Eggs enhance the anti-inflammatory component of carbohydrate restricted diets

Carbohydrate restricted diets (CRD) have been shown to significantly decrease body fat and trunk fat and to decrease inflammatory cytokines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inclusion of eggs in a CRD on plasma anthropometrics, blood pressure, body composition and selected inflammatory markers in overweight/obese men (BMI = 25-37 kg/m2) aged 40-70 y undergoing a weight loss intervention. Using a parallel design, men were randomly assigned to consume 3 eggs (EGG group) (640 mg/d additional dietary cholesterol) or the equivalent amount of egg substitute (SUB group) (0 mg additional dietary cholesterol) for 12 wk.

All subjects irrespective of their assigned group, had very significant reductions in body weight, BMI and waist circumference (P < 0.01). Body fat and trunk fat decreased from 32.1 ± 8.9 to 28.9 ± 8.1 kg and 20.1 ± 5.8 to 17.8 ± 5.5 kg, respectively for all subjects (P < 0.01). Similarly systolic blood pressure was reduced from 138.8 ± 17.3 to 126.3 ± 10.6 mm Hg. Plasma concentrations of interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) were reduced following the intervention. However, those subjects consuming the EGG had a much better response (P <0.05) than those consuming the SUB.

These results suggest that including eggs in a CRD results in more significant reductions of inflammatory markers and similar beneficial effects in anthropometrics in a CRD.

Reference

Fernandez ML, Leite JO, Mutungi G, Puglisi M, Ratliff JC, Shrestha S, Vaishnav U, Volek JS (2007) Eggs enhance the anti-inflammatory component of carbohydrate restricted diets. The Journal of the Federation of Experimental Biology, 2007:21:834.4