Routinely eating fortified eggs may not adversely affect cholesterol
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Key takeaways:
- Intake of 12 fortified eggs per week did not seem to have a negative impact on lipid profiles.
- The eggs contained more vitamin B, D and E and omega-3s, iodine and less saturated fat vs. normal eggs.
ATLANTA — A small study that involved participants eating a dozen fortified eggs per week demonstrated modest potential for improved cholesterol vs. a non-egg supplemented diet, a speaker reported.
“The significance of dietary habits and consuming healthy foods and maintaining overall health has been increasingly debated by physicians and medical societies. This has heightened our attention to the fact that dietary recommendations are most often not evidence-based, and an area in particular which has been broadly and publicly debated is egg consumption,” Nina Nouhravesh, MD, research fellow at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, said during a press conference. “We set to investigate in the PROSPERITY trial the effects of fortified eggs on lipid profile in patients who had heart disease or who were at risk of developing heart disease.”
For the single-center PROSPERITY trial, Nouhravesh and colleagues tested fortified eggs that contained augmented levels of vitamin B, D and E and omega-3 fatty acids, iodine and reduced saturated fat compared with normal eggs.
The trial enrolled 140 participants (mean age, 66 years; 51% women; 70% white) who were randomly assigned to a diet including 12 fortified eggs per week or a non-egg supplemented diet in which participants ate fewer than two eggs per week.
Overall, 16.8% of participants had a prior CV event and 83.2% had two or more CV risk factors. In addition, 50.7% were already taking an ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker at baseline, whereas 41.4% were taking aspirin, 28.6% were on high-intensity statin therapy and 27.9% were on low- to moderate-intensity statin therapy.
The coprimary endpoints were change in HDL and LDL cholesterol at 4 months. Secondary endpoints of interest included other lipid, cardiometabolic and inflammatory biomarkers and micronutrient levels.
Nouhravesh reported a modest but nonsignificant change in HDL (P = .7) and LDL cholesterol (P = .42) at 4 months among participants assigned to fortified eggs compared with the non-egg supplemented diet.
In subgroup analyses, the researchers noted a nonsignificant trend for improved HDL and LDL cholesterol in individuals aged 65 years or older and those with diabetes assigned to the fortified egg group.
Although the study was not powered to detect change in any of the secondary endpoints, Nouhravesh reported the fortified egg group had increased vitamin B12 levels and a reduction in high-sensitivity troponin.
“In this study on consumption of fortified eggs compared with a non-egg supplemented diet ... we found no significant differences between the two groups for either LDL or HDL cholesterol through 4 months. But we did get an indication of potential benefit in patients who are older and in patients with diabetes, which warrants further investigations,” Nouhravesh said during the press conference. “We hope that data presented here can provide some reassurance for health care professionals, but also patients concerned about potential negative effects of fortified eggs. We also hope more generally that trials like this will spike interest to perform more dietary trials so that we can bring the same rigor to food science as we do to clinical trials investigating medicine.”
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Reference:
- Eggs may not be bad for your heart after all. https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Press-Releases/2024/03/28/11/43/eggs-may-not-be-bad-for-your-heart-after-all. Published March 28, 2024. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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Nouhravesh N, et al. Abstract 1274-214. Presented at: American College of Cardiology Scientific Session; April 6-8, 2024; Atlanta.
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