Eggs …are incredible, edible, power- packed, super nutrition. Once banished as heart stoppers, eggs have made a comeback. In 2000, the American Heart Association revised its guidelines to limit consumption of cholesterol to 300 mg a day. The average egg is 212 mg. Even the Mayo Clinic now asserts that consuming six to seven eggs a week is fine, and I’ll have more to say about that later. As a snack, an egg can out do many other choices. Today, we even have “designer eggs”. These are the result of the brilliant application of a simple scientific principle: what goes in will improve what comes out. Chickens that are fed food that is supplemented with Omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed, kelp, marine algae, canola seed, vitamin E, fish oil, marigold extract, provide even greater nutrition. Some chickens are fed in a way that reduces the saturated fat of the egg, and reduces the total fat content even more. Then there’s the free range concept, which means that the chickens are allowed to roam outside in the sunlight, eating insects, seeds, and grass, etc. This provides a less stressful, healthier environment, which produces healthier eggs. One drawback to the designer eggs is the designer price tag. Even so many nutritionists align with my thinking that an egg from a properly fed hen is like a perfect food unit to an average, healthy person. The excellent nutritional; benefits outweigh any negatives.
One large egg provides all the B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, folic acid, and choline, and minerals like iron, calcium, iodine, phosphorous, selenium, and sodium. Nutrients like vitamin A, lutein, and zeaxanthin reduce risk of macular degeneration. One egg contains six to seven grams of protein, and five grams of fat (only 1.6 grams saturated). It has zero carbohydrates, zero sugar, also zero vitamin C or fiber.
The protein in an egg is complete; it contains all the essential amino acids. The World Health Organization uses egg protein as a standard for evaluating other proteins. Protein is an important part of every diet for a myriad of reasons including building and maintaining muscle, including the heart, which is mostly solid muscle. Protein can be a vital component of healthy weight loss. Protein rich breakfasts give greater satiety, which tends to lower one’s food intake needs throughout the day. That’s a big plus to help reduce hunger for weight management. Technically speaking, it blunts post prandial (the period after lunch/dinner) glucose and insulin responses. The Journal of Clinical Nutrition attributes high protein breakfasts with less snacking the rest of the day, including evening snacking. Diets higher in protein lower the risk of developing high blood pressure. The American Chemical Society describes a peptide called RVPSL that is found in egg whites block angiotensin, a converting enzyme. This decreases blood pressure about as much as Captopril, a commonly prescribed high blood pressure medication. Choline seems to get little mention, yet it helps brain development in utero and improves memory in adults.
I can just about hear someone ask… “What about heart disease and cholesterol?”. The evidence is surprisingly not as clear cut as media outlets, pharmacy suppliers and even medical doctors would have you believe. Around 1899, a scientist named Nikolai Anichkav, fed rabbits a diet of “pure cholesterol” and found their arteries clogged. This was the beginning of the connection made between cholesterol and clogged arteries. A better scientist would question the validity of feeding rabbits a diet so different than it normally would eat. What needs to specifically be questioned is whether or not eating eggs will increase your chances of developing heart disease. The evidence just isn’t there to indict eggs. Although some studies have been done in which people ate eggs and it did raise their cholesterol, however, none of those studies were long enough in duration to actually show that eating eggs hurts the heart. In February 2015, the U.S Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee eased the longstanding recommendations for cholesterol consumption overall (not just eggs). This report was sent to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. “For many years, the cholesterol recommendation has been carried forward, but the data just doesn’t support it.” Alice H. Lichtenstein told the New York Times that a third of the population may be hyper responders for whom eating cholesterol raises their blood cholesterol, but even for them it can be considered benign , unless diabetic. A 2010 analysis published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology stated that if a person developed diabetes, eating one egg a day doubled that individual’s chances of developing cardiovascular disease. I’ve kept a file on this subject for over twenty years, and always come back to the FACT that over 50% of people in the ER with a heart attack have normal cholesterol. That FACT has led a Harvard School of Public Health to say egg cholesterol has a much smaller effect on total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and small and large particle LDL, than does the mix of other fats in the diet.
A major study (published in JAMA) was done of a large group) of middle aged to elderly subjects (37,851 men and 80,082 women, who were followed for fourteen years. This study found NO evidence of an overall or significant association between egg consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease OR stroke in men or women. They concluded that eating an egg a day is fine. Another study on circulation done by Physicians Health Study looked at egg consumption and heart failure over a twenty year period, and came to similar conclusions. Six eggs a week did not increase risk of heart failure. Mayo Clinic Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry published similar findings and extolled the benefits of zeaxanthin and lutein in helping prevent the onset and progression of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in America.
An old issue (Feb 26, 2007) of ‘What Doctor’s Won’t Tell You’, reported that cholesterol is necessary and good for you. If it is too low other health problems occur. Addressing all the hype about low cholesterol, the question is asked, “Is avoiding death by one health problem only to be more susceptible to other, also fatal health problems, wise?” A study from Tufts Medical Center in Boston looked at data collected from the Framingham Heart study of 5,124 adults. These subjects were followed for eighteen years. The researchers found that having lower serum LDL was linked with higher risk of cancer. LOWER, as in equal to or below 70 mg/dL, made a person fifteen times more likely to get a blood cancer. It also increases the risk of developing diabetes by 80%. LDL has been villainized wrongly for all these years. LDL helps to balance our blood sugar, control inflammation and bone growth, protects cells from damage, and supports the immune system. LDL does all this by moving essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and also the coenzyme, CoQ10, to all the other cells of the body. The most convincing study I read was from Mission.org, which stated to the effect, “From a public health standpoint, does it seem smart to…save yourself from a heart attack if it means an increased risk of cancer or diabetes?” Death from anything is the appropriate measure when checking risk factors. In Japan an inverse trend is found; low LDL has the highest mortality rate (risk of death, without exception. If data is limited to elderly population groups this trend is UNIVERSAL, elderly people who have the highest cholesterol levels have the highest survival rate, irrespective of geographic location, above 200mg/dL. All causes of death should be compared to a person’s cholesterol levels. Go ahead and enjoy an egg a day. Seriously consider getting completely off statin drugs unless you are unhealthy in other ways and cannot psychologically take the risk.
