A Review on the Importance of Having Eggs in the Diet

Review Article

Austin J Nutr Metab. 2014;1(1): 4.

A Review on the Importance of Having Eggs in the Diet

Kummerow FA*

Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois at Urbana, USA

*Corresponding author: Kummerow FA, Department of Comparative Biosciences, College Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana -Champaign, 1805 Pleasant Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA

Received: August 25, 2014; Accepted: September 19, 2014; Published: September 22, 2014

Abstract

The consumption of eggs has been declining since 1945. They continued to decline after the Federal Trade Commission ruled that the National Commission on Egg Nutrition could not claim that dietary cholesterol did not cause heart disease. Several health organizations came out against the egg saying that dietary cholesterol caused coronary heart disease. This paper revisits the concerns of not eating a whole egg every day. Consuming an egg a day is an inexpensive source of protein and will provide all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids to maintain a healthy body.

Keywords: Eggs; Nutrition; Cholesterol; Heart failure; Transfat; Oxidized Cholesterol

Abbreviations

AHA: American Heart Association; USDA: United States Department of Agriculture; EAA: Essential Amino Acids; PUFA: Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Introduction

Dietary cholesterol has been a concern of physicians, cardiologists, and patients since the 1970s. Cardiologists believe that eating eggs cause an increase of cholesterol in the plasma. This thought was reinforced when the Federal Trade Commission held a hearing, in 1975, on the role of eggs and cholesterol in heart disease. The cardiologists who testified agreed that cholesterol was the cause of heart disease and recommended that eggs should not be eaten. [1]. When they were reminded that they were under oath the judge asked again if they knew what caused heart disease. They all said that they did not know. Judge Barnes, the administrative law judge, asked everyone that testified what they thought caused heart disease. I testified as an expert witness at this Federal Trade Commission Hearing on egg nutrition on June 12, 1975 in Washington DC. I told the judge that I did not know what caused heart disease and I spoke in favor of eggs. Dr. Michael De Bakey, the preeminent heart surgeon, also spoke in favor of eggs. We were the only two in favor of eating eggs, as far as I am aware. Both of our testimonies were disregarded because we were not cardiologists. All the cardiologists that testified were believed.

This hearing’s conclusion stated that the National Commission on Egg Nutrition could not advertise “that eating eggs does not cause heart attacks, heart disease, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, or any attendant condition or represents that there exists or describes scientific evidence which supports the theory that consumption of dietary cholesterol, including in eggs, does not increase the risk of heart attacks, heart disease, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, or any attendant condition.” Unless it is clearly believed by many medical experts “that existing evidence indicates that increased consumption of dietary cholesterol, including that in eggs, may increase the risk of heart disease” [2].

Dietary Recommendations

The AHA has recommended since 1961 to reduce intake of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol and increase intake of polyunsaturated fats [3] (Table 1). The U. S. Senate Committee on Nutrition came out with dietary guide lines in 1977. They stated that the general public should reduce cholesterol consumption to about 300 mg/d [4] (Table 2). Every edition of the dietary guidelines since 1980 have stated to reduce cholesterol consumption to about 300 mg/d. including the latest edition published in 2010. The 1988 statement of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults advocated 200mg/ day of cholesterol for hyper cholesterolemic individuals [5]. The last update was in 2002 and the recommendations are still the same (Table 3).