#8: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth

This is day eight of our education of the 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. Woo Hoo! Some of these you won't be surprised by, some you will. I'll take one out of each food group each day to mix it up a bit.

All information is from the book by jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth".

Day 8: Eggs (including yolk)
I can’t say enough good things about eggs. They’re nature’s most perfect food. Eggs are plentiful, inexpensive, easy to prepare in a zillion different ways, and loaded with vitamins. They’re also one of the best sources of protein on the planet. One three of the four scientific scales for protein quality used in the past few decades—Protein Efficiency Rating, Biological Value, and Net Protein Utilization—eggs consistently score highest in the quality of their protein, soundly beating milk, beef, whey, and soy.

•Eggs are a great source of protein, containing all nine essential amino acids

•Eggs are loaded with vitamins and nutrients that help your eyes, brain, and heart.

•Eggs are one of the best sources of choline which is essential fro cardiovascular and brain function and for the health of your cell membranes

•People avoid egg yolks because they’re afraid of the cholesterol, but the choline in the egg yolk actually helps prevent the accumulation of cholesterol and far in the liver

•Egg yolks and beef liver are two of the richest dietary sources of phosphatidylcholine

•Eggs contain Acetylcholine which is critical for memory and thought

•According to the Physicians’ Desk Reference, adequate acetylcholine levels in the brain are believed
to be protective against certain types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease

•Eggs contain leutein and zeaxanthin which have been found to be among the most effective supplements for eye health

•Eating eggs was one of two major dietary patterns found in one recent study to be protective against breast cancer

•In a study don’t the women eating the most eggs were also least likely to have breast cancer

•Eating six eggs per week vs. two eggs per week lowered their risk of breast cancer by 44%

•The less you scramble or expose the yolk to oxygen, the less the cholesterol gets oxidized

•Poaching is one way to minimize oxidation, boiling is another, and of course, so is eating them raw (which is pretty safe if you use high-quality, cage-free, organically fed, omega-3-enjanced chicken eggs

WORTH KNOWING:
One more thing. Do me a favor. Stop with the egg whites already. If I see one more healthy, robust, well-muscled, athletic person ordering an egg-white omelette for breakfast, I’ll scream. Listen carefully: The egg yolk is good for you! It’s part of the package. Worried about cholesterol? According to the Harvard Medical School Guide to healthy eating, “No research has ever shown that people who eat more eggs have more heart attacks than people who eat few eggs.” People vary widely in their response to dietary cholesterol, and the effects of eggs on your health can’t be predicted by the amount of cholesterol they contain.

For our previous postings:

day one: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57017--1-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day two: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57180--2-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day three: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57278--3-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day four: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57482--4-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day five: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57516--5-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day six: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57602--6-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
day seven: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57689--7-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth