Taking confusion out of eggs

The Australian Egg Corporation has announced the appointment of five nutrition and medical healthcare experts to the newly formed Egg Nutrition Advisory Group (ENAG).

The group has been brought together in response to research among Australian GPs which found 73.2% of GPs believed dietary cholesterol had a 'moderate to significant' effect on serum cholesterol levels.

The scientific literature, however, shows dietary cholesterol has very minimal, if any, effect for most people.

The panel has been convened to help healthcare professionals sort out fact from fiction when it comes to eggs and good nutritional advice.

Assoc Prof Karam Kostner, cardiologist at the University of Queensland in Brisbane and member of ENAG, said the scientific evidence points to a positive role for eggs in a healthy diet.

"The clinical and research evidence shows that the beneficial nutritional contribution eggs make to a balanced diet for the average healthy person is far more important than any concern people may have regarding egg consumption and plasma cholesterol," Prof Kostner said.

"ENAG is reviewing the latest research which suggests that while elevated plasma cholesterol is an important treatable risk factor for coronary heart disease, reducing saturated fat intake, losing weight and taking cholesterol-lowering medication is more beneficial than restricting the intake of eggs," he said.