4. Discussion
cardiovascular disease, cancer, anemia, CVD, infection, autoimmunity
BLOOD CLOTTING, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, CVD, CANCER, INFLAMMATION, ANEMIA, INFECTION, AUTOIMMUNITY, INSULIN RESISTANCE, TYPE 2 DIABETES
Eggs are a rich source of bioactive nutrients and dietary compounds that possess properties that may contribute to the regulation of metabolic health, lipid metabolism, immune function, and hematopoiesis [Despite being a relatively rich dietary source of cholesterol, whole egg consumption has been positively associated with greater overall diet quality, including greater daily intake of high-quality protein, polyunsaturated and monosaturated fat, α-linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), vitamin D, potassium, phosphorus, selenium, choline, and the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin—the majority of which are provided by the egg yolk [Reports on the effects of egg intake on body weight and composition yield conflicting results from epidemiological and intervention studies. In a cross-sectional study by Garrido-Miguel et al. [In line with increased dietary choline intake observed during the whole egg period, serum concentrations of choline and the choline metabolite betaine were higher following the whole egg diet period, which is consistent with previous egg intervention studies [The lack of effect of our study intervention on serum lipids and apoB-containing lipoprotein size profiles similarly suggests that cardiovascular disease biomarkers and risk are not adversely impacted by whole egg intake [To explore potential factors that could influence the serum lipoprotein response to egg intake, we evaluated differences in serum lipid and lipoprotein profile changes in female subjects who were taking COCs vs. those who were not. Previous studies have shown mostly negative associations between COC use and serum lipid profiles; more specifically, various studies have shown that COC use is associated with significant increases in TC, LDL-C, and a reduction in HDL-C and the HDL-C/LDL-C ratio [In addition to evaluating traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors, we evaluated the effects of egg intake on standard and emerging clinical biomarkers of insulin resistance. Epidemiological studies have reported conflicting results on the association between egg intake, markers of glucose control, and type 2 diabetes risk, with some studies reporting that higher daily intake of eggs is positively associated with higher blood glucose and greater risk of type 2 diabetes [We further evaluated the effects of egg intake on clinical immune profiles, for which there are limited studies, and serum inflammatory markers, for which studies have reported conflicting results [In addition to serum inflammatory markers, total white blood cell counts and differential immune subset counts can serve as important indicators of immune activation, function, and competence within the context of pathogen defense, infection, cancer, and autoimmunity [Interestingly, we additionally observed correlations between changes in clinical immune cell subset counts and metabolic parameters, with the majority of associations observed with HDL parameters. We have previously demonstrated that HDL-C predicts clinical immune cell counts, where increases in HDL-C were associated with lower lymphocyte and monocyte counts in men and women, as well as lower neutrophil, eosinophil, and basophil counts in men [In addition to clinical leukocyte profiles, we examined the effects of egg intake on (1) erythrocyte markers, which serve as important indicators of anemia, inflammation, and nutritional status, and (2) platelets, which are essential for blood clotting and can serve as a marker of inflammation, as well as predictors of CVD and cancer risk [We additionally observed a reduction in platelet counts following the egg white and whole egg period compared to the egg-free period. Various nutrients and dietary patterns additionally influence platelet parameters, where Mediterranean-style, plant-based, and omega-3- and antioxidant polyphenol-rich diet patterns and foods are associated with platelet marker benefits [