A no-frills recipe for the perfect rich-tasting, cheesy, soft scrambled eggs with lightly cooked spinach (and optional crispy bacon). Plus a look at the latest research on health outcomes associated with eggs, dairy, and grains–with exciting and surprising results!

After a couple weeks of practice, I think I’ve mastered a new skill: sleeping until noon. I think this is the only (and last) summer I am totally free from major responsibilities (school, sports, work, research, applications), and I am soaking it in in every way possible before I start medical school July 31st–from adventuring through Europe with a friend, to completing my 6th(?) round of Friends, to sleeping until noon just because I can.

The only little caveat to my now consistent “whoops, slept til noon again” behavior (besides the looming disaster that will be getting up for school) is that I keep putting off the creative new breakfast recipes I have planned for you. I keep reverting to my favorites that I can whip up in almost no time. Hello, scrambled eggs. So instead, I thought I’d use this post to highlight the magical goodness of soft, cheesy, melt-in-your-mouth scrambled eggs, AND to share some intriguing, comprehensive, brand new nutrition research on eggs, dairy, and (all) grains.

Navigating Nutrition Research

Nutrition research can be confusing, contradictory, and downright frustrating for everyone, including the researchers, health professionals, and normal people just trying to do something good for themselves or their families. A lot of the inconsistency comes from the fact that most nutrition studies are correlation studies that can only report the risks associated with reported habits. On the other hand, randomized controlled trials, in which the researchers manipulate one group’s diet while controlling for all other variables, are very expensive and limited in possible sample size, thus hard to come by.

So what are we supposed to do–just ignore all the studies??

Definitely not! Nutrition research is just as valid and important as any other health field. And, as with any other field, we must interpret each finding for exactly what it is. Usually, this means you have to READ THE ACTUAL STUDY (try using Google Scholar!) to get accurate information. It’s scary how often I see headlines and stories–even from esteemed news outlets like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal–spitting out misleading oversimplifications along with witty albeit unfounded advice offered by the writer himself, whose goal is to capture your attention.

For example, let’s look at “antioxidants,” a buzzword no one can seem to escape. People who consume more red wine, tea, peppers, blueberries, and strawberries are less likely to die of any cause (legit statement). Red wine, tea, peppers, blueberries, and strawberries are all rich in flavonoids, a compound known to act as an antioxidant (also a legit statement). This means antioxidants are the secret to living longer, right?! WRONG. Actually, excessive antioxidant intake (from beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E supplements, for example) has been shown to CAUSE increased mortality. Surprised? I’m not making this up.

So, how can a matrix of elusive associations really help us make informed decisions? This is where strong, comprehensive meta-analyses come in handy. Investigators filter out sub-par studies and combine data from numerous valid cohort studies or randomized controlled trials (at the highest level) to uncover the big picture. This means we can assess a much larger overall sample size with more applicability to the general population and still have the rigor of smaller, heavily scrutinized experiments. These meta-analyses typically can’t offer an end-all be-all magic formula, but they can certainly help make sense of the conflicting “new study says” headlines.

A Refreshing Look at Eggs, Dairy, and Grains

I was excited to see that a brand new review came out on egg consumption and risk of mortality the other day. Plus a review on dairy consumption and cardiovascular disease just this May. AND an interesting paper on all (including refined!) grains. Thus was born this lengthy, rant-like post, which I feel is too important not to share.

Eggs

Will they raise my cholesterol? Give me heart disease? Kill me or make me invincible? For years people have debated the health effects of eating eggs. And a few years ago, the world turned inside out when someone reported that dietary cholesterol doesn’t impact blood cholesterol. So what to believe?

On June 7, 2019, Mazidi et al. published a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies analyzing the link between egg consumption and total mortality, coronary heart disease mortality, and stroke mortality. It included 23,524 people. The data showed that although people who ate large amounts of eggs were more likely to have diabetes and hypertension, there was NO association between egg intake and total or CHD mortality, and eating more eggs decreased risk of stroke mortality. This supports a 2016 meta-analysis that found 1 egg a day decreased risk of stroke and had no link to CHD risk.

