Eggs the ultimate superfood?

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  • stevenleagle
    stevenleagle Posts: 293 Member
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    Thanks all for your responses.

    Seems to be a fair bit of controversy about the egg white vs egg yolk thing (particularly re what has the nutrients). Some interesting discussion there. I guess the one drawback of eggs is that they are perhaps not the best food for those with cholesterol problems but then again I read somewhere (cannot cite source) that it is "good" cholesterol?

    BTW I was thinking about other potential "super foods" the other day.

    I guess (to add to my own thread) some other potential super foods (i.e foods with heaps of nutrients that can fill you up) include: oatmeal, beans, fish and spinach.

    The thing is: oatmeal is really only a breakfast food, beans can really fill you up but get boring (imho), fish is great (if you like fish) but takes time to prepare if fresh and adds a lot of sodium if canned. Spinach really packs a nutritional punch (particularly vitamin A) but needs to be eaten as a side dish and/or added to a main dish.

    Conversely you can eat eggs at any time of day. They are quick to prepare. They are nutritious, fill you up and seem to add very few calories.

    Are there any other super foods you can think of with the same advantages?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
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    Yeah, it's mostly inaccurate journalism that can't help but repeat itself saying that cholesterol causes heart disease therefore stay away from cholesterol and we should be ok, Duh. It's a little more complicated than that, otherwise we could say, since the body manufactures it's own cholesterol, mother nature is trying to kill us.

    Cholesterol is cholesterol, there is no difference in its matrix from any source. This is also the reason why studies have shown for decades that dietary cholesterol has little effect on our serum (blood) cholesterol levels, with the exception of hyper-responders, which again only increases total cholesterol and has no influence on the type lipoprotein content, which is the transporting vehicles, such as HDL, LDL, IDL, VLDL. Lipoproteins are what are influence by lifestyle and diet and some are protective and others are less so. It's when liporoteins become oxidized causing free radical damage and inflammation that cause arterial damage that we need to address. Later.
    Thanks all for your responses.

    Seems to be a fair bit of controversy about the egg white vs egg yolk thing (particularly re what has the nutrients). Some interesting discussion there. I guess the one drawback of eggs is that they are perhaps not the best food for those with cholesterol problems but then again I read somewhere (cannot cite source) that it is "good" cholesterol?
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
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    Yeah, it's mostly inaccurate journalism that can't help but repeat itself saying that cholesterol causes heart disease therefore stay away from cholesterol and we should be ok, Duh. It's a little more complicated than that, otherwise we could say, since the body manufactures it's own cholesterol, mother nature is trying to kill us.

    Cholesterol is cholesterol, there is no difference in its matrix from any source. This is also the reason why studies have shown for decades that dietary cholesterol has little effect on our serum (blood) cholesterol levels, with the exception of hyper-responders, which again only increases total cholesterol and has no influence on the type lipoprotein content, which is the transporting vehicles, such as HDL, LDL, IDL, VLDL. Lipoproteins are what are influence by lifestyle and diet and some are protective and others are less so. It's when liporoteins become oxidized causing free radical damage and inflammation that cause arterial damage that we need to address. Later.



    Hey, do you happen to have a source about the oxidizing causing inflammation etc, I've heard that before too.... Like you shouldn't eat your yolks scrambled because it ozidizes the yolks, but that over easy is a great way to eat them because the egg yolks stay in their protective little sac and don't get oxidized. Sounds interesting and it makes sense but I'd like to learn more about it.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    Eggs are fantastic at keeping you satiated!!! If I have a night out ahead and am trying to save cals then I'll quite often opt for a three egg omelette and that's almost guaranteed to keep me full up for hours! Another winner is tuna, that keeps you full for yonks and slightly oversized portions of breakfast oats....I don't drink milk (because I personally dislike the taste) so I make two sachets of plain oats so simple with water and sometimes struggle to even consider food before 1pm!!! (I don't eat the sugary ones because they make me really hungry).

    Enjoy the eggs! They have now become a regular diary feature of mine. : )
  • LeslieJK
    LeslieJK Posts: 18
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    Hi there...I know that protein helps keep you fuller longer. I was informed that the whites of the egg has the most protein. SO I have added them into my daily diet. Cook them up in a teaspoon of olive oil and enjoy. Olive oil is a very good part of a diet, a healthy oil.
  • prdough
    prdough Posts: 76 Member
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    OK super nasty but when my boyfriend was weight lifting obsessively he would drink a cup full of raw eggs.

    Rocky! Rocky!
  • oneoddsock
    oneoddsock Posts: 321 Member
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    I totally agree - I mostly eat the entire egg because I don't like wasting food. The only time I separate them is for making spaghetti carbonara which needs more whites than yolks (I've tried using whole eggs and it wasn't very nice).
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Am I going loopy or are eggs perhaps the ultimate superfood?

    What does everyone else think about eggs? What's your ultimate superfood that you eat?

    I certainly hope eggs are not the ultimate superfood because I don't care for them. They tend to give me a bloated generally icky feeling if I eat them too often.

    I'm not sure I think of any food as the "ultimate superfood" but I were to give any food that title it would probably be dried beans. They have fiber, vitamins, and protein and are very versitile and delicious.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    Hi there...I know that protein helps keep you fuller longer. I was informed that the whites of the egg has the most protein. SO I have added them into my daily diet. Cook them up in a teaspoon of olive oil and enjoy. Olive oil is a very good part of a diet, a healthy oil.

