A new study suggests that eating four eggs a week can reduce one's risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 37 percent.
Eggs are loaded with vitamins, minerals, proteins, good fats and other nutrients. Despite the fact that they are also packed with cholesterol (one egg contains 212 mg), earlier studies showed that eggs actually help improve the balance between the body's good and bad cholesterol levels. A new study provides evidence that eating eggs regularly is also beneficial to keeping the blood glucose on a healthy level, which helps reduce one's risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland looked at the data of 2,332 men, aged 42 to 60, from 1984 to 1989. During the 19-year follow-up period, 432, or 19 percent, of the participants developed type 2 diabetes.
Based on the dietary habits of the participants, the researchers saw that those who consumed four eggs per week lowered their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 37 percent compared to those who ate only one egg per week. The results remained the same even after including other factors such as physical activity, body mass index, smoking, and consumption of fruits and vegetables.
But don't get too excited, because the researchers added that eating more than four eggs per week will not yield more benefits.
The study is the first to provide evidence that eggs can lower diabetes risk.
"The association between egg consumption and type 2 diabetes has been investigated only scarcely, and the findings have been inconclusive," Jyrki Virtanen, adjunct professor of nutritional epidemiology, University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, said in a press release.
"Egg consumption has either been associated with an elevated risk, or no association has been found."
The study was published in the April 2 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