Echoing what I said earlier, I still recommend reading the papers (or at least the abstracts) for yourself. But fun findings, right?!

Dairy

My ~~next~~ equally favorite topic. The one including cheeeeeese.

Since your first elementary school health talk, you’ve probably been hearing the inescapable LOW FAT dairy mantra. And more recently, I’m sure you’ve heard the cult preaching that all dairy is bad for you, or maybe that your body isn’t designed to digest it…🤔 (I hope it’s evident by now I’m not a supporter of the “paleo” diet.) Obviously, if you have a true allergy or intolerance, stay away. Otherwise, there is no scientific rationale for ditching the entire food group. Now, the low fat-only recommendation has come under scrutiny, and the argument for avoiding even full-fat dairy is beginning to crumble.

Cardiovascular Risk

This May in Advances in Nutrition, an overview of meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies and randomized controlled trials (aka a very comprehensive amalgamation of good research) was published looking at dairy consumption and cardiovascular disease-related risk. After pooling all the studies, they found a significant negative association between dairy consumption and CHD/CVD/stroke (i.e. eating more dairy meant a lower risk of cardiovascular outcomes), or no significant association at all. Further, the overview of 12 meta-analyses with randomized controlled trials revealed no significant changes in blood pressure, total cholesterol, or LDL with increasing dairy consumption. Perhaps most importantly, the results held regardless of the dairy fat content.

Personally, I think dairy fat definitely has its place in everyday meals:

2% or 5% plain Greek yogurt tastes much richer than nonfat (for only a few extra calories), is much more satisfying, and is enjoyable without the added sweeteners.
High quality cheeses (read: not pre-shredded or reduced fat) go a very long way in [insert favorite food here] in moderate amounts. I’ll admit I’m a cheese snob, but most cheeses I refuse to buy reduced fat.
Gelato and tiramisu of course, you know, for mental health

Cancer Risk

In case you’re thinking “what about cancer” (good for you if you are!), a 2016 meta-analysis of population-based cohort studies showed that, overall, total dairy product intake (including milk, yogurt, cheese, butter) had no effect on cancer mortality risk. When divided by amounts, consuming small amounts of total dairy even had a protective effect on cancer-related death risk. The only positive relationship was specifically between whole milk intake and higher prostate cancer mortality risk in men.

Grains

Finally, after seeing this paper on refined grains, I couldn’t help but share. It’s pretty well established that whole grains are good for you–for reduced risk of CHD, CVD, cancer, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, diabetes, and mortality from all causes. But refined grains…bad, right? Well, a new paper published in Advances in Nutrition this May may have us thinking otherwise. According to the author, when refined grains were analyzed as a distinct category (separated from the meat- and sugar-laden Western dietary pattern) across 24 distinct cohorts from 32 publications, the results showed no association between refined grain intake and all-cause mortality, diabetes, CVD, CHD, stroke, hypertension, or cancer (while there was increased risk with red/processed meat intake). Further, echoing the previous analysis, total grain intake (refined + whole) was tied to a lower risk of all-cause mortality.

So, if you avoid grains for any reason other than a legitimate allergy or intolerance, it might be worth rethinking. And, importantly, if you find yourself categorizing foods as “good” or “bad,” this evidence adds to the many reasons that mindset is unproductive, as well as psychologically harmful. Don’t take this as preaching at you, though, because I was the worst culprit. For years I scrutinized ingredient lists, and if I spotted a food I classified as “bad” (including refined grains, refined sugars, red meat, butter, heavy cream, anything “fried”…), I wouldn’t even taste it. Since I’ve transformed my eating philosophy to one of balance, openness, enjoyment, and gratitude (and still working on the intuition part), every part of my life has changed for the better, from stress to physical wellbeing to social health.

So to sum up, I’m eating my cheesy scrambled eggs and bagel with a smile on my face.

Pictured is a (slightly thinned) Rudi’s multigrain bagel half, Applegate turkey bacon, and Stonyfield Kids’ blueberry yogurt with fresh berries.