Does eating eggs help reduce dementia?

The chemical lecithin, found in egg yolks, may reduce dementia.

 Fried egg (illustrative) (photo credit: PEXELS)
Fried egg (illustrative)
(photo credit: PEXELS)

A new study on the subject of the effects of eating on dementia and heart disease was recently covered by Dr. Maya Roseman during her program on 103 FM.

Roseman presented in the research corner of her program on 103FM intriguing news: "Lecithin in egg yolk reduces dementia," she said, explaining that a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that high lecithin consumption is associated with a decrease in dementia.

The study followed 3,227 people and about 250 developed dementia over the course of several years. Analyzing the food intake of these people revealed that eating food with lecithin every day significantly reduced their risk of developing dementia.

Lecithin is a crucial component for neural activity in the brain and memory and is a binding agent in the food industry because it binds watery substances to fatty ones. For example, if you melt chocolate to make mousse and add an egg yolk, the mixture will be much smoother and more uniform due to the lecithin in the egg yolk.

Roseman named the main sources for lecithin, which are liver, eggs, various nuts, soy, and other legumes. She said that it's also found in chicken and fish, and added to some commercial chocolates. 

 Irving Penn, Broken Egg, 1959 (credit: Courtesy)
Irving Penn, Broken Egg, 1959 (credit: Courtesy)

It's also in protein powder and many other products. Since the liver isn't really healthy, as it's the organ that breaks down toxins in the body so lecithin will be mixed in with all the toxins, use eggs and soy for your main sources of lecithin.

And what about eggs and cholesterol? 

Roseman stated that for more than 10 years, studies have been published on a daily basis that emphasizes that eggs aren't the cause of heart disease, and the fact that they thought so for 100 years is an unfortunate mistake. 

Our heart diseases are caused by eating carbohydrates and industrialized fat, not cholesterol in eggs. Another recently released study even showed that eating two eggs a day protects against heart disease. This is because the lecithin in eggs improves the body's blood circulation.