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Chicken, Eggs, and Inflammation

Chicken and eggs are the top sources of arachidonic acid in the diet, an omega 6 fatty acid involved in our body’s inflammatory response.

October 3, 2011 |
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Supplementary Info

Chicken, Eggs, and Inflammation, 4.6 out of 5 based on 8 ratings

Sources Cited

National Cancer Institute. 2010. Sources of Selected Fatty Acids among the US Population, 2005–06.

Galland L. Diet and inflammation. Nutr Clin Pract. 2010 Dec;25(6):634-40.

Institute of Medicine. 2006. Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. National Academies Press, Washington D.C.

Acknowledgements

Images thanks to Prof. Teresa G. Fischer

Transcript

, Inflammation isn’t always bad.  When you get a splinter or cut yourself, the wound can get all red, hot, swollen, painful, pus-y. Inflammation can be your body’s way of fighting off infection,  so we do need some arachidonic acid to trigger the inflammatory cascade, but we don't need to eat any since our bodies make all we need.

For  carnivores like cats, arachidonic acid is an essential nutrient. Since they’re eating animals all day, they get it preformed in their diet so their bodies never needed to make any.  We, however, evolved from plant-eating apes, and so we evolved to make it ourselves,

It’s  like cholesterol. Your body needs some cholesterol, and so your body makes all you need. You have no need to take in extra through your diet, and in fact too much cholesterol is a bad thing. The same thing may be true with arachidonic acid.

 If you want to try to stay away from the stuff, there are the top ten sources in the American diet. As you can see,  overwhelmingly chicken and eggs. That’s why even semi-vegetarians can drop their levels down, though one would have to eat vegan to optimally minimize one's intake.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Dianne Moore.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. Be sure to check out Inflammatory remarks about arachidonic acid. Also, there are 1,449 subjects covered in my other videos–please feel free to explore them!

For some context, please check out my associated blog posts: Inflammation, Diet, and "Vitamin S", The Most Anti-Inflammatory Mushroom, How To Boost Serotonin Naturally, Treating Crohn’s Disease With Diet, Stool Size and Breast Cancer Risk, and  Top 10 Most Popular Videos of the Year.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/mgreger/ Michael Greger M.D.

    Please feel free to post any ask-the-doctor type questions here in the comments section and I’d be happy to try to answer them. Be sure to check out Inflammatory remarks about arachidonic acid. Also, there are 1,449 subjects covered in my other videos–please feel free to explore them!

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/toxins/ Toxins

    This is super informative. Thanks! I like how you clearly stated that our body makes the cholesterol we need as well as the arachadonic acid based on our evolutionary origins as primarily herbivores.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/turkishshepherd/ Turkishshepherd

    Great video!!! Although plant-eating apes?? Really??

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/becochic/ becochic

    Why is there so much cholesterol in breast milk if we can make our own? Why does my baby need it and I don’t?

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/drdons/ DrDons

    In looking at some studies on the ingredients in human breast milk I couldn’t find cholesterol listed. Human breast milk does have triglycerides, carbohydrates and many other ingredients including antioxidants see: http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/antioxidant-power-of-plant-foods-versus-animal-foods/. Your baby’s liver and other tissues make all the cholesterol s/he needs.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/drdons/ DrDons

    Thanks Toxins. I should have checked with the USDA. Nice to know that breast milk has cholesterol. So the answer to Bechochic is I don’t know if babies need it or not but breast milk remains the overwhelming best food for newborns.

    • LynnCS

      As I understand it, we all need cholesterol. I think we make the right kind and the right amount. Certainly not in the form of bread and butter and steak and gravy.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/chewy/ chewy

    is 1/2 cup of legumes a safe amount to eat daily ?i eat a low fat vegan diet as per dr mcdougall.

  • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/barbarah/ BarbaraH

    As for the cholesterol in breast milk, this might be a helpful explanation:

    From http://www.vegfamily.com/dietician/0705b.htm :

    By the way, human breast milk (which is, strictly speaking, an animal product) does contain cholesterol (yup, even a vegan mom’s – because mom’s body creates it, and some is naturally present in milk). This is, of course, fine because mother’s milk is the perfect food for babies. But if medical experts and formula manufacturers thought that dietary cholesterol was so important for brain development, they would put cholesterol in infant formula. They don’t.

    • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/toxins/ Toxins

      That is an excellent point Barbara. Thanks!

