A new study suggests middle-aged men shouldn't eat more than six eggs a week.
Too much of a good thing
While there's much talk about eggs being good for you, new research now suggests too much of a good thing may actually be bad for your health — especially if you're a middle-aged diabetic man.
Eggs are rich in cholesterol, which in high amounts can cause blocked arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The study, conducted by a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, found that middle-aged men who ate seven or more eggs a week increased their risk of earlier death, while for diabetic men eating any eggs at all raised their risk.
Seven egg limit
Men without diabetes could eat up to six eggs a week with no extra risk of death, said Dr Luc Djousse and Dr Michael Gaziano of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, but more than six spelled trouble.
"Up to six eggs a week was not associated with the risk of all-cause mortality," the doctors wrote in their study. "[However], consumption of [seven or more] eggs a week was associated with a 23 percent greater risk of death."
Diabetic men, on the other hand, moved into the danger zone even after eating one egg. "Among males with diabetes, any egg consumption is associated with a greater risk of all-cause mortality, and there was suggestive evidence for a greater risk of MI [heart attack] and stroke."
Other factors
Of course, a long list of other factors can also affect the risk of heart attack and stroke, but the study highlighted the fact that many of these additional factors can be brought on by the consumption of eggs.
The men who ate the most eggs were found to be older, fatter, ate more vegetables but less cereal, were more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, and less likely to exercise.
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