Canibais e Reis

Será arriscado comer mais do que um ou dois ovos por dia, conforme os "especialistas" de saúde recomendam? E já agora, o que acontecerá se eu comer 25 (vinte e cinco) ovos por dia, o equivalente a um ovo de avestruz, quase todos os dias, durante 15 anos consecutivos?

Two dozen eggs please … hold the bacon - report on an elderly man who eats 25 eggs a day and yet maintains a normal cholesterol

An elderly man with a mammoth appetite for eggs serves as an extreme example that some people can eat large amounts of cholesterol-laden foods without harming their health.

In the March 28 NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, gastroenterologist Fred Kern Jr. of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver describes an 88-year-old retirement-home resident who has consumed an average of 25 eggs daily for more than 15 years — yet maintains normal levels of blood cholesterol. The man, diagnosed with a compulsive eating disorder, keeps a running tally of the two dozen softboiled eggs he methodically ingests throughout the day. He eats an otherwise normal diet and is of average weight.

Kern says the man’s body has "extremely efficient compensatory mechanisms" that allow him to cope with the quantity of cholesterol he consumes. Not only do his intestines absorb only 18 percent of the cholesterol he ingests–50 to 60 percent is more normal — but his liver also produces twice the normal level of the acids, breakdown products of cholesterol.

Margaret Flynn, a clinical dietician at the University of Missouri in Columbia, says the man’s healthy cholesterol level is not surprising. "All of the studies we have done showed no effect [on blood cholesterol] of high egg consumption in a normal diet," she told SCIENCE NEWS.

1991 Science Service, Inc.
 2004 Gale Group

Foto 1: Tribo de bosquímanos do Kalahari prepara omeleta de avestruz. Um ovo de avestruz equivale a 25 ovos de galinha.

Mas o colesterol dos ovos, afinal, não faz aumentar o colesterol sanguíneo? Sempre ouvi dizer que sim…

Nutritional contribution of eggs to American diets.

Song WO, Kerver JM.

Food and Nutrition Database Research Center, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824-1224, USA.

OBJECTIVES: The main purposes of this study were (1) to assess the nutritional significance of eggs in the American diet and (2) to estimate the degree of association between egg consumption and serum cholesterol concentration. METHODS: Data from the most recent National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-94) were utilized to compare the nutritional quality indicators of diets that contained eggs (USDA food grouping system) with those that did not. Nutrient intake (from 24-hour dietary recall), egg intake (from food frequency questionnaire), sociodemographic data and blood cholesterol levels of subjects who met inclusion criteria (n = 27,378) were grouped according to the occurrence and frequency of egg consumption and were analyzed using SUDAAN. RESULTS: Daily nutrient intake of egg consumers (EC) was significantly greater than that of nonconsumers (NC) for all nutrients studied (except dietary fiber and vitamin B6). Eggs contributed < 10% of daily intake of energy and vitamin B6, 10% to 20% of folate and total, saturated and polyunsaturated fat, and 20% to 30% of vitamins A, E and B12 in EC. Compared to EC, NC had higher rates of inadequate intake (defined by Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) or < 70% Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)) for vitamin B12 (10% vs. 21%), vitamin A (16% vs. 21%), vitamin E (14% vs. 22%) and vitamin C (15% vs. 20%). After adjusting for demographic (age, gender and ethnicity) and lifestyle variables (smoking and physical activity), dietary cholesterol was not related to serum cholesterol concentration. People who reported eating > or = 4 eggs/wk had a significantly lower mean serum cholesterol concentration than those who reported eating < or = 1 egg/wk (193 mg/dL vs. 197 mg/dL, p < 0.01). More frequent egg consumption was negatively associated with serum cholesterol concentration (beta = -6.45, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional and population-based study, egg consumption made important nutritional contributions to the American diet and was not associated with high serum cholesterol concentrations.

Foto 2: Tribo de bosquímanos do Kalahari prepara omeleta de avestruz. Um ovo de avestruz equivale a 25 ovos de galinha.

Mas seguramente o consumo de ovos deve prejudicar o perfil lipídico, ou não?

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol changes after continuous egg consumption in healthy adults.

Mayurasakorn K, Srisura W, Sitphahul P, Hongto PO.

