As people age, cognitive health—the ability to think, learn and remember—can possibly start to decline. This makes cognitive impairment or disability a concern in older adults. Recently, nutrients published a special issue titled ‘’The Effect of Dietary Patterns and Lifestyle on Healthy Aging”, which comprised a study that revealed the benefits of eggs on cognitive impairment.
The research found that women, equal to or over 55 years, who regularly included eggs in their diets showed improved semantic memory, which refers to the long-term memory that stores factual information, and better executive functioning, which includes mental skills. Although memory and cognitive abilities tend to decline with age, regular consumption of eggs can slow down the process.
Eggs help in maintaining cognitive health
The longitudinal study revealed that women who consumed more eggs per week showed less decline over four years in semantic memory and executive function. When women increased their egg consumption, the probability of a decline in cognitive health decreased by 0.1 points. While there’s no food that can ultimately stop the decline of cognitive health, semantic memory and executive functioning, eggs show remarkable benefits in at least slowing down the process.
Moreover, women who consumed eggs more than five times a week showed a remarkable half-point less decline in their cognitive health over four years compared to those who never ate eggs.
In the same study, it was also mentioned that despite having high levels of dietary cholesterol, eggs do not have a detrimental effect on an individual. The protein and vitamin-packed food items, in fact, are good for slowing down the process of cognitive impairment. Further, if eggs are eaten in moderation, they provide nutrients that are beneficial for brain health.
It is worth noting that researchers have highlighted in the study that just because eggs can slow down the decline in cognitive health, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can directly improve brain functioning. The study only discussed how eggs can help slow the rate of cognitive impairment.
Here are some other benefits of including eggs in the diet
According to WebMD, one egg comprises all nine essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein, which is essential as the human body can’t produce those on its own. Eggs also help provide nutrients like Selenium, Phosphorus, Choline, Vitamin B12, and multiple antioxidants, which help keep cells healthy. Eggs also help increase the good cholesterol HDL levels in the blood and can help lower triglycerides.
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