Reading time: 4 minutes
Eggs are an often disputed issue when it comes to health but the bottom line is that they contain high levels of fat and cholesterol that, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), can harm heart health, lead to diabetes and potentially colorectal and prostate cancers. Plus, they are associated with Salmonella, a common cause of food poisoning in the United States.
A well-balanced vegan diet provides all the nutrients needed, without the risk factors that foods like eggs present.
Are Eggs Good For You?
Research with funding from the egg industry has downplayed the effects of egg consumption on health, particularly the effects of increased cholesterol intake.
An independent 2021 study showed that consuming just half an egg a day led to increased risk of death from heart disease and cancer. An average egg contains 200 milligrams of cholesterol, more than a McDonald’s Big Mac and researchers concluded that this is the main cause of this increased risk. The same study found that for every 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol consumed daily, there was an increase in mortality risk of 24 percent.
Eating eggs has also been associated with increased risk of certain cancers such as colon, rectal and prostate. So, these facts suggest that eggs are not good for you.
Is It OK To Eat Eggs Every Day?
Considering the fact that the average egg contains 200 milligrams of cholesterol, eating eggs every day is highly risky for our health, particularly if those eggs are being consumed alongside fat- and cholesterol-heavy meat and dairy. Research by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), conducted with over 30,000 participants, showed that every 300 milligram dose of dietary cholesterol was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease by 17 percent, and mortality by 18 percent.
Why Are Eggs Not Good For You?
For all the reasons stated above! If you’re still not convinced, here are the six main reasons:
Increased Diabetes Risk
According to the British Journal of Nutrition, consuming one or more eggs a day can increase our risk of diabetes by 60 percent.
Too Much Protein
Diets excessive in protein can cause health risks and are specifically linked with kidney disease, kidney stones and some types of cancer. Eating two eggs a day provides a lot of protein, and the danger comes when people are also consuming high levels of meat-based proteins.
Too Much Fat
According to PCRM, eggs are calorie-dense foods with 60 percent of these calories coming from fat, much of it being saturated.
Diets high in saturated fat can lead to heart disease and other diseases.
Increased Cancer Risk
Studies have shown that even just one or two eggs a week can lead to a risk of colon cancer five times higher than those who consume 11 or fewer eggs per year.
High Cholesterol Content
High cholesterol diets are dangerous as they can lead to fatal heart disease and general increased mortality risk. The average egg contains more dietary cholesterol than a Big Mac, so by eating eggs, even just a few times a week, we are massively increasing our cholesterol intake.
Salmonella
Eggs commonly contain salmonella bacteria. We put ourselves at risk by eating them, as contamination can occur, even with safety precautions in place. The CDC says that hundreds of Americans die every year from Salmonella poisoning. The safest thing to do is not eat eggs at all!
Animal Welfare Issues
Hens have been selectively bred into the farmed animal we see today, and this has been disastrous for their welfare.
Today, the majority of eggs consumed in the US come from factory farms, where hens live in caged, cramped conditions which strip them completely of their natural behaviors. Naturally, they would scratch in the dirt, roam widely, socialize with other hens and care for their young. In a factory farm, they live in a cage roughly the size of a sheet of printer paper, where they contract infections and disease, break bones and are so stressed that they resort to pecking and scratching their cage mates
We fund these awful conditions when we demand to have cheap eggs on our plates every day. We must stop eating eggs and spare hens a life full of suffering.
Conclusion
Although the egg industry has done a good job of downplaying the risks of eating eggs, unbiased research suggests that, due to their high cholesterol and saturated fat content, eating one or two eggs a day can have major health complications, such as increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Furthermore, by demanding eggs on our plates every day, we support a truly cruel industry that causes massive amounts of suffering for hens.
So, by going vegan and cutting eggs from our diet completely, we keep ourselves safer and do our bit to reduce some of the animal suffering in the world.
