Eggs are often deemed as a man's best friend. Boiled, poached, fried or curried - an egg or two makes for a fulfilling meal in no time. It is versatile and comes to our rescue on the busiest or the laziest of the days. Besides the culinary usage, what adds on to its popularity is the enriched nutrient profile. It has ample amount of protein, minerals, vitamins, healthy fats etc and is known to have several health benefits. But did you know that eating too many eggs may have harmful effects on the people with diabetes? Yes, you heard it right!
A new study, conducted by China Medical University and Qatar University, found that consumption of one or more eggs per day is linked to increased risk of diabetes by 60 percent. The study has been published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
For the unversed, diabetes has been a major concern among people across the globe. As per World Health Organisation (WHO), around six percent of the world population is affected by this lifestyle disease today. In fact, it has nearly doubled since the past decade. While proper medication is a must for managing diabetes, food and healthy lifestyle also play a major role in lowering the risk of this disease. Hence, experts often recommend to take proper care of our diet for an overall healthy living.
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"Diet is a known and modifiable factor that contributes to the onset Type 2 diabetes, so understanding the range of dietary factors that might impact the growing prevalence of the disease is important," Dr Li stated.
"While the association between eating eggs and diabetes is often debated, this study has aimed to assess people's long-term egg consumption of eggs and their risk of developing diabetes, as determined by fasting blood glucose," he added.
The study assed 8545 Chinese adults, with an average age of 50 years, between 1991 and 2009. They found that the daily egg consumption of eggs has increased over the years- from 16 grams in 1991-93, to 26 grams in 2000-04, and 31 grams in 2009.
It was found that consumption of 38 grams of egg per day increased the risk of diabetes by approximately 25 per cent and over 50 gram of egg per day increased it by 60 per cent.
The researchers further stated that though there's a link between egg consumption and increased risk of diabetes, more research is needed to "explore causal relationships" between the two.