      • http://nutritionfacts.org/members/barbarah/ BarbaraH

        Just to be clear, that’s Dina Aronson, M.S. R.D, who wrote that paragraph. I copied it out of the link I gave.

  • GlenWise

     Very interesting video. As an asthmatic who’s condition is well controlled with theophylline 200 mg tabs, Proair, and Symbicort; it’s important for me to be knowledgeable about what I put into my body. Unfortunately, I recently failed to do some research before embarking on a bodybuilding regimen. I began using several supplements like L-arginine, a Nitric oxide booster, and a post-exercise tablet along with perhaps the worst possible form of protein. I started purchasing cheap, farm raised tilapia from the largest retailer in the world. Needless to say, this was due to economical reasons. To make matters worse, I was without my corticosteroid inhaler Symbicort for approximately one month. I believe all of these factors lead to some significant inflammation in the lungs along with scattered prehypertensive bP readings. I went to the doctor and was given a corticosteroid injection and some samples of Advair to get me by until I could return on Symbicort. I have been back now on Symbicort for about ten days now and I’m doing better day by day. Needless to say, this has been a hard lesson to learn, but a lesson none the less. I’ve said all this because the more I learn about bodybuilding nutrition, the more detrimental it appears to be for those with medical conditions like asthma, allergies, various heart conditions, and arthritis. I hope I’m wrong. Assuming bodybuilding can be done in a healthy and safe way for those just mentioned; it just leads to many more questions. Let’s begin by looking at the main food sources for the vary building blocks for muscles themselves. The “big three” are fish, chicken, and eggs. The concern here is that they all contain arachidonic acid which is the culprit for inflammation. Obviously how this process affects individuals is as unique as the individuals themselves. It’s not a secret that this acid is hard to avoid for those in this sport, because of the vary foods which contain it. The “Million Dollar” question is: how is the body going to respond to such large quantities of this chemical that a sport such as bodybuilding demands? This is perhaps the greatest hurdle for those aspiring this sport with pre existing conditions. So, for someone with asthma, what’s the healthiest, safest, and most economical form of wild fish? Is 100% egg whites safe for asthmatics? And if not, what other sources of protein are? Is there a limit Before an inflammatory response occurs? Again, I hope I’m wrong for sounding so pessimistic, because afterall, I would like to “step-up” my exercise routine in order to reach my genetic potential. I’m just not willing to jeopardize my health to do it.

    • LynnCS

      There are a lot of stories of people overcoming Asthma buy going on raw fruits/vegis/lots of greens. Juicing, smoothies, and salads. Check out Youtube.

    • http://www.DonForresterMD.com/ Don Forrester MD

      I would add dairy to your list to be avoided as an asthmatic…. see as a start the videos on dairy especially see… http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-milk-and-mucus-a-myth/. You might also enjoy the video… http://nutritionfacts.org/video/inflammatory-remarks-about-arachidonic-acid/ and the others listed under the asthma topic. I wouldn’t worry about protein intake see the three newsletter articles in Dr. John McDougall’s monthly newsletters… History of Protein(12/03), Protein Overload(1/04) and Sources of Protein(4/07). You might be interested in comparing the essential amino acid profile of eggs, broccoli and asparagus. Evidence suggests you should minimize protein for long term health. As a body builder you might enjoy videos and material by Robert Cheeke who is a plant based body builder. There are no “safe” fish only fish that have less chemicals… as they all come with cholesterol and saturated fat. The Omega 3′s in the fish are from the algae the fish eat. No reason to eat fish if you want to eat a healthy diet. Good luck.

  • http://twitter.com/JeniTidbitz Jennie

    Is it better to raise your own chickens for the eggs ? Or is this just as bad as store bought eggs?

    • Toxins

      Eggs have inherent substances in them that are simply unavoidable whether they are store bought, organic or raised in your back yard. Eggs in general are a harmful food and one should avoid eating this food.
      http://nutritionfacts.org/?s=eggs

  • Michael Greger M.D.

    For some context, please check out my associated blog post Inflammation, Diet, and “Vitamin S”!

  • Toxins

    Why is it that chickens are also the number 2 contributor of Omega 3?

    http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/diet/foodsources/fatty_acids/table5.html

  • Mike F

    Are the negative effects (i.e inflammation due to omega-6 consumption) of eggs strictly quarantined to the yolk? I eat egg whites fairly heavily so was curious if I should change my dietary habits. Thank you for the study results.

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