[Anne]

The people in the study were eating a lot of eggs each week, so I am not convinced that more than one egg a week can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. And even though the amount of eggs consumed does seem high, there must be numerous other factors involved too. I find it interesting that the studies were originally about heart disease, vitamins and aspirin. Whatever happened to those results?

[Barbara Craven, PhD, RD, LD]

The report on eggs seems incomplete. No data were reported about what people ate with their eggs that might influence the results, for example; bacon and eggs. Or if weight gain was a factor. People who eat eggs in the morning are generally big breakfast eaters and may or may not be overweight. Being overweight, over-eating, age and race are also important factors in whether a person develops diabetes.

[Ruth]

It’s hard to argue with the Physicians’ Health Study. So, I guess we should all just stop wasting our money on supplements and focus our efforts on improving our diets. In contrast to expensive supplements, decreasing your intake of saturated fats, trans fats and refined foods and increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids and whole grains has proven benefits.

[Shari Lyon]

There are way too many other variables to consider before we can take this random tendency and call it "fact." I know most people who consume eggs eat them as part of the SAD diet, and the eggs are the products of mass production. I for one will keep eating eggs along with my organic, whole food, non-processed, healthy diet.

[Myrna]

It seems like people are pretty sensitive when it comes to eggs. Since when are eggs considered health food?

[Myrna]

I agree with the idea that people who eat eggs are typically eating other, perhaps more unhealthy, foods with it. In addition, it may also be that people who eat that many eggs may have a preference for foods that are high in both sugar and fat, and low in fiber.

[tiny tina]

Milk’s good, meat is good, oops bad. Grains are good eggs are bad. If there was a donut for every conflicting dietary study, I would have the biggest donut party ever (and maybe type 2 diabetes). What if liking the weird monotaste of eggs predisposes people to succumbing to the gluttony of sugars, fats and processed foods that is often implicated in the development of this disease. Is it like, if you like something tasteless or dodgey, you definitely will love candy corn, oil and trans fats?

[Jason KC]

It’s not the eggs honey, it’s the huge slabs of bacon that often pair up with those eggs in this patient population! Or maybe it’s an egg (in a fast food breakfast sandwiches caked with malnutrition….or how ‘bout people who buy lots of eggs because they cannot afford other expensive natural foods to cut their diet of preservative-laden sweets and processed foods usually dunked in sugar and junk?

[Anna H.]

I agree with Lorry. In the study they did not mention anything about other foods high in fats that people consumed in their diets, for example bacon, sausages, ham, bread, cheese, etc. This research deserves further studies to confirm these terrible results! What about the egg whites? Can it increase the risk of getting type 2 diabetes?

[SUMA]

I agree with the others that there was not enough information presented here to state that eating more than one egg per day increases one’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. What about all of the other contributing factors -- lack of exercise, high saturated fat intake, high carbohydrate intake, BMI, family history? I was not able to obtain the full-text article to determine if these factors were accounted for in the final analysis.

There is a strong link between weight and the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes UK states that “80 percent of people who are diagnosed with the condition are overweight at time of diagnosis.” They further state that “it is important to look at the overall diet rather than focusing on one specific food, as was done in this particular study.”

I agree with their statement that further research would be needed to determine if eating eggs regularly actually plays a definite role in the development of Type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, people should follow a healthy balanced diet that's low in fat, salt and sugar but high in fruits and vegetables.

[K. Kelley]

Interesting article. You have to wonder if an increase in egg consumption is correlated with a general increase in levels of food consumed. Increased food consumption leads to weight gain, and increased weight leads to diabetes as well.

[Lindsay]

Who eats more than seven eggs a week?!? That is such a high amount of fat and cholesterol consumption! If someone were to eat that many eggs weekly consecutively for numerous years, even decades, wouldn’t they be experiencing cardiovascular adverse events way before the development of type 2 diabetes??

[Erin]

Hmm….the results of this study are not surprising, to the point where I am not even sure what was to be concluded from this trial except the obvious! Any food group that is high in fat and consumed in high amounts will undoubtedly cause adverse affects to one's health.

