Eggs: Nutritionists Look at Eggs
Health Benefits
How could anyone hate an egg? Yet,
20 years ago, the dietary naysayers decided that the cholesterol in eggs was
translating to artery-clogging cholesterol in the blood -- and eggs splattered
onto the no-no list.
Finally, some scientists at the
Harvard School of Public Health looked at a population of 117,000 nurses who
had been followed for eight to 14 years and found no difference in heart
disease risk between those who ate one egg a week and those who ate more than
one egg a day.
Another study reported in the Journal
of the American College of Nutrition found that eggs tended to satisfy
obese and overweight subjects more than a bagel breakfast with an equal calorie
count. Eggs might even be a good diet food!
It is also important to remember, that when you wast your money on an egg white omelet, your are loosing half the protein, and all the vitamins.
Nutritionists Weigh In
"I am very happy with
eggs," Ruth Kava, PhD, RD, director of nutrition for the American Council
on Science and Health, tells WebMD. "Eggs have a high nutritional value,
an excellent quality of protein, are only 70 to 80 calories each, and are not
high in fat."
Patricia Kendall, PhD, RD, professor
and food and nutrition specialist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins,
tells WebMD she agrees that the cholesterol in eggs should not put them on the
roster of the forbidden.
On the Food Guide Pyramid put out by
the government, eggs are part of the protein-rich food group of meat, poultry,
fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts. Two to three servings from this group are
recommended each day. One egg would be equal to one-third to one-half of a
serving from this group.
The American Heart Association says
that two eggs a day is acceptable, but to keep in mind the cholesterol in that
egg along with the other foods that you eat in the day. Those with heart
disease, diabetes, or a high level of LDL 'bad' cholesterol should probably
choose small or medium eggs vs. larger ones which have more cholesterol.
A large egg represents less than 4%
of the daily calorie intake of a person eating 2,000 calories a day; it
provides 10% of a person's daily recommended protein, and valuable iron, B
vitamins, and minerals, including the folate recommended for pregnant women.
Egg Safety
People who eat eggs have been shown
to have better diets, perhaps -- scientists speculate -- because they tend to
eat breakfast, especially eggy ones. "Eggs have both fat and
protein," Kendall adds. "These increase a sense of fullness."
Of course, questions have also been
raised about food-borne illnesses involving eggs. One out of 20,000 eggs may be
contaminated with salmonella, bacteria that can cause extreme
intestinal distress. The secret to avoiding this is to cook eggs thoroughly,
Kendall says. Eggs should also be stored appropriately in the refrigerator and promptly
eaten after cooking.
"It's better not to have the
yolk runny," Kava agrees. "The extreme elderly and immunosuppressed
should be extra careful or not eat eggs."
Kendall says you can even get eggs
that are pasteurized to kill bacteria inside the shells. To avoid hard cooking,
the heat levels are kept low, but are still effective.
Benefits of Eggs
Pluses outweigh minuses:
- Eggs are easy to prepare in a number of different ways. They even make recipes work by thickening things.
- They have a long refrigerator shelf life.
- They are relatively cheap.
- They are delicious!
Egg Varieties
"An egg is no longer just an
egg," Kendall says.
Go to any upscale food store or even
the local supermarket and you have choices, and not just the sizes.
- "You have your cage-free, free-range, or free-roaming," Kendall notes. This refers to the way the chickens (yes, they come first) are raised. "People got the idea that letting chickens wander around and eat the occasional bug was more humane, and because the birds were exposed to less ammonia, made the eggs taste better." Gourmets, in fact, rhapsodize over the depth of flavor of free-range eggs. On one web site, an egg lover remarked: "My neighbor's chickens are feasting on grasshoppers and I always look forward to the eggs he brings. They are huge with bright golden yolks that stand high above thick whites."
- Lower-cholesterol eggs are produced, Kendall says, by feeding the chickens a vegetarian diet and oils such as canola oil. "A large egg can have 300 milligrams of cholesterol," she notes, "and this sort of feeding can bring that down to 200 milligrams."
Omega-3 eggs are also being
engineered. Chickens are fed flaxseed, marine algae, and fish oil, with the
intent to increase the egg content of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Brown eggs, beige, even gray or lavender, are trendy now. This is not a dye job, but a function of the type of chicken, Kendall explains. White-shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Brown-shelled eggs come from chickens with red feathers and red ear lobes. Do different colored eggs taste better? The answer lies in the mouth of the omelet eater.
- Those eggs in a carton, already broken and mixed, are another category on the shelves. Sometimes, Kendall says, these are considered low cholesterol because they are all whites with a little yellow coloring thrown in. Read the labels, nutritionists advise.
Thank you.
John
Cardinal
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