If You Have Diabetes, Eggs Still Aren't What They're Cracked Up to Be

BOSTON — April, 1999 — Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that if you don't have diabetes, having an egg or two a day may not be as harmful to your health as once thought. Unfortunately, if you have diabetes, eggs are still something you need to limit in your diet, the research shows.

For many years, conventional wisdom for people with diabetes, and non-diabetics alike, has been that everyone should watch how many eggs they eat, because eggs are high in cholesterol, which raises blood levels of so-called "bad" low-density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol. LDL cholesterol can lead to blocked arteries that result in heart attacks.

The most recent study, published by Harvard researchers in the April 21 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that non-diabetics who ate an egg or more daily were no more likely to have heart disease or a stroke than those who limited themselves to less than one egg per week. This study examined the eating habits of over 37,000 men ages 40-75 over a period of eight years, and also studied more than 80,000 women ages 34-59 over a period of 14 years.

Unfortunately, people with diabetes did not fare as well, the study authors note. Higher egg consumption appeared to be associated with an increased risk of heart disease in both men and women who have diabetes who participated in the study.

"We still recommend that people with diabetes eat no more than three egg yolks per week," says Karen Chalmers, Director of Nutrition Services at Joslin Clinic in Boston and the moderator of Joslin's online Nutrition Discussion Group.