O-41 - Sign and size of the egg-removal effect depend on the comparator food; eggs rank near processed meat
The authors rank nuts and whole grains as healthiest and “eggs and processed meat the unhealthiest” protein sources; fish the “single not unhealthy” animal source. That eggs→unprocessed red meat lowers risk shows eggs sit at the bottom of the ranking together with processed meat.
Link to original
Why this is evidence
The crux observation. “Eggs rank near processed meat” (a fixed bottom-of-ranking position) supports H-17’s intrinsic unhealthiness; that egg→unprocessed-red-meat still lowers risk contradicts H-23’s “eggs preferable to red meat.” That the sign depends on the comparator also supports comparator-contingency (H-18) over a comparator-free reading.