Re-thinking my position on eggs...

ThomasFMendiola

Love eggs but don't eat them anymore.

ShyFeather

Sadly, my mother is allergic to eggs, so there's a case where they aren't healthy. But I try to have eggs once a week. I love making spinach and artichoke omelets ^^

jofjltncb6

maybe it's the magic Omega-3s that are helping you.

You mean the O3 from preventing chickens from being the omnivores they are and instead substituting excessive flax into their diets?

(But seriously, once you have eggs from pastured chickens, it's really hard to go back. If you've never tried them, seek them out...at farmer's markets, or small grocery/produce stores. Actually, don't. With the heat we're having where I live, they're getting very difficult to find and I don't need any more competition for them.)

arrawyn79

I LOVE LOVE LOVE eggs! I've been eating just egg whites (yuck!) for the past few months as part of my losing weight but as soon as i reach my GW i'm gonna go back to eating the whole egg! Though egg whites with feta and asparagus are yum! But plain egg whites (with seasoning) are just plain gross and i've been having a lot of them recently (this nutrition plan my personal trainer/nutritionist has me on!). but come the end of august when i'll have hopefully lost these last 15lbs i wanna lose - whole eggs here i come!!

Molly_Maguire

I had a HUGE problem with cutting out the yolk part of eggs, too. I mean, come on, that's the most delicious part! What I started doing was easing myself into a yolkless diet, by making omelettes and scrambled eggs with two whole eggs and one egg white. Then I moved up to one whole and two yolks, and so on till I got used to just the egg whites. Sometimes I still throw in a whole egg on days when I've just gotta have that full eggy flavor, but now for the most part I don't even miss it.

jofjltncb6

Reading about people throwing away the yolk makes me sad.

*single sad tear streaming down my face*

jesss5885

I LOVE EGGS!!!

everyday for breakfast i have an "egglet" (see recipe below) and i have about 6 hardboiled egg whites as snacks throughout the day!

i met with my doctor last night and we talked about nutrition at length - he gave me some advice that i'm weary about, but will consider. He wants me to eat only ONE animal byproduct each day. so that means if i have eggs for breakfast, i can't have chicken, turkey, eggs, ground beef, fish, etc
i think for me that will be really hard... we are waiting to see if my insurance will accept his referral for me to go to a dietician, so FINGERS CROSSED!

I mix together the following:
1cup liquid egg whites
4 medium eggs
16 oz spinach
1 cup chopped mushrooms
12 oz diced tomato
2 oz reduced sodium hilshire turkey

pour into muffin/cupcake tins
i rip about 2 or 3 sliced of fat free american cheese and lay 2 pieces over each "egglet"

bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes

Ohmydaze

I hate eggs They're so awfully good for you, and I have such a hard time getting enough protein, but I really can't stand them. Pancakes are the closest I can get.

ekking69

I eat real eggs! They are NOT bad for you and are a great source of easily digestible protein. And there are so many things you can do with them! I say go for it!

On the other side, I also use egg beaters. For instance, last night we had breakfast for dinner. The family all had eggs. I had egg beaters, because I so wanted CHEESE in my omelet! So I made that sacrifice. But eggs all the way!

newmooon56

Don't dump the yolk because it builds muscles and most of the egg protein is in the yolk. I use to toss my yolk away, not anymore (well not as often, because I really prefer the white only.) Also the yolk boost brain and muscle power.The yolk also fends off sore muscles, because of the choline. Plus have 1 or 2 eggs a day keeps the pounds away.