[liz]

I agree with Barbara that the study is not complete. Egg by itself can not be a cause for type 2 diabetes. I wonder if other risk factors such as family history, diet and lifestyle were taken into consideration before concluding that eating eggs led to diabetes.

[Becca]

This study seems kind of silly. Eggs are very nutritious foods. It is not recommended to have more than three yolks a week because of the saturated fat content increases bad cholesterol LDL levels. The study doesn’t mention what the people were eating with the egg...bacon? Sausage? Muffins? Pancakes? It also doesn't mention their alcohol consumption, exercise habits, etc. I really doubt, as a Registered Dietitian, that eating eggs alone increased the risk of developing DMII

[uwak]

Bad news for me, I like eggs. So I must reduce the amount of eggs I eat?

[dental hygenist]

What types of eggs? I have heard that our modern eggs are generally selected to be low in LDL and higher in HDL cholesterol than the eggs of yesteryoke! Which egg variety was tested? Is it possible that the variety used was obviously bad (high LDL, high fat, nasty protein) and that other eggs are fine?

Uwak: By the way, how many eggs do you eat? Do you get them from the grocery store, Asian market or someplace else?

[Tricia]

So much valuable information has come out of these very large studies, but this information seems flimsy. As others have noted, I would like to know a lot more about what factors the researchers were able to weed out, in order to make them certain that eggs are the culprit.

It would also be helpful to know what type and how much exercise these subjects were getting. And if they were not active, would regular activity be enough to offset the damage from egg consumption of this amount?

There was also a recent report in my area on the increase in people raising chickens at home in order to make sure they were getting high-quality, organic eggs. Would organic eggs make a difference as opposed to conventional eggs? Maybe there's some crazy supplement or pesticide that conventional chickens ingest that has health consequences.

[yoko cee cee]

Anything plays a role in diabetes if you have diabetes, especially if it’s a food product. Add points if people eat it with bacon, and more danger points if it can be served multiple ways. Add even more diabetic danger points if it is known that it’s used in Coco Puffs®. We have so many known exacerbators of diabetes.

[Sue Bondzeleske]

Sorry, I just can't go along with this study. Just like I can't go along with the information that cholesterol is bad. We are an extremely healthy family and have been for many years. My husband eats 2-3 eggs every morning; I eat 2. Our blood work is excellent. He not only doesn't have diabetes, his insulin levels are excellent and his cholesterol is, in my opinion, too low - it was 153 last check-up. I am not diabetic; my insulin levels are great and my cholesterol is a healthy 273. In addition, my CRP is extremely low; my homocysteine levels are very low and my lipo-protein-a results are low. Cholesterol is not the cause of cardiovascular disease but an indicator that something is wrong. But, I digress.

You are right - what is most important is the foods that they ate and didn't report. Our eggs are organic; we eat a small amount of organic fruit and organic sprouted grain bread, organic buffalo and ostrich meat and chicken, and organic trailmix occasionally; no wheat or dairy. We are firm believers in herbs and supplements and practice a preventative healthcare lifestyle. I also wonder how often the people in the study exercised!

[B.F.]

I know that in one egg yoke there is around 240 grams of cholesterol, and in one day you shouldn't have more than 400 grams. So by eating two eggs you have eaten more than what you should in one day's serving. If the people in this study were eating six or more eggs, they are taking in more cholesterol than their daily requirement, which is a factor in developing type 2 diabetes.

[RZD]

Very interesting! What is it about the egg's ingredients that would result in type 2 diabetes? Is it the cholesterol? What if only the egg whites were consumed; would that alter the results?

[Eric]

Incomplete study: what kinds of eggs were participants eating? Were they organic, or were they produced from industrial farming? Also, they avoided the possibility that the increased prevalence of diabetes may be due to the harm ALREADY done from previous consumption of excessive amounts of eggs or other harmful foods. I also agree with the others that other factors, such as diet, predisposing health conditions and lifestyle may have contributed to these results.

[Luce]

Eating more than seven eggs per week is a lot, but telling people that if you do, you are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes is just going to scare them away from their regular habits. The study referred here does not even state if the subjects in the study also had a high-carbohydrate diet together with their eggs and also if the eggs were fried or boiled. We do not know if they had any lifestyle modifications to better manage their health (like regular aerobic exercise).

