Eating an egg a day could be a key in fighting disease according to findings published in the journal Heart.
A team of researchers from China and the UK, led by Professor Liming Li and Dr Canqing Yu from the School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, investigated whether there was a link between eating eggs and developing cardiovascular disease, ischaemic heart disease, major coronary events, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischaemic stroke.
They used data from an ongoing study, which included more than half a million adults aged 30 to 79 from 10 different locations in China.
About 416,000 participants who were free of prior health problems like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes were chosen. They were asked about how often they ate eggs, then the researched followed up with them after 8.9 years. (Data was collected between 2004 and 2008.)
About 13 per cent of participants said they had eggs every day, while nine per cent said they never or rarely consumed eggs.
Once followed up, 83,977 people had cardiovascular disease, 9,985 of whom died. And there were 5,103 “major coronary events,” such as stroke or heart attack.
Results showed the people who had eggs daily had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease overall. Up to one egg a day was associated with a 26 per cent lower risk of haemorrhagic stroke, a 28 per cent lower risk of dying from a haemorrhagic stroke, and an 18 per cent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
There was also a 12 per cent reduced risk of ischaemic heart disease for people eating about five eggs a week, compared to people who are them rarely.