Egg reduces diabetic, breast cancer risks: experts

Experts today suggested enhanced consumption of eggs saying their studies found it to be a deterrent to diabetics and breast cancer as Bangladesh joins the 20th World Egg Day celebrations seeking to promote the nutrient food.
“Risks of type-two diabetics would be reduced by 37 percent if a person consumes 4 eggs a week while possibilities of breast cancer would be reduced by 40 percent if a woman takes 6 eggs in a week”, dean of veterinary and animal science of Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University Professor Dr Mofazzal Hossain told a function coinciding with the Day, BSS reports.
Hossain also ruled out a general perception that eggs could trigger cholesterol levels exposing people to risks of stroke and cardiac diseases saying “egg contains cholesterol, but it is not harmful for the health – it is the good cholesterol, not the bad one”.
“Eggs contain omega fatty acids that reduce risks of heart attacks,” Director General of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) Dr Ajoy Kumar Roy said supplementing Hossain.
Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee (BPICC) organized the discussion at the Jatiya Press Club with stakeholders urging the government keep the industry beyond tax net for enhanced consumption in view of growing demands and health necessities.
According to the BPICC statistics Bangladesh currently produces nearly 2 crore eggs in a day while experts said the daily demand for the nutrient food is 4.52 crore.
“A negative campaign on egg backed by a wrong perception and lack of policy creates an impediment for enhanced production and consumption of eggs,” BPICC convenor Moshiur Rahman told the discussion.
BPICC’s Joint convenor Shamsul Arefin Khaled, however, said the present government is working to increase the average egg consumption by a person to 104 in a year within a period of 2021.
“A person usually consumes only 40-50 eggs on in average in a year against 104, as recommended by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation”.
The DLS chief said demand for eggs in Bangladesh is 1,650 crore, but production is 1,099 crore.
“Eggs contain omega fatty acids that reduce risks of heart attacks,” he said.
The theme of the day this year in Bangladesh was “the Bangalees would be healthy, eat an egg everyday”.
World Egg Day is celebrated every year on the second Friday in October and was first celebrated in 1996. Since then, people around the world have continued to celebrate eggs as an excellent, affordable source of high quality protein and their vital role in feeding people around the world.