This Cheap Breakfast Staple Could Support Brain Health and Lower Alzheimer’s Risk, Experts Say
You’ve likely already had it this week.
Reported by Women's Health Magazine.
Eggs have long survived nutritional trend cycles — vilified, then vindicated, then quietly returned to the grocery cart. Now there's a compelling new reason to keep them there: regular egg consumption may be meaningfully linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to Women's Health Magazine.
A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition tracked nearly 40,000 participants over roughly 15 years as part of the Adventist Health Study-2 cohort. Of those participants, 2,858 were eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The data revealed a clear dose-response pattern: people who ate eggs one to three times a month showed a 17 percent lower risk compared to non-egg-eaters. That risk dropped to 20 percent for those eating eggs two to four times a week, and climbed to 27 percent lower risk among those eating eggs more than five times a week. Worth noting: the study was funded in part by the American Egg Board, though the organization had no involvement in the data analysis or interpretation. This also isn't the first signal — a separate 2024 study in the same journal found that eating more than one egg per week was associated with a 47 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's in older adults.
What's Actually Going On in the Brain
The mechanism isn't mysterious. Jisoo Oh, DrPH, MPH, lead study author and associate professor of epidemiology at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, points to eggs' dense nutritional profile — choline, omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zeaxanthin, and vitamin B12 — as the likely driver. These nutrients collectively support memory, neurotransmitter function, and defense against oxidative stress. Clifford Segil, DO, a neurologist at Providence Saint John's Health Center, adds that choline's role in boosting acetylcholine is particularly notable, since some existing Alzheimer's medications work by targeting that same neurotransmitter pathway. Protein content matters too — prior research links higher protein intake to stronger brain protection, though that connection is still being studied.
The broader implication, as Davide Cappon, PhD, director of Neuropsychology at Tufts Medical Center, frames it: "small, consistent improvements in diet quality can meaningfully shift dementia risk." He recommends pairing egg consumption with proven dietary frameworks like the Mediterranean and MIND diets — both of which already include eggs. Oh is equally clear that no single food is a silver bullet: regular exercise, cardiovascular health, quality sleep, and overall dietary patterns remain the foundation of any serious Alzheimer's prevention strategy.
At roughly $2 a dozen, eggs are one of the most affordable brain-health investments on the shelf — and the evidence is stacking up that eating them consistently is worth making a habit.
Read the original at Women's Health Magazine.
