Eggs & Cholesterol
Eggs & Cholesterol, Unbeknownst to most, healthy fats in your diet, including long-feared cholesterol, are proving to be key players in the brain and psychological health.
In previous generations, people believed cholesterol clogged arteries and caused heart problems.
However, today we understand that the standard Western diet, which contains many hydrogenated fats and refined carbohydrates, leads to an upset in the balance of cholesterol in the body and dangerously high inflammation levels.
As you’ll learn, cholesterol itself from whole foods like eggs or even real butter shouldn’t be feared.
Instead, when it comes to fighting symptoms of aging that affect the brain or elsewhere,
the focus should be on reducing the intake of high cholesterol foods that disturb the natural balance and use of different body cholesterols.
These include things like sugary treats, fried foods, processed meats, or refined oils.
What New Studies Tell Us about Cholesterol & Cognitive Health
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition sheds light on some long-held beliefs about fat intake and brain health.
Researchers from the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern Finland found that neither cholesterol nor egg intake seemed to increase the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Surprisingly to some of the researchers, there was a link between higher egg intake and better performance on neuropsychological tests of the frontal lobe and executive functioning.
The study investigated cholesterol and egg intake associations with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and cognitive performance.
It included 2,497 middle-aged and older men (between 41 and 60 years old) from Eastern Finland.
Some of the men were tested and shown to have an apolipoprotein E (Apo-E) phenotype, which some experts believed to be tied to a heightened risk for cognitive decline.
According to Alzheimer’s News Today, the prevalence of APOE4 in Finland is particularly high, with around a full third of the population carrying it.
This is alarming, considering the gene was previously thought to be a significant risk factor in the development of dementia.
The long-term study followed the participants for 22 years, during which their food intake was recorded.
After crunching the numbers from the 22 year follow-up period, 337 men were diagnosed with dementia, and 266 men were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
The Apo-E4 phenotype did not modify the associations of cholesterol or egg intake; in other words,
it did not trigger higher disease rates in those who were more susceptible from the start. Overall the conclusion of the study, according to researchers?
“Neither cholesterol nor egg intake is associated with an increased risk of incident dementia or AD in Eastern Finnish men. Instead, moderate egg intake may have a beneficial association with certain areas of cognitive performance.” (1)
To further support this point, consider that earlier studies have also shown similar evidence for other healthy dietary fats’ protective mechanisms.
For example, in 2013, the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry published a study showing that older adults who added more healthy fats to their diets— in the form of foods like olive oil or mixed nuts— maintained their cognitive function much better over six years than those who ate a low-fat diet.
According to Science Daily, the so-called “Mediterranean diet,” with a relatively high intake of fats like extra virgin olive oil, seems to improve older people’s brain-power better than advising them to follow a low-fat diet.
Benefits of Dietary Cholesterol
Most adults assume that cholesterol is a leading cause of many diseases, especially coronary artery disease; however, as you can see, recent studies are debunking this myth.
Coronary artery disease, a leading cause of heart attacks, seems to have more to do with inflammation than high cholesterol. Cholesterol even has benefits, some of which include:
- Acting as a critical brain nutrient essential to the function of neurons. Cholesterol is used as a source of fuel or energy since neurons cannot themselves generate significant amounts.
- You are playing a role in building cellular membranes and the communication network of nerves.
- Serving as an antioxidant and a precursor to critical brain-supporting molecules like vitamin D or steroid-related hormones. These include sex hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen.
- Helping to deliver nutrients to the brain from the bloodstream via a carrier protein called LDL (or low-density lipoprotein).
Cholesterol can become imbalanced, manifested in elevated LDL (bad cholesterol) and a low HDL (good cholesterol) when someone lives an unhealthy lifestyle.
And this can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. Causes of a cholesterol imbalance include a poor diet, inactivity, diabetes, stress, and hypothyroidism.
The Eggs & Cholesterol-Dementia Myth
So if cholesterol isn’t to blame for conditions associated with cognitive decline, based on the above, then what is?
A large body of research now shows that inflammation is involved in far more disease processes than we previously had imagined, including cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s.
Diets high in sugar and low in fiber fuel, unwanted bacteria, and increased intestinal permeability changes.
This can lead to cellular changes (such as mitochondrial damage) and compromising of the immune-system compromise. Eventually, widespread inflammation may reach the brain.
