Want to beat diabetes? Eat egg

Four a week can slash risk by 40 per cent

EATING four eggs a week could slash the risk of diabetes, a major study has found.

Researchers were stunned to learn that, although naturally high in cholesterol, eggs can cut the danger of developing Type 2 diabetes by almost 40 per cent, the Daily Express has reported.

According to the UK based news paper, the findings suggest eggs could play a crucial role in halting an epidemic of the condition which is sweeping Britain. 

The Daily Express one of the leading UK publications on health related issues reported  that scientists at the University of Eastern Finland said they think the results may be due to nutrients in eggs that improve the way the body metabolises sugar and help to dampen down inflammation which leads to chronic illness.

Previous studies had shown eggs raise cholesterol levels in patients who already have diabetes, but there had been little research on whether they made it likelier for people to develop the condition in the first place.

 The Finnish scientists analysed the eating habits of 2,332 middle-aged men who signed up to a study in the l980s.
Over the next 20 years, 432 of the men developed Type 2 diabetes.

The scientists found that men who ate roughly four eggs a week were 38 per cent less likely to fall ill than those who rarely or never ate eggs. They had lower blood sugar levels without seeing a steep rise in cholesterol.

The researchers said that eating more than four eggs a week did not seem to increase protection and stressed that they did not look at how the eggs were cooked.

Boiling, scrambling and poaching are regarded as the healthiest options while frying eggs can increase cholesterol intake by 50 per cent.

Professor Jyrki Virtanen said: “Eggs are a common, affordable, and readily available food item and a good source of potentially beneficial nutrients.

"These include high-quality protein, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. In addition, they include several bioactive compounds which have been found to have anti-inflammatory properties.”