Fried and slipped into a sandwich with a slice or four of crispy bacon; scrambled with a pinch of salt and pepper and plonked on top of some buttery toast; poached in the middle of a tangy tomato-and-pepper shakshuka sauce: There can be little argument that eggs done right are as tasty as they are nutritious.
It gets better: According to researchers at Loma Linda University Health in the United States, regular, but moderate, consumption of eggs can reinforce cognitive abilities.
“Eating one egg per day for at least five days a week reduces risk of Alzheimer’s by up to 27%,” according to the team, whose research was published in the Journal of Nutrition.
Eggs contain choline, a precursor to compounds regarded as “critical for memory and synaptic function”, as well as carotenoids that build up in brain tissue and are “associated with improved cognitive performance and reduced oxidative stress”, the team said.
“Even less frequent consumption of eggs significantly reduced the risk of Alzheimer’s,” said study principal investigator and Loma Linda University internal medicine physician Prof Dr Joan Sabaté.
The researchers found that eating eggs one to three times per month meant a 17% decrease in risk, while eating eggs two to four times per week led to 20% decrease.
The paper was based on a study of Seventh-Day Adventists, a “health-conscious population” of Protestants whose diet indicates that “moderate egg consumption” can be associated with a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
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Eggs are often considered something of a cholesterol bomb to be eaten in moderation.
But experts say that’s only partially true, and while one egg does contain a fair amount of cholesterol – some 400mg on average – not all of that stays in the body.
Eggs aren’t just filled with cholesterol.
They have other important vitamins like vitamin A, which is good for the eyes, the immune system and skin.
Added to that is the protein-heavy egg white depended on by many athletes.
Eggs also contain lecithin, which is good for the nervous system. – dpa