While inflammation has its upsides and is part of the crux of the body’s natural healing response following injury or infection, when inflammation persists, it winds up, causing damage to systemic pathways.
A long-term rise in inflammation is tied to a range of health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, depression, coronary artery disease, and many more.
In the case of memory loss, such as with Alzheimer’s, inflammation is precisely what is happening in the brain of a patient who experiences a decline in normal neural functions.
Many biochemicals are related to inflammation, both in the brain and elsewhere in the body.
These biochemicals include cytokines and small proteins released by cells that affect other cells’ behavior.
Examples of cytokines tied to cognitive impairment include C-reactive protein, interleukin six (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α).
What about genetics— don’t they have a say in determining if someone loses their memory?
Certain genetic factors are tied to a higher risk for diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, and they are far from the whole story.
We’ve learned that even people with a family history of these disorders can do a lot to influence the expression of their genes,
helping to turn off or suppress “bad” genes and potentially activate those that are protective.
What Are Other Ways to Prevent Memory Disorders?
- Eat An Inflammatory Diet— As described above, persistent inflammation is highly tied to cognitive decline. An anti-inflammatory diet helps improve gut health, feed the brain and cells with energy, and balance mood-boosting neurotransmitters’ production. Aim to eat mostly or all unprocessed foods— especially fresh veggies, healthy fats like coconut or olive oil, probiotic foods, nuts, seeds, and plant foods high in antioxidants and fiber.
- Improve Gut Health— Experts are also uncovering how inflammation stemming from poor gut health, or alterations in the gut microbiota (sometimes called leaky gut syndrome), can pave the way for developing the disease. For example, GABA, one important chemical manufactured by the gut bacteria, is an amino acid that serves as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and regulator of memory and moods. GABA and related chemicals help to regulate nerve activity and brain waves. A healthy diet and following the steps below will set the scene for a better gut microbiota balance.
- Maintain Normal Blood Sugar (Glucose) Levels—Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels (in other words decreasing the risk for type 2 diabetes, which partly develops from prolonged elevated blood sugar) prevents a stir-up of inflammation in the bloodstream. Those with type 2 diabetes are under a lot of metabolic stress and have a harder time bringing glucose from the blood into their cells, which affects the central nervous system, nerves, and brain. High intakes of processed sugar can be toxic and contribute to glycation. This biological process causes sugar to bind to proteins and certain fats, resulting in deformed molecules that can be hard to regulate. (4) There’s some evidence that Traditional Chinese herbs, along with other anti-inflammatory spices, fresh veggies, and compounds found in tea, coffee, wine, and dark cocoa/chocolate, have anti-diabetic qualities, and therefore many benefits for cognitive and gut health.
- Exercise Regularly— Exercise is practically natural medicine for your brain and nervous system. It reduces inflammation, can protect you from depression or anxiety, and even lower the risk for diabetes, gut alterations, and low immune function. According to the Mayo Clinic, based on many studies, “A rapidly growing literature strongly suggests that exercise, specifically aerobic exercise, may attenuate cognitive impairment and reduce dementia risk.” (5) You’ll get the most brain-protective benefits from exercise by aiming for at least 150 minutes weekly.
- Manage Stress— Too much stress can take a significant toll on your immune and central nervous systems. High levels of uncontrolled, chronic stress are tied to increased inflammation and, of course, various mood-related problems due to neurotransmitter changes. (6) In areas where people live the longest (and often happiest) lives, stress is controlled through social support, spirituality, meditation, exercise, and a good life purpose.
Final Thoughts on Eggs & Cholesterol
- Although previous studies have suggested that a high-fat diet might be a risk factor for some cognitive issues in older age, new studies find the opposite. A recent study found that neither cholesterol nor egg intake seems to be associated with a higher risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in older men, even when the men have a gene that was thought to increase risk.
- The study also found that higher egg intake was associated with better neuropsychological tests and executive functioning performance.
- Considering cholesterol is known to have certain benefits— including serving as an antioxidant and providing a fuel source for the brain and neurons— it’s not surprising that other studies show diets high in healthy fats can be protective over cognition and memory.
- Rather than reducing cholesterol or fat intake, you can lower your odds of suffering from memory loss in older age by eating an inflammatory diet, improving gut health, preventing diabetes, and exercising.
