Should Eggs Be Part of a Type 2 Diabetes Diet?
A new study finds that eggs have no adverse effect on patients with type 2 diabetes, and that eating an egg-rich diet may contribute to better appetite control and increased satiety for these patients.
In an effort to challenge the negative perception surrounding egg consumption as part of type 2 diabetics’ diet, Nicholas Fuller, PhD, research officer in the Boden Institute Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Sydney in Australia and lead study author, conducted a prospective, randomized controlled study of 140 individuals with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 25 mg/m2, on a high egg diet who had either pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RELATED CONTENT
Egg Allergy Common After Liver Transplant
Diet Cuts Diabetes Risk Without Calorie Restrictions
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Over the course of 3 months—a period of time in which changes in cholesterol levels can become clear—participants attended the clinic on a monthly basis, and were given a written guide with the specific types of food and quantities they could consume, with a focus on improving diabetes management and replacing foods that contain saturated fats with foods including monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
The participants were recruited to a “high egg group,” consuming 2 eggs at breakfast each day for 6 days per week, and a “low egg group,” consuming less than 2 eggs per week and protein intake equal to that of the high egg group. Lipids were assessed in each group.
Fuller and colleagues found no significant difference between the 2 groups in terms of HDL cholesterol levels—“good” cholesterol—over the study period. The high egg group, however, showed an improvement in HDL of 0.034 mmol/L (P = .07). With regard to low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, or glycemic control, the authors found no differences between the 2 groups.
While noting that nutritional guidelines currently differ between countries as far as egg consumption among type 2 diabetics, Fuller says the findings demonstrate that “a high egg diet can be safely incorporated into the nutritional management of those with type 2 diabetes.”
The findings were presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2014 meeting, held Sept. 15 – 19 in Vienna, Austria.
—Mark McGraw