Besides, eggs are very nutritious. If we continue to have studies like this with no specific limitations, then many changes their eating habits and might later become malnourished. I would like to know the diets of the subjects used in the study so I can be of better help to my patients. Maybe they were having too much of everything that led to diabetes.

[tony]

Eggs have sooo much cholesterol. High cholesterol and being overweight are a perfect receipt for type 2 diabetes. The more eggs they eat, the greater risk they have for developing hypertension, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

[Suzy]

Were the eggs organic, or were they produced from industrial farming? I also agree with the others that other factors such as diet, predisposing health conditions and lifestyle may have contributed to these results.

[Lia]

Sue, I don’t mean to say you and your family are not healthy, but when you say cholesterol level of 153 and 273, which type of cholesterol are you referring to? There are different parameters of cholesterol that are being measured during annual physical. If the 153 is the LDL, then its high; your husband needs to get it below 100 or 70 for stricter measures. If it is for the total cholesterol, then it's okay, but not fully healthy because our total cholesterol has to be below 150. Same applies to the cholesterol of 273. However, if this number is the total cholesterol, then medical intervention is warranted because that puts you at risk for plaque formation anywhere in your bloodstream. I suppose your family doctor went over this with you or your husband. If not try discussing it with him/her.

[Amina]

Are eggs not rich in protein and choline?
Again, how were these eggs prepared? I see many are concerned about the amount of cholesterol in eggs; this depends on how the eggs were cooked. Overcooking increases oxidation of the cholesterol in the egg yolk. However, if it was boiled and just the white is eaten, then cholesterol won’t be any of our worries. But still it’s hard for me to believe that eggs alone increase your risk for developing diabetes unless these patients are one of a kind.

[ryan]

Doctors advised that if people want to include eggs in their diets, they eat eggs high in omega-3 fatty acids.

[LJ]

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but can you say "common sense?" Two eggs in one day will overshoot your daily cholesterol requirements. So if you are eating a lot of eggs, you're probably not eating that healthy anyways, unless you're eating egg whites. And aren't eggs usually eaten with other unhealthy foods (i.e., bacon sausage etc.)?

[Jordan]

Of course we would need to know what else was eaten by the participants if we really wanted to look at the specific food data.

[Kim]

It makes good sense that eating up to seven eggs a day would provide significantly more cholesterol than those who did not eat as many eggs. What about heart disease, heart attack and stroke outcomes? I am sure there would be correlation with more than just increased diabetes risk.

[AJ]

It's amazing how such a topic can be extracted from a study about vitamins and cardiovascular health! With that said, I am curious what these investigators think is the mechanism that links eggs to diabetes? I don't think there is a solid explanation for this because there are so many factors that contribute to DMT2 besides just eggs alone!! Personally, I feel that this study is a waste of resources. If someone consumes that many eggs per week, they are bound to be health consequences. Consuming eggs in moderation is the key!

[shane]

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[MHD]

After reading some of the previously posted comments, I have to also concur with some of the hesitation about the accuracy of this study. What else was consumed with the egg? Nutrition studies are so difficult to monitor unless every subject is consuming exactly the same foods. Type 2 diabetes is generally associated with being overweight and lacking exercise/fitness. Could it be that many of these subjects ate a breakfast in conjunction with the eggs, that promoted repeated spikes in insulin over time? Something to think about.

[Francis]

High consumption of anything daily would be bad; however, I think several previous comments bring up important points. What diabetes risk factors did these subjects have? What are their daily diet habits, caloric intake? Type 2 diabetes can be a result of bad eating habits but also genetics. The study only suggests a link between high daily egg consumption and diabetes. There is nothing definite; the results of this study are certainly just preliminary.

[Sam]

More than seven eggs a week does seem like a large amount of eggs to consume. Most people, knowing the impact that eggs have on cholesterol, do not eat that many in such a short period of time. It would be more realistic to present results for a lower amount of egg consumption - more people would be able to relate to that. This link to diabetes is interesting; perhaps other lifestyle and dietary factors also contributed to the development of the disease?