The Doctor's Farmacy with Mark Hyman, M.D.

Does Eating Eggs Increase Your Risk Of Stroke Or Heart Disease?

04.21.2023 - By Dr. Mark HymanPlay

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This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health and Levels.

If you’re like most people, you’re sick of being mixed-up and confounded by conflicting media reports about the latest research on which foods are good or bad for us. You know what I’m talking about: one day eggs are unhealthy, and the next day they are a miracle food. So, should we avoid or embrace eggs in our diet?

In today’s episode of my series I’m calling Health Bites, I talk about research that has both led to and debunked concerns associated with eating eggs. I also talk about the production of a gut metabolite called TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide) and how the health of our gut microbiome influences our TMAO levels.

This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health and Levels.

Rupa Health is a place where Functional Medicine practitioners can access more than 2,000 specialty lab tests from over 35 labs like DUTCH, Vibrant America, Genova, and Great Plains. You can check out a free, live demo with a Q&A or create an account at RupaHealth.com.

By leveraging biosensors like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), Levels provides real-time feedback on how diet and lifestyle choices impact your metabolic health. Learn more about Levels by going to levels.link/HYMAN.

Here are more details from our interview (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):

The research that laid the foundation for the claim that eggs cause blood clots (3:22 / 1:17) 

Supplemental choline vs dietary choline (4:57 / 2:50) 

Follow-up research assessing whether eggs raise TMAO levels and cause blood clots (5:23 / 3:16) 

Debunking myths around eating eggs and high cholesterol (6:05 / 4:05) 

How gut health influences TMAO production (8:37 / 5:43) 

Research discussed in this episode

Gut Microbe-Generated TMAO from Dietary Choline Is Prothrombotic in Subjects

Dietary Choline Supplements, but Not Eggs, Raise Fasting TMAO Levels in Participants with Normal Renal Function: A Randomized Clinical Trial

TMAO Response to a High-Fat High-Sugar Meal Challenge in Generally Healthy United States Adults

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