Eating an occasional egg, even almost daily, probably wont increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. Previous research has linked very high consumption of eggs-generally, seven or more eggs a week-to greater likelihood of developing diabetes. But researchers wanted to know if less-frequent egg eaters were also boosting their risk.Luc Djouss, MD, DSc, of Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues explained, Because eggs could serve as a readily available and inexpensive source for vitamins, proteins and other nutrients in the United States, it is important to elucidate the net effects of egg consumption as a whole food (as opposed to individual component of eggs such as cholesterol) on the risk of type 2 diabetes.Although high in dietary cholesterol, eggs are also a good source of nutrients including protein, choline, riboflavin, folate, lutein, iron and zinc. One egg contains only 70 calories.Dr. Djouss and colleagues studied 3,898 men and women, ages 65 and up, participating in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Over an average followup of 11 years, 313 participants developed type 2 diabetes. The researchers found no significant association between egg consumption and risk of developing diabetes; men in the top group of egg intake-almost one a day-were more likely to develop the disease than those eating none at all, but the difference wasnt statistically significant.The study also failed to find any link between overall dietary cholesterol and diabetes risk. Dietary cholesterol does contribute to unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, although scientists believe the chief dietary culprit in raising bad LDL cholesterol is actually saturated fat. The current federal dietary guidelines, as well as the draft 2010 guidelines, call for limiting dietary cholesterol to 300 milligrams daily for healthy adults and under 200 milligrams for those at risk of heart disease. One large egg contains 212 milligrams of dietary cholesterol.Dr. Djouss and colleagues cautioned that average consumption in the study group was relatively low-less than one egg a week-so their sample may not have included enough examples to detect any extra risk from eating more than one egg a day.TO LEARN MORE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, August 2010; abstract at www.ajcn.org/cgi/ content/abstract/92/2/422
