KUOPIO, FINLAND. When the fat-is-bad, cholesterol-is-bad movement got off the ground and became established dogma some 50 years ago, egg consumption dropped dramatically and the fried egg became a symbol of an unhealthy diet. As has been discussed in IHN, neither hypothesis is now considered to have merit. A study has just been published which examined the association between egg consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes. This is in the context that saturated fat is risk factor for diabetes. It was found that when the highest egg consumption was compared to the lowest, higher egg intake was associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Not only was there a significant risk reduction, but there was an inverse association between fasting blood glucose and egg consumption. It is noteworthy that eggs provide a large number of healthy micro- and macronutrients, and now that the dangers of the fat and cholesterol have been seriously challenged, one can enjoy their eggs for breakfast without any feeling of guilt.

Virtanen JK, Mursu J, Tuomainen TP, Virtanen HE, Voutilainen S. Egg consumption and risk of incident type 2 diabetes in men: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2015 May;101(5):1088-96