Egg intake and cognitive function in healthy adults: A systematic review of the literature
Study Details
Eggs are a nutrient-dense food containing choline, phospholipids, tryptophan, and omega-3 fatty acids, which individually support cognitive processes such as…
💭 Memory
🎯 Attention
🧬 Neurogenesis
This new systematic review compiled data from 11 studies (over 38,000 participants) to assess the effects of egg intake on cognitive function in healthy adults 📚
Here is what they found ⬇️
Key Findings
COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT & DEMENTIA RISK 🧓
🥚 Moderate intake (~0.5–1 egg/day) linked to lower dementia risk in several cohorts
📈 High intake (>1 egg/day) showed no added benefit or even higher risk in some studies
⚖️ Daily egg consumers had up to 79% lower odds of dementia compared to infrequent consumers
MEMORY & VERBAL LEARNING 💭
🧠 Most studies showed no effect, but moderate intake was linked to slower memory decline and less self-reported memory loss
🧩 Benefits align with choline and phospholipid roles in supporting hippocampal function
LANGUAGE & VERBAL FLUENCY 🗣️
🥚 Moderate egg consumers performed better on verbal fluency tests
🧬 Likely due to choline’s role in acetylcholine production and neurotransmission
PROCESSING SPEED & EXECUTIVE FUNCTION ⚡
📊 Largely no effect, though moderate intake sometimes improved processing speed
🧩 One study showed slight decline at higher intake
REACTION TIME & BRAIN ACTIVITY ⏱️
⚡ In one trial, 2 eggs/day for 8 weeks improved reaction time by 17% and altered brain-wave activity
Conclusion
Overall moderate egg intake (~ 0.5 - 1 egg per day) may benefit…
✅ Memory
✅ Fluency
✅ Reaction time
✅ Dementia risk
Consumption above this level ( > 1 egg per day) reveals no additional benefit ❌
Moderate egg consumption appears safe and potentially beneficial for various aspects of cognitive health 🧠
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41061594/
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