Egg Consumption and Diabetes

A number of popular authors and websites advocate eating eggs as a way of preventing type 2 diabetes. However, this is not substantiated by the evidence. To assess the impact of egg consumption on type 2 diabetes in China, a survey was performed among 2849 adults in Jiangsu Province, China. Jiangsu is a coastal Chinese province north of Shanghai. ¹

Dietary information was obtained by a validated food frequency questionnaire and 3 day weighed food records. Note that this survey did not rely on dietary recall. Egg consumption was significantly and positively associated with diabetes risk.

Below is the risk of diabetes according to egg consumption.

Those participants eating more that 2 eggs a week had a significant increase in the prevalence ofdiabetes compared to those consuming less than 2 eggs per week. Women eating 2-6 eggs per week had an increase of risk for diabetes of 1.67 with men 2.03. For women consuming 1 egg per day or more, the increase of risk for diabetes women was 3.22 and for men 2.44.

The same study showed plasma triglyceride and total cholesterol levels were significantly higher, particularly with women, who consumed 2 eggs/week or more. ²

A Lithuanian study showed similar results. This study compared people eating less than 1 egg/week (the above study was comparing those eating 1 egg/week).

Eating 3-4 eggs per week resulted in a 2.6 times increase in diabetes and whilst 5 or more eggs/week resulted in a 3 times increase compared with those eating less than 1 egg/week. ³

The Physicians’ Health Study commenced in 1981. It consisted of a study of 22, 071 male doctors between 40 and 84 years of age in the US. ⁴

The role of egg consumption on health was examined. The result from a 20-year follow-up showed a significant correlation between egg consumption and all-cause mortality.

Egg consumption was divided into 5 categories—less than 1 egg per week, 1 egg per week, 2–4eggs, 5–6 eggs per week and 7 or more eggs per week.

A key finding is that physicians consuming 7 or more eggs per week had a 31% increase in all-cause mortality compared with those consuming less than 1 egg per week.

For diabetic physicians, the association was much higher with the increase in mortality slightly more than doubled.

A British study followed 10,802 health-conscious individuals in the UK with an average follow-up period of 13.3 years.

This study reported a 2.7 times increase in risk of death from heart disease with an egg consumption greater than 5 eggs per week compared with those who ate eggs less than once a week. ⁵

Seventh-day Adventists studies and the Taiwanese Buddist Study shows that longevity and a healthy life expectancy is much better without any eggs in the diet.

Related articles

Seventh-day Adventists and Health
Taiwanese Buddhist Study

Last updated on Monday 16 March 2026 at 14:58 by administrators

1. Shi, Z. et al. (2011) Egg consumption and the risk of diabetes in adults, Jiangsu, China. Nutrition. 27 (2), 194–198.
2. Shi, Z. et al. (2011) Egg consumption and the risk of diabetes in adults, Jiangsu, China. Nutrition. 27 (2), 194–198.
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