A new study found a link between eating eggs and slower cognitive decline in older women

New Research Shows Eating More Eggs Might Help Keep Your Mind Sharp Participants who eat five or more eggs per week had the best outcomes

A new study found a link between eating eggs and slower cognitive decline in older women

• A new study found that eating eggs weekly may prevent cognitive decline in older women.
• Women who ate five or more eggs per week had better semantic memory and executive functioning than those who eat fewer or no eggs each week, the research showed.
• However, the study doesn't prove that eating eggs causes a boost in brain health but only that there's an association between the two.

Approximately two out of every three American adults will experience some level of cognitive impairment by the age of 70. However, a recent study suggests a simple solution for staving off cognitive decline: eating eggs.

The research, published recently in the journal Nutrients, found a link between egg consumption and better semantic memory and executive functioning in women.

“Prior literature on the association of dietary cholesterol levels with cognitive function is inconsistent with some studies showing a negative effect, others showing a positive effect, and still others showing no effect,” Donna Kritz-Silverstein, PhD, the study's principal investigator and a professor in the School of Public Health and Department of Family Medicine at the University of California San Diego, told Health.

The inconsistency paved the way for the study group “to examine whether egg consumption was related to change in cognitive performance over four years in a large sample of community-dwelling older men and women,” she said.

More Eggs, Better Cognitive Health

To test the effects of eggs on cognitive functioning, researchers pulled data on 890 adults (357 men and 533 women) who participated in the Rancho Bernardo Study, a long-term community-based observational cohort study. All participants were over 55, and the average age was between 70 and 72. 

Participant egg intake was assessed between 1988 and 1991 through food frequency questionnaires. Researchers also gave participants performance tests between those years examining global cognitive functioning, such as language, orientation, attention, recall, executive function, mental flexibility, and visuomotor tracking. Those skills were reassessed between 1992 and 1996, with the average time between visits being about four years.

The researchers found that 14% of men and 16.5% of women reported never eating eggs. In contrast, 7% of men and nearly 4% of women reported consuming eggs over five times per week. 

Generally, men had higher rates of egg consumption than women, being more likely to consume them two to four times or more than five times weekly. Women were more likely to either not eat eggs or eat one to three per month.

After adjusting for lifestyle choices, medical diagnoses, and protein, calorie, and cholesterol intake, the evidence showed that women who consumed more eggs had less decline in fluency scores, which assess semantic memory and executive function.

With every categorical increase in egg consumption, the likelihood of a woman experiencing cognitive decline decreased by 0.1. In other words, women who ate eggs more than five times per week had a half point less decline in category fluency over four years than those who never consumed eggs.

While the scientists found no similar associations in men, “for both men and women, egg consumption was not associated with decline on any of the measures of cognitive performance we used, suggesting that egg intake may have a role in the maintenance of cognitive function,” Kritz-Silverstein said.

Although researchers cannot explain the differences seen between men and women, Kritz-Silverstein said that they could be due to varying rates of diabetes, educational level, exercise, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption between the sexes.

Limitations of the Study

“The generalizability of the study’s results may be limited due to the homogeneity of the Rancho Bernardo Study participants who are predominantly white, highly educated, and can afford access to medical care,” Kritz-Silverstein said.

However, the study notes that this homogeneity may illustrate that factors such as culture, education, the ability to afford medical care, and lifestyle choices are less likely to influence the results.

The research also relied on self-reported information, which is more likely to be inaccurate, and it didn’t explore the mechanism behind how eggs may benefit cognition—though the study noted that they contain several nutrients known to support brain health, such as protein, choline, and carotenoids like lutein and zeaxanthin.

Future research into the cognitive benefits of eggs should include imaging to show whether cognitive performance is consistent with observed changes in the brain, Kritz-Silverstein noted.

Eating to Slow Cognitive Decline

The study suggests that eating eggs might be a good way to maintain cognitive function. Though eggs have had a bad rap due to their high cholesterol content—one large egg has approximately 200 milligrams of cholesterol—experts now say most people can eat one to two eggs a day without harming heart health.

However, many other foods may offer cognitive support as well.

“Antioxidant-rich foods, like berries, spinach, and nuts, help fight inflammation and oxidative stress, which can accelerate aging and neurodegenerative diseases,” Amy Davis, RDN, a registered dietitian at Amy Davis Nutrition, told Health. “Turmeric can be especially beneficial for memory and new brain cell growth.”

Additionally, the Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) have been shown to help slow cognitive decline, Lindsay Malone, MS, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian and nutrition instructor at Case Western Reserve University, told Health.

Ultimately, when it comes to eating to support brain health, David and Malone encourage balance and moderation across the major food groups. No one food or behavior will necessarily prevent cognitive decline, they note. Or, as Malone put it: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Christina Manian, RDN