Eating eggs reduces the risk of age-related macular degeneration: Study

Whether you choose to poach, fry or scramble them, new evidence has shown eating a serving of eggs a few times a week will help sustain eye health later in life.

According to researchers involved in the Blue Mountains Eye Study, older Aussies should include at least two eggs in their weekly diets to help avoid age-related macular degeneration.

The study published in the Clinical Nutrition journal found eating between two and four eggs a week significantly reduced the chance of people developing the eye disease which affects around one million Australians.

As part of their research scientists discovered those that ate the suggested amount of eggs had a 49 per cent reduced risk of developing late stage macular degeneration compared to participants who consumed less than one egg a week.

Eating between two and four eggs a week also resulted in a 62 per cent reduced risk of developing the wet or neovascular form of macular degeneration – the form of the disease which is associated with sudden or rapid vision loss.

While the latest study claimed eggs are an extremely beneficial part of a person’s diet, other research released earlier this year found the food could be doing more harm than good.

A study published in medical journal JAMA found eating three or more eggs a week increases the chance of developing a heart disease, putting many people’s lives at risk.

Researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago discovered the link between the two while analysing data from six US study groups which included more than 29,000 people.

The study participants’ eating habits were followed for on average 17 and a half years with shocking results revealing just how harmful the food can be.

Read more: Eating eggs increases the risk of heart disease: Study

Alarmingly a total of 5,400 cardiovascular events occurred during that time period, with 1,302 fatal and non-fatal strokes, 1,897 incidents of fatal and non-fatal heart failure and 113 other heart disease deaths.

It was discovered eating an additional 300mg of dietary cholesterol per day was associated with a 3.2 per cent higher risk of cardio vascular disease and a 4.4 per cent higher risk of early death. Whereas consuming an additional half egg per day was associated with 1.1 per cent higher risk of the disease.

How many eggs do you eat per week? What do you think of the latest research?