Even studies funded by the American Egg Board show our arteries benefit from not eating eggs.
Eggs and Arterial Function
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Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
In reaction to the study that found a similar exponential increase in artery-clogging plaque in smokers and egg-eaters, one critic countered that eggs have “beneficial…effects;…on vascular endothelium”—the inner lining of our arteries)—citing this study on “Egg consumption and endothelial function,” funded by the American Egg Board.
It was done on a group of men and women eating the Standard American Diet—overweight, normal cholesterol (which is to say extremely high cholesterol), LDL levels twice as high as could be considered optimal. See, it’s often “not appreciated that the average blood cholesterol level in the United States, the so-called normal level, [has] actually [been] abnormal,…accelerating [heart disease] and putting a large fraction of the so-called normal population at a higher risk” for coronary heart disease, our #1 killer.
If you threw a lit match into a flaming pool of gasoline, and saw no real difference in the height of the flames, you can’t conclude that throwing lit matches into gasoline is not a fire hazard, but that’s what the Egg Board study concluded. When the addition of eggs didn’t make the arterial function worse than it already was, they concluded that “[s]hort-term egg consumption does not adversely affect endothelial function in healthy adults.”
The Egg Board paid for a follow up, using folks who were even worse off—”total cholesterol=244.” They report that “egg consumption had no effects on endothelial function as compared to sausage and cheese.” Compared to the “ingestion of a sausage-and-cheese [breakfast] sandwich.” Yet, instead of sounding the alarm that eating eggs is as bad for arterial function as a “McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin,” they conclude “[E]gg consumption was found to be non-detrimental to endothelial function.” And cholesterol as well. They started out with a life-threatening cholesterol, and ended up with a life-threatening cholesterol.
Why didn’t it get even worse? Because there’s a plateau effect; you can basically max out on cholesterol absorption. After a certain level of intake, it’s just another match to the fire. If you’re already consuming the Standard American Diet, averaging 400 milligrams of cholesterol daily, even add, you know, two jumbo eggs to one’s diet, and it may already be a lost cause. But, in people trying to eat healthy, those same two eggs could shoot their cholesterol up 20 points, whereas a fat-free, cholesterol-free egg substitute “was beneficial.”
So, not eating eggs lowered cholesterol levels. Not eating eggs “improved endothelial function”—and that’s what these people needed. Their arteries were already hurting; they needed something to bring the fire down, not throw more matches at it.
Same with the other Egg Board study. They were apparently eating so unhealthy, adding eggs couldn’t make things much worse. But, eating oatmeal instead of eggs made things better, helping to quench the fire. So, even the Egg Board-funded studies both said not eating eggs is better for our arteries—yet, that’s the study pro-egg industry folks cite to claim beneficial vascular effects.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- DL Katz, MA Evans, H Nawaz, VY Njike, W Chan, BP Comerford, ML Hoxley. Egg consumption and endothelial function: A randomized controlled crossover trial. Int J Cardiol .2005 99(1):65 – 70.
- V Njike, Z Faridi, S Dutta, AL Gonzalez-Simon, DL Katz. Daily egg consumption in hyperlipidemic adults--effects on endothelial function and cardiovascular risk. Nutr J. 2010 9:28.
- PN Hopkins. Effects of dietery cholesterol on serum cholesterol: a meta-analysis and review. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 55(6):1060-70.
- SC Lucan. Egg on their faces (probably not in their necks); the yolk of the tenuous cholesterol-to-plaque conclusion. Atherosclerosis. 2013 227(1):182- 183.
- JH O’Keefe Jr, L Cordain, WH Harris, RM Moe, R Vogel. Optimal Low-Density Lipoprotein Is 50 to 70 mg/dl: Lower Is Better and Physiologically Normal. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004 43(11):2142-2146.
- D Steinberg. Thematic review series: The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis: An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy, part III: Mechanistically defining the role of hyperlipidemia. J Lipid Res. 2005 46(10):2037-2051.
- JD Spence, DJA Jenkins, J Davignon. Egg yolk consumption, smoking and carotid plaque: Reply to letters to the Editor by Sean Lucan and T Dylan Olver et al. Atherosclerosis. 2013 227(1):189 – 191.
Images thanks to cfinke, Christopher, and Yu’an via flickr
Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.
In reaction to the study that found a similar exponential increase in artery-clogging plaque in smokers and egg-eaters, one critic countered that eggs have “beneficial…effects;…on vascular endothelium”—the inner lining of our arteries)—citing this study on “Egg consumption and endothelial function,” funded by the American Egg Board.
