LONDON, Ont. — Egg-based menu items may not be the healthiest choices, according to a new study conducted by Dr. David Spence, professor of neurology and clinical pharmacology, at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont.
“The message we’ve heard for too long — that eggs are good for us — has become obscured. We’ve known for 50 years that eggs are not healthy for us, but egg marketing propaganda has twisted the message,” Spence said.
“We’ve known you can induce atherosclerosis by feeding egg yolks to animals, for many years.” Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a major contributor to heart attack and stroke.
The paper by Spence — who’s devoted his career to stroke prevention — says eggs can be as harmful as smoking over time. “While build up of plaque is a part of normal aging, we’ve found consuming egg yolks accelerates the build up that forms on the inner arterial wall,” says the doctor. Plaque rupture is one cause of heart attacks and strokes.
In a Toronto Star story, Karen Harvey, Egg Farmers of Canada, argued, “independent research confirms dietary cholesterol in eggs has little effect on blood cholesterol levels in adults.”
The study of 1,200 patients, found people who eat three or more yolks per week had significantly more plaque than those who ate two or fewer yolks per week. The study concludes regular consumption of egg yolks is about two-thirds as bad as smoking in terms of plaque build up. Spence stresses people at risk of cardiovascular disease, need to avoid egg-yolk consumption.
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