One large egg provides all the B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12, folic acid, and choline, and minerals like iron, calcium, iodine, phosphorous, selenium, and sodium. Nutrients like vitamin A, lutein, and zeaxanthin reduce risk of macular degeneration. One egg contains six to seven grams of protein, and five grams of fat (only 1.6 grams saturated). It has zero carbohydrates, zero sugar, also zero vitamin C or fiber.
The protein in an egg is complete; it contains all the essential amino acids. The World Health Organization uses egg protein as a standard for evaluating other proteins. Protein is an important part of every diet for a myriad of reasons including building and maintaining muscle, including the heart, which is mostly solid muscle. Protein can be a vital component of healthy weight loss. Protein rich breakfasts give greater satiety, which tends to lower one’s food intake needs throughout the day. That’s a big plus to help reduce hunger for weight management. Technically speaking, it blunts post prandial (the period after lunch/dinner) glucose and insulin responses. The Journal of Clinical Nutrition attributes high protein breakfasts with less snacking the rest of the day, including evening snacking. Diets higher in protein lower the risk of developing high blood pressure. The American Chemical Society describes a peptide called RVPSL that is found in egg whites block angiotensin, a converting enzyme. This decreases blood pressure about as much as Captopril, a commonly prescribed high blood pressure medication. Choline seems to get little mention, yet it helps brain development in utero and improves memory in adults.
I can just about hear someone ask… “What about heart disease and cholesterol?”. The evidence is surprisingly not as clear cut as media outlets, pharmacy suppliers and even medical doctors would have you believe. Around 1899, a scientist named Nikolai Anichkav, fed rabbits a diet of “pure cholesterol” and found their arteries clogged. This was the beginning of the connection made between cholesterol and clogged arteries. A better scientist would question the validity of feeding rabbits a diet so different than it normally would eat. What needs to specifically be questioned is whether or not eating eggs will increase your chances of developing heart disease. The evidence just isn’t there to indict eggs. Although some studies have been done in which people ate eggs and it did raise their cholesterol, however, none of those studies were long enough in duration to actually show that eating eggs hurts the heart. In February 2015, the U.S Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee eased the longstanding recommendations for cholesterol consumption overall (not just eggs). This report was sent to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. “For many years, the cholesterol recommendation has been carried forward, but the data just doesn’t support it.” Alice H. Lichtenstein told the New York Times that a third of the population may be hyper responders for whom eating cholesterol raises their blood cholesterol, but even for them it can be considered benign , unless diabetic. A 2010 analysis published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology stated that if a person developed diabetes, eating one egg a day doubled that individual’s chances of developing cardiovascular disease. I’ve kept a file on this subject for over twenty years, and always come back to the FACT that over 50% of people in the ER with a heart attack have normal cholesterol. That FACT has led a Harvard School of Public Health to say egg cholesterol has a much smaller effect on total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and small and large particle LDL, than does the mix of other fats in the diet.
A major study (published in JAMA) was done of a large group) of middle aged to elderly subjects (37,851 men and 80,082 women, who were followed for fourteen years. This study found NO evidence of an overall or significant association between egg consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease OR stroke in men or women. They concluded that eating an egg a day is fine. Another study on circulation done by Physicians Health Study looked at egg consumption and heart failure over a twenty year period, and came to similar conclusions. Six eggs a week did not increase risk of heart failure. Mayo Clinic Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry published similar findings and extolled the benefits of zeaxanthin and lutein in helping prevent the onset and progression of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in America.
An old issue (Feb 26, 2007) of ‘What Doctor’s Won’t Tell You’, reported that cholesterol is necessary and good for you. If it is too low other health problems occur. Addressing all the hype about low cholesterol, the question is asked, “Is avoiding death by one health problem only to be more susceptible to other, also fatal health problems, wise?” A study from Tufts Medical Center in Boston looked at data collected from the Framingham Heart study of 5,124 adults. These subjects were followed for eighteen years. The researchers found that having lower serum LDL was linked with higher risk of cancer. LOWER, as in equal to or below 70 mg/dL, made a person fifteen times more likely to get a blood cancer. It also increases the risk of developing diabetes by 80%. LDL has been villainized wrongly for all these years. LDL helps to balance our blood sugar, control inflammation and bone growth, protects cells from damage, and supports the immune system. LDL does all this by moving essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and also the coenzyme, CoQ10, to all the other cells of the body. The most convincing study I read was from Mission.org, which stated to the effect, “From a public health standpoint, does it seem smart to…save yourself from a heart attack if it means an increased risk of cancer or diabetes?” Death from anything is the appropriate measure when checking risk factors. In Japan an inverse trend is found; low LDL has the highest mortality rate (risk of death, without exception. If data is limited to elderly population groups this trend is UNIVERSAL, elderly people who have the highest cholesterol levels have the highest survival rate, irrespective of geographic location, above 200mg/dL. All causes of death should be compared to a person’s cholesterol levels. Go ahead and enjoy an egg a day. Seriously consider getting completely off statin drugs unless you are unhealthy in other ways and cannot psychologically take the risk.