Health-Essentials.info > Published Sources > The Egg
Updated August 22, 2006
The Egg: A nutritional heavyweight
A powerful food source to protect your heart and nerves
If chickens had a union, they would undoubtedly go on strike over the "bum rap" given to this ultimate in square meals — the egg.
Literally chocked with vital nutrition, eggs are a powerhouse of protein (with between 3 to 6 grams per egg). They also contain:
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Cholesterol and the egg controversy
Eggs fell victim to the controversy over cholesterol. Since one egg supplies "a whole day's quota" (whatever that's supposed to mean), heart patients were typically restricted to one or two eggs per week.
A word about cholesterol:
Ever since the first reports from the Framingham study, cholesterol has been suffering from a bum rap. It's only now, a generation later, that conventional wisdom is starting to soften its position on cholesterol, as a whole, and focus its attention on the harmful LDL form.
The fact is: cholesterol is vital to your health. And what most people don't understand is that only about 20% of the cholesterol in your bloodstream comes from the foods you eat. The rest is produced in the liver.
Furthermore, instead of being harmful to your blood vessels, one of the primary functions of cholesterol is to repair damage caused to them by inflammation. (So, if your cholesterol is too high, you need to find the cause of your inflammation.)
Where cholesterol is associated with blockages in blood vessels, the cholesterol is only a secondary factor. The primary issue is the damage to the blood vessel caused by oxidative stress and/or inflammation; this is aggrevated by the glumping of blood cells, due to poor diet.
A word about the egg:
My family has recently started buying eggs from a local farmer. The hens are fed a natural diet and allowed to range freely about the non-chemically-laden property.
We never knew eggs could be so good. The yolks are a deep, deep yellow — indicating that they are simply loaded with great nutrition — and the whites almost stand up on their own — instead of running all over the pan. And their flavor is egg-quisite.
By constrast, commercially-produced eggs typically lack much of the nutritional value they are supposed to have. Furthermore, they are laid by hens that spend their whole lives in cramped cages, resulting in high levels of stress. This means they are pumping out stress hormones — that get passed along to you in the eggs. This can lead to inflammation and other problems in your health.
For the sake of your health — and your dining pleasure — you should make the effort to find a good source of free-range eggs. Believe me: you'll be glad you did.
Mercola on eggs:
Read what Dr. Mercola has to say about free range eggs and refrigerating eggs. Rather interesting.
But research has shown that eggs actually raise HDL (good) cholesterol. It's a substance our bodies can't live without. It's important for insulation of nerve fibers, maintaining cell walls, producing vitamin D, hormones and digestive juices.
Even a Harvard study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no relationship between eating whole eggs and risk of heart disease or stroke in men or women.
Many of the egg's nutrients are concentrated in the yolk. Up to half the solid part of an egg is protein, providing all eight essential amino acids. Combined with other protein from meat or cheese, egg enhances protein utilization.
For slowing up the process of macular degeneration, what could be better than the yellow's high concentrations of carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin? Responsible for producing lecithin and neurotransmitters, choline in the yolk also boosts memory and reduces body fat. Add to that the homocystein-fighting capacity of B-12, absorbable calcium (organic gardeners can apply calcium by using crushed eggshells) and sulfur, which helps to reduce inflammation, and the egg comes out a nutritional heavyweight — scrambled, fried, boiled or benedict.
The only caution is to know your sources. Salmonella has swept through many commercial henhouses, so think twice about "licking the spoon" or using raw whites. Locally produced eggs, from sustainable organic farms, are your best bet.
It's time to get crackin' and savor the "eggs-tras"!
E.W. McDonough, D.O
Acres USA, June 2004
[Editor's note: Some nutrition experts say that you should always eat your eggs raw — think "Rocky". I know, I know; I couldn't do that either. (U-u-u-u-ugh!) But the real point here is that you should not subject your eggs to high heat, as in frying. (Scrambling them is about the worst thing you can do.) This is important because high heat will destroy their natural lecithin.
So, when you have your eggs, if you can't deal with them raw, soft boil them.
