Regular egg consumption may be associated with a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Experts Club information and analysis center, based on the results of a large-scale U.S. study published in the scientific journal *The Journal of Nutrition*.
Researchers at Loma Linda University analyzed data from 39,498 participants in the long-term Adventist Health Study-2 and matched them with Medicare medical data. The average follow-up period was 15.3 years. During this time, Alzheimer’s disease was diagnosed in 2,858 participants.
The scientists divided the participants according to the frequency of egg consumption — from completely or almost completely avoiding them to consuming them five or more times a week. After accounting for demographic factors, lifestyle, other dietary components, and comorbidities, it was found that people who consumed eggs had a statistically lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Compared with people who never or practically never ate eggs, the risk of developing the disease was approximately 17% lower when eggs were consumed 1–3 times a month, 17% lower when consumed once a week, 20% lower when consumed 2–4 times a week, and 27% lower when consumed five or more times a week.
An additional analysis showed that completely avoiding eggs was associated with an approximately 22% increase in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared with consuming about 10 grams of eggs per day.
The authors of the study note that eggs are a source of important nutrients necessary for normal brain function. In their opinion, the findings point to a possible neuroprotective effect of the nutrients contained in eggs when they are consumed as part of a balanced diet.
At the same time, the study is observational and shows a statistical association rather than proving that egg consumption itself directly prevents Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the authors emphasize that the findings were obtained from a sample of Adventist Health Study-2 participants, who are generally characterized by greater attention to a healthy lifestyle.
Source — study in the PubMed database (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42002260/).