Department of Social Medicine, Samutsakhon General Hospital, Samutsakhon 74000, Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between continuous egg consumption with Thai life-style dietary and serum lipids of healthy young people. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Fifty-six participants with an average age of 35 were enrolled. In an experimental method of cholesterol intake, all participants were fed an additional egg per day to their basic diet. This project ran for 12 weeks. RESULTS: The 12-week egg consumption significantly increased serum total cholesterol by 0.27 +/- 0.15 mmol/L (10.43 +/- 5.80 mg/dL) (p < 0.05). The HDL-cholesterol (HDL-c) increased significant by 0.55 +/- 0.06 mmol/L (21.80 +/- 2.25 mg/dL) (p < 0.001) while the total cholesterol (TC) decreased as the HDL-c ratio was 0.94 +/- 1.1 (p < 0.001). No significant changes were found in LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) and triglyceride levels. The present study showed that small serum LDL-c changed in response to change of egg consumption. Additionally, 12-week egg consumption also resulted in an increasing HDL-c level. CONCLUSION: In the majority of healthy adults, an addition of one egg per day to a normal fat diet could raise HDL-c levels and decreased the ratio of TC toHDL-c. Therefore, egg consumption might benefit blood cholesterol.

Foto 3: Tribo de bosquímanos do Kalahari prepara omeleta de avestruz. Um ovo de avestruz equivale a 25 ovos de galinha.

 Ou então engordam. Sim, se são bons e não matam, então engordam!

Egg breakfast enhances weight loss.

Vander Wal JS, Gupta A, Khosla P, Dhurandhar NV.

Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that an egg breakfast, in contrast to a bagel breakfast matched for energy density and total energy, would enhance weight loss in overweight and obese participants while on a reduced-calorie weight loss diet. SUBJECTS: Men and women (n=152), age 25-60 years, body mass index (BMI) >or=25 and

Foto 4: Tribo de bosquímanos do Kalahari prepara omeleta de avestruz. Um ovo de avestruz equivale a 25 ovos de galinha.

 Haverá mais alguma vantagem?

Eggs modulate the inflammatory response to carbohydrate restricted diets in overweight men.

Ratliff JC, Mutungi G, Puglisi MJ, Volek JS, Fernandez ML.

Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA. .

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Carbohydrate restricted diets (CRD) consistently lower glucose and insulin levels and improve atherogenic dyslipidemia [decreasing triglycerides and increasing HDL cholesterol (HDL-C)]. We have previously shown that male subjects following a CRD experienced significant increases in HDL-C only if they were consuming a higher intake of cholesterol provided by eggs compared to those individuals who were taking lower concentrations of dietary cholesterol. Here, as a follow up of our previous study, we examined the effects of eggs (a source of both dietary cholesterol and lutein) on adiponectin, a marker of insulin sensitivity, and on inflammatory markers in the context of a CRD. METHODS: Twenty eight overweight men [body mass index (BMI) 26-37 kg/m2] aged 40-70 y consumed an ad libitum CRD (% energy from CHO:fat:protein = 17:57:26) for 12 wk. Subjects were matched by age and BMI and randomly assigned to consume eggs (EGG, n = 15) (640 mg additional cholesterol/day provided by eggs) or placebo (SUB, n = 13) (no additional dietary cholesterol). Fasting blood samples were drawn before and after the intervention to assess plasma lipids, insulin, adiponectin and markers of inflammation including C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-8 (IL-8), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1). RESULTS: Body weight, percent total body fat and trunk fat were reduced for all subjects after 12 wk (P < 0.0001). Increases in adiponectin were also observed (P < 0.01). Subjects in the EGG group had a 21% increase in this adipokine compared to a 7% increase in the SUB group (P < 0.05). Plasma CRP was significantly decreased only in the EGG group (P < 0.05). MCP-1 levels were decreased for the SUB group (P < 0.001), but unchanged in the EGG group. VCAM-1, ICAM-1, TNF-alpha, and IL-8 were not modified by CRD or eggs. CONCLUSION: A CRD with daily intake of eggs decreased plasma CRP and increased plasma adiponectin compared to a CRD without eggs. These findings indicate that eggs make a significant contribution to the anti-inflammatory effects of CRD, possibly due to the presence of cholesterol, which increases HDL-C and to the antioxidant lutein which modulates certain inflammatory responses.

Sai uma omeleta, se faz favor!