    If you're going to cook the egg whites in olive oil, why not just leave the yolk in?
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
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    Yeah, it's mostly inaccurate journalism that can't help but repeat itself saying that cholesterol causes heart disease therefore stay away from cholesterol and we should be ok, Duh. It's a little more complicated than that, otherwise we could say, since the body manufactures it's own cholesterol, mother nature is trying to kill us.

    Cholesterol is cholesterol, there is no difference in its matrix from any source. This is also the reason why studies have shown for decades that dietary cholesterol has little effect on our serum (blood) cholesterol levels, with the exception of hyper-responders, which again only increases total cholesterol and has no influence on the type lipoprotein content, which is the transporting vehicles, such as HDL, LDL, IDL, VLDL. Lipoproteins are what are influence by lifestyle and diet and some are protective and others are less so. It's when liporoteins become oxidized causing free radical damage and inflammation that cause arterial damage that we need to address. Later.
    Hey, do you happen to have a source about the oxidizing causing inflammation etc, I've heard that before too.... Like you shouldn't eat your yolks scrambled because it ozidizes the yolks, but that over easy is a great way to eat them because the egg yolks stay in their protective little sac and don't get oxidized. Sounds interesting and it makes sense but I'd like to learn more about it.
    This post provides a number of references: http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Does-Cholesterol-Cause-Heart-Disease-Myth.html#oxidized (I linked specifically to the section on oxidation but the whole post is interesting.)

    Note: I don't know enough about the biochemistry to weigh in on Masterjohn's analysis. Personally, I'm not afraid of eating foods high in cholesterol. A lot of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world (that people have been eating since, I am guessing, early humans first stepped out of the jungle) contain cholesterol. I don't think we would have gotten very far as a species if (dietary, non-oxidized) cholesterol were so deadly. (Not trying to debate here, just giving my own rationale.)

    The OP asked about superfoods. Here are the "superfoods" I enjoy:
    - beef liver (mixed into ground beef)
    - chicken liver (pâté)
    - salmon roe
    - pastured whole eggs
    - kale
    - wild blueberries
  • LeslieJK
    LeslieJK Posts: 18
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    Hi there...I know that protein helps keep you fuller longer. I was informed that the whites of the egg has the most protein. SO I have added them into my daily diet. Cook them up in a teaspoon of olive oil and enjoy. Olive oil is a very good part of a diet, a healthy oil.

    If you're going to cook the egg whites in olive oil, why not just leave the yolk in?

    Because the olive oil is a healthy oil and helps with weight loss. The yolk does not
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
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    Hi there...I know that protein helps keep you fuller longer. I was informed that the whites of the egg has the most protein. SO I have added them into my daily diet. Cook them up in a teaspoon of olive oil and enjoy. Olive oil is a very good part of a diet, a healthy oil.

    If you're going to cook the egg whites in olive oil, why not just leave the yolk in?

    Because the olive oil is a healthy oil and helps with weight loss. The yolk does not
    Wrong. You watch too much TV. :ohwell:
  • Wattswife
    Wattswife Posts: 8 Member
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    I Love love love eggs. They are my superfood :)
  • LeslieJK
    LeslieJK Posts: 18
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    Hi there...I know that protein helps keep you fuller longer. I was informed that the whites of the egg has the most protein. SO I have added them into my daily diet. Cook them up in a teaspoon of olive oil and enjoy. Olive oil is a very good part of a diet, a healthy oil.

    If you're going to cook the egg whites in olive oil, why not just leave the yolk in?

    Because the olive oil is a healthy oil and helps with weight loss. The yolk does not
    l


    Wrong. You watch too much TV. :ohwell:

    The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.

    Olive oil is very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil's protective function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. Olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation.


    http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/olive-oil.htm


    Read up on it for yourself
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 21,616 Member
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    The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.

    Olive oil is very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil's protective function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. Olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation.


    http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/olive-oil.htm


    Read up on it for yourself

    From that same website:

    http://www.healingdaily.com/conditions/heart-disease.htm

    One of the best foods you can eat is an egg. The yolk of the egg contains about 250 milligrams of an amino acid (cysteine) which eliminates free radicals. More on the power of eggs here.

    If you will take some time to study the page on free radicals well, and understand what a free radical is, you will know more than thousands of doctors who have never ever studied free radicals in medical school, and who haven’t the foggiest idea of what they are.

    Free radicals are the most likely source of all heart disease and cancer - and probably most other forms of disease not caused by a bacteria or virus.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,925 Member
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    The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.

    Olive oil is very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil's protective function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. Olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation.


    http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/olive-oil.htm


    Read up on it for yourself

    I don't have a problem with the olive oil part of your statement Leslie, it was the egg yolk part, which I admit would be hard to get over considering the negative dogma that has been used against it for over a generation. Canada for example doesn't have a limit on dietary cholesterol consumption and for good reason, it's an important food considering the amount of processed foods that would likely make up the calorie void.


    Here's what the Worlds healthest Foods says.
    http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=92
  • whisperingdragon
    whisperingdragon Posts: 334
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    I love eggs. I knew an old couple who owned a farm and ate mostly eggs. Both of them are still alive and in their 90's.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Egg yolks contain a ton of vitamins that most Americans are deficient in, mostly due to a reduction in egg yolk consumption.
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
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    This isn't actually true. All the nutrition in an egg is in the yolk. The whites are pretty much empty, just a few amino acids. The yolk contains the rest of the proteins, plus all the vitamins and minerals.

    And all of the flavor! The yolks are the best part, it always makes me sad to know people toss the yolks. :cry:

    Me, too! Wish they would toss the yolks my way. :)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Egg yolks contain a ton of vitamins that most Americans are deficient in, mostly due to a reduction in egg yolk consumption.

    "a ton of vitamins" Such as?

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