It was done on a group of men and women eating the Standard American Diet—overweight, normal cholesterol (which is to say extremely high cholesterol), LDL levels twice as high as could be considered optimal. See, it’s often “not appreciated that the average blood cholesterol level in the United States, the so-called normal level, [has] actually [been] abnormal,…accelerating [heart disease] and putting a large fraction of the so-called normal population at a higher risk” for coronary heart disease, our #1 killer.
If you threw a lit match into a flaming pool of gasoline, and saw no real difference in the height of the flames, you can’t conclude that throwing lit matches into gasoline is not a fire hazard, but that’s what the Egg Board study concluded. When the addition of eggs didn’t make the arterial function worse than it already was, they concluded that “[s]hort-term egg consumption does not adversely affect endothelial function in healthy adults.”
The Egg Board paid for a follow up, using folks who were even worse off—”total cholesterol=244.” They report that “egg consumption had no effects on endothelial function as compared to sausage and cheese.” Compared to the “ingestion of a sausage-and-cheese [breakfast] sandwich.” Yet, instead of sounding the alarm that eating eggs is as bad for arterial function as a “McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin,” they conclude “[E]gg consumption was found to be non-detrimental to endothelial function.” And cholesterol as well. They started out with a life-threatening cholesterol, and ended up with a life-threatening cholesterol.
Why didn’t it get even worse? Because there’s a plateau effect; you can basically max out on cholesterol absorption. After a certain level of intake, it’s just another match to the fire. If you’re already consuming the Standard American Diet, averaging 400 milligrams of cholesterol daily, even add, you know, two jumbo eggs to one’s diet, and it may already be a lost cause. But, in people trying to eat healthy, those same two eggs could shoot their cholesterol up 20 points, whereas a fat-free, cholesterol-free egg substitute “was beneficial.”
So, not eating eggs lowered cholesterol levels. Not eating eggs “improved endothelial function”—and that’s what these people needed. Their arteries were already hurting; they needed something to bring the fire down, not throw more matches at it.
Same with the other Egg Board study. They were apparently eating so unhealthy, adding eggs couldn’t make things much worse. But, eating oatmeal instead of eggs made things better, helping to quench the fire. So, even the Egg Board-funded studies both said not eating eggs is better for our arteries—yet, that’s the study pro-egg industry folks cite to claim beneficial vascular effects.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- DL Katz, MA Evans, H Nawaz, VY Njike, W Chan, BP Comerford, ML Hoxley. Egg consumption and endothelial function: A randomized controlled crossover trial. Int J Cardiol .2005 99(1):65 – 70.
- V Njike, Z Faridi, S Dutta, AL Gonzalez-Simon, DL Katz. Daily egg consumption in hyperlipidemic adults--effects on endothelial function and cardiovascular risk. Nutr J. 2010 9:28.
- PN Hopkins. Effects of dietery cholesterol on serum cholesterol: a meta-analysis and review. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992 55(6):1060-70.
- SC Lucan. Egg on their faces (probably not in their necks); the yolk of the tenuous cholesterol-to-plaque conclusion. Atherosclerosis. 2013 227(1):182- 183.
- JH O’Keefe Jr, L Cordain, WH Harris, RM Moe, R Vogel. Optimal Low-Density Lipoprotein Is 50 to 70 mg/dl: Lower Is Better and Physiologically Normal. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2004 43(11):2142-2146.
- D Steinberg. Thematic review series: The pathogenesis of atherosclerosis: An interpretive history of the cholesterol controversy, part III: Mechanistically defining the role of hyperlipidemia. J Lipid Res. 2005 46(10):2037-2051.
- JD Spence, DJA Jenkins, J Davignon. Egg yolk consumption, smoking and carotid plaque: Reply to letters to the Editor by Sean Lucan and T Dylan Olver et al. Atherosclerosis. 2013 227(1):189 – 191.
Images thanks to cfinke, Christopher, and Yu’an via flickr
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Eggs and Arterial Function
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
More on the reaction to the Eggs vs. Cigarettes in Atherosclerosis study in my last video, Debunking Egg Industry Myths, as well as further discussion of the effects of the cholesterol in eggs on the cholesterol levels in the blood of egg consumers. More on that in:
- Eggs & Cholesterol: Patently False & Misleading Claims
- Egg Cholesterol in the Diet
- Avoiding Cholesterol Is a No-Brainer
I recently featured a food that actually does benefit vascular function; see Walnuts & Artery Function. Though the nut industry did try a similar tactic, see Nuts & Bolts of Cholesterol Lowering. The beef, soda, and dairy industries may also be guilty of experimental manipulation; see BOLD Indeed: Beef Lowers Cholesterol? and Food Industry “Funding Effect”.
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