Posted by Dr. Colin Campbell on Sep 30, 2012 in Blog | 0 comments

The poor chicken. One of her main contributions to society
is being questioned yet again. Eggs have run the gauntlet
that is the health rollercoaster these past few years from the
highs of being part of a healthy diet to the lows of having
too much cholesterol which has been determined to be a
major contributing factor in heart disease.
A recent study done at the University of Western Ontario
will send the chickens into a tither like a fox in the
henhouse. Dr. David Spence’s article published in the
journal Atherosclerosis, suggests that eating the egg yolk
is comparable to smoking when it comes to accelerating
arterial plaquing also known as atherosclerosis. Spence’s
research suggests that eating the yolk is two-thirds as bad
as smoking and was independent of gender, cholesterol,
blood pressure, smoking, body mass index (BMI) and
diabetes. The number of egg yolks eaten also seemed to
have an effect. Those eating 3 eggs yolks per week had
signifi cantly increased plaque area compared to those only
eating 2 yolks per week.
Spence’s study used diagnostic ultrasound to measure the
total plaque area in the carotid artery which is the main
supplier of blood to the brain. Carotid artery plaquing has
been shown to increase with age after the age of 40 – eating
egg yolks and regular smoking was shown to increase
that plaquing by an exponential rate. More research is
necessary in this area, but Spence’s research suggests
cutting back or eliminating the number of yolks eaten for
those at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and
consuming instead the egg whites only.
Someone needs to tell the fox – no eggs, chicken only,
white meat preferred. The poor chicken.