Egg White Egg Yolk
Calories 17 59
Fat (g) .06 4.51
Saturated Fat (g )0 1.6
Carbs (g) .24 .61
Protein (g ) 3.6 2.7
Cholesterol (mg) 0 210
Sodium (mg) 55 8
Calcium (mg) 2.3 21.9
Vitamin D (IU) 0 18
Folate (mcg) 1.3 24.8

Most of the protein is not in the yolk - but the WHOLE egg on the whole is a pretty darn perfect food.

mnlght535

Here's a good article talking about the reality of eggs, high cholesterol, and heart disease:
http://www.wellnessletter.com/ucberkeley/feature/the-sunny-side-of-eggs/#

Great article. Thanks for sharing. It appears, with the amount of studies done with hundreds of thousands of people, that there is no significant increase in bad cholesterol correlated with the consumption of eating 3 eggs per day (as that article suggests). However, the culprits that could be responsible would be how the eggs are prepared or what they are served with. Lots of great information in there.

Again, thanks for the share

jofjltncb6

Don't dump the yolk because it builds muscles and most of the egg protein is in the yolk. I use to toss my yolk away, not anymore (well not as often, because I really prefer the white only.) Also the yolk boost brain and muscle power.The yolk also fends off sore muscles, because of the choline. Plus have 1 or 2 eggs a day keeps the pounds away.

Egg White Egg Yolk
Calories 17 59
Fat (g) .06 4.51
Saturated Fat (g )0 1.6
Carbs (g) .24 .61
Protein (g ) 3.6 2.7
Cholesterol (mg) 0 210
Sodium (mg) 55 8
Calcium (mg) 2.3 21.9
Vitamin D (IU) 0 18
Folate (mcg) 1.3 24.8

Most of the protein is not in the yolk - but the WHOLE egg on the whole is a pretty darn perfect food.

Yeah, yeah, lots of numbers...

...but that doesn't change the fact that almost all of the "awesome" in an egg is in the yolk.

jofjltncb6

Here's a good article talking about the reality of eggs, high cholesterol, and heart disease:
http://www.wellnessletter.com/ucberkeley/feature/the-sunny-side-of-eggs/#

Great article. Thanks for sharing. It appears, with the amount of studies done with hundreds of thousands of people, that there is no significant increase in bad cholesterol correlated with the consumption of eating 3 eggs per day (as that article suggests). However, the culprits that could be responsible would be how the eggs are prepared or what they are served with. Lots of great information in there.

Again, thanks for the share

The real question is, is high cholesterol even causative to heart disease?

...(but I guess that's a discussion for another topic).

So, what were we talking about here? Oh yeah...eggs...(and bacon).

mnlght535

Gotta love people when they go on about organic eggs etc. They are still fed with the same junk feed in the same way and they even get rained on with the same polluted rain etc. No better or worse in reality unless your chicken producing eggs are fed seeds rather than feed.

Reality of eggs and cholesterol can be found on the British Heart Foundation website (e.g. the UK's premier website on heart health!) - http://www.bhf.org.uk/default.aspx?page=12920

Some more good information on eggs. Thanks for the share. These articles allow us to make informed choices. Thanks a bunch

AuddAlise

Of course! Disney's cartoon version of Beauty & the beast.

EyeLikeTacos

I disagree with everyone here that say don't sweat how much eggs yolks you eat or they have no effect on your cholesterol.

One egg Yolk has nearly 2/3's the daily cholesterol intake. If you have a family history of high cholesterol..WATCH your yolk count...

I suggest having your choleterol checked at least 4 times a year..(IF) you have cholesterol issues and see how your diet effects those numbers...if you are averaging 2 or more egg yolks a day and it has no negative effects on your cholesterol numbers...then continue...but if your LDL is going up....Cut back to one egg yolk a day or none depending on other Cholesterol intakes....I am 162 lbs, 8.2% body fat...and I don't eat fast food or fried foods...but My LDL is 138...its genetics...and if I eat over 2 or 3 egg yolks a day ...my LDL goes up almost 30 points.


JUST wanted to ADD: Genetics is the key component here...MOST people can get away with eating as many egg yolks as they want....but I am not one of those...and I am sure there are other people that have same issues with cholesterol that I do.

