Brownies or eggs after volleyball?

Picture this:

You are a teen-age boy celebrating your final and victorious home game.

You round up your pals, pile into the kitchen, and whip up...

... a big plate of eggs?

Let's talk about it.

I cheered my nephew and his team onto victory at his final home volleyball game.

He was a senior. One of the team captains.

Proud aunt moment.

During the game, one of his friends wandered over to my sister and asked:

“Can we come over after the game?”

“Sure.”

“Do you have brownies?”

“No, but I do have eggs.”

“Cool.”

Honestly? I was impressed! I had never known my sister to eat eggs.

Clearly, she was raising her boy right!

Researchers at Loma Linda University asked a simple question: Do people who eat eggs have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease?

Yup.

People who ate zero eggs had a 22% higher risk of Alzheimer's than people eating the equivalent of about one egg per week.

One egg per week.

That's an astonishingly low bar. I appreciate that the researchers didn't simply compare heavy egg eaters with everyone else. Even modest egg consumption was beneficial.

Not surprisingly, the more eggs, the better.

• once per week: 17% lower risk

• 2–4 times per week: 20% lower risk

• 5 or more times per week: 27% lower risk

Caveat: this was an observational study. It doesn't prove that eggs prevent Alzheimer's.

One possibility is choline. Our brains use choline to make acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in memory and communication between brain cells.

But eggs bring more than choline to the table. They also provide DHA, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin B12, and phospholipids. In other words, an egg isn't just protein. It's a remarkably nutrient-dense package.

What struck me the most wasn't the people eating eggs every day.

It was the people eating none at all.

Those of us who turned our backs on eggs for years weren't doing our brains any favors.

You don't have to become a carnivore.

You don't have to eat six eggs a day.

Even modest egg consumption was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease.

With findings like these, why not choose eggs?

If you already eat eggs regularly, good on you.

If you still haven’t made peace with eggs, what are you waiting for?

Load them up.

• Cheese.

• Bacon.

• Onions.

• Butter.

• Salsa.

• Seasoning.

Treat them like the baked potato they always wanted to be.

Just maybe skip the toast.

That's how I learned to love them.