What is your HDL number? And your HDL:LDL ratio? And your LDL size? Triglycerides? How do those change when you eat more than 2-3 yolks a day? Eggs are known to raise LDL levels, but they also proportionately raise HDL numbers, and studies show (some of the articles linked here already explain this) that the LDL particles are larger than what is considered to be "harmful." They've also found that the HDL:LDL and triglyceride numbers that matter more than just LDL numbers.

Also, the recommended cholesterol number is based on the flawed idea that dietary cholesterol affects blood cholesterol, which has been debunked.

Here are my total numbers:

Total = 238, HDL = 89, LDL = 134, Triglycerides = 76

HDL/LDL ratio is 66%, Anything above 40% is GOOD.

Total Cholesterol to HDL ratio is 2.7, BELOW 5 is good.

lorib75

I have my own chickens. They get fresh grass and bugs on a regular basis and their eggs are healthier than what you get in the store. Yay eggs!

This. We raise chickens for eggs and for meat. I wouldn't know what to do if I didn't have farm fresh eggs. Store eggs stink to me and taste weird... FRESH IS BEST!! lol:laugh:

Dragonwolf

I disagree with everyone here that say don't sweat how much eggs yolks you eat or they have no effect on your cholesterol.

One egg Yolk has nearly 2/3's the daily cholesterol intake. If you have a family history of high cholesterol..WATCH your yolk count...

I suggest having your choleterol checked at least 4 times a year..(IF) you have cholesterol issues and see how your diet effects those numbers...if you are averaging 2 or more egg yolks a day and it has no negative effects on your cholesterol numbers...then continue...but if your LDL is going up....Cut back to one egg yolk a day or none depending on other Cholesterol intakes....I am 162 lbs, 8.2% body fat...and I don't eat fast food or fried foods...but My LDL is 138...its genetics...and if I eat over 2 or 3 egg yolks a day ...my LDL goes up almost 30 points.


JUST wanted to ADD: Genetics is the key component here...MOST people can get away with eating as many egg yolks as they want....but I am not one of those...and I am sure there are other people that have same issues with cholesterol that I do.

What is your HDL number? And your HDL:LDL ratio? And your LDL size? Triglycerides? How do those change when you eat more than 2-3 yolks a day? Eggs are known to raise LDL levels, but they also proportionately raise HDL numbers, and studies show (some of the articles linked here already explain this) that the LDL particles are larger than what is considered to be "harmful." They've also found that the HDL:LDL and triglyceride numbers that matter more than just LDL numbers.

Also, the recommended cholesterol number is based on the flawed idea that dietary cholesterol affects blood cholesterol, which has been debunked.

Here are my total numbers:

Total = 238, HDL = 89, LDL = 134, Triglycerides = 76

HDL/LDL ratio is 66%, Anything above 40% is GOOD.

Total Cholesterol to HDL ratio is 2.7, BELOW 5 is good.

And what are your numbers when you eat more than 3 eggs per day? Assuming it was just the eggs doing it, and your LDL goes up 30 points, your HDL should go up 30 points, too (negating the effect of the rise in LDL). That's my point.

peachyxoxoxo

The real question is, is high cholesterol even causative to heart disease?

...(but I guess that's a discussion for another topic).

So, what were we talking about here? Oh yeah...eggs...(and bacon).

To briefly answer your question, cholesterol in the body becomes elevated in response to stress. Chronic stress can increase blood pressure and manifest in other ways that contribute to heart disease. Oxidized (damaged) cholesterol IS indeed one of the substances that can build up plaque in the blood vessels, but the way it becomes oxidized is again a result of free radicals and other forms of stress (low physical activity, smoking, poorly controlled blood glucose, etc). High cholesterol is merely an indictor of someone developing heart disease, but it doesn't cause it.

raystark

Eggs are fine for you. Those old studies are crap I say eat as many as you want, You don't have to limit yourself to 3 a week. They are a great source of protein and keep you full. Plus the good stuff is in the yolk. GO EGGS!!

+1. I generally eat four poached eggs for breakfast to fuel my pre-work morning trail hike. They are yummy and have a great combination of protein and fat.