By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

February 3, 2021

Every time I visit Trader Joe’s, I fill my cart with a variety of rainbow colored fruits and vegetables.  But there’s one food — a superfood — I never go without… eggs!

Yes.  For years, eggs were wrongly labeled as “unhealthy.”  People worried they would raise cholesterol or contribute to heart disease. But more recently, science has won out.

So, I want to set the record straight…  eggs are healthy!

Consider this. These round little treasures have everything they need to turn a single cell into a complete baby chicken.

So, a whole egg contains every nutrient a creature needs to become a fully formed life.  It’s got genes, vitamin A, D, E, K, calcium, zinc, folic acid, selenium, and most importantly, choline.

All of this nutrition is packaged in a food with only 75 calories.  So, it’s lovely in all respects.

Why Were People So Afraid of Eggs?

Back in the 1960s with the Framington Heart Study, researchers found a connection between LDL cholesterol and heart disease.

This prompted them to tell everyone and their neighbor to keep dietary cholesterol low.  Since one egg contains about 200mg of cholesterol, eggs were put on the forbidden foods list.^[1]

The thing people forget is this…

The original study did not find that eating foods high in cholesterol actually raised your body’s cholesterol.  And more recent research has found that eggs aren’t really the villain they were made out to be.

For instance, one group of researchers looked at 16 studies and found that eating eggs did not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke.  Other studies agree that eating one egg per day is unlikely to cause cardiovascular disease.^[2]

Discover the Health Benefits of Eggs

So, why should you start adding eggs to your weekly menu?  Well, there are a number of reasons many consider these the ‘perfect food.’

• Eggs are like “nature’s sunglasses!” They are a great source of lutein and zeaxanthin which help keep your brain sharp.^[3]  Plus, these antioxidants deposit themselves in your eyes’ macula to protect your vision as you age.^[4]
• Get your dose of choline. Just like B vitamins, choline plays a key role in your brain.  One study found that 90% of Americans aren’t getting enough choline^[5] — an excellent reason for you to start eating more eggs. Choline is used to produce acetylcholine in your brain.  It’s a neurotransmitter that affects mood, brain function, memory and motor control.  Lower levels of acetylcholine indicate a higher risk for dementia.^[6]
• Keep your appetite in check. Do you ever eat breakfast and find yourself hungry just a few hours later? Eggs are a great combination of protein and fat, so they help you feel fuller for longer.  One study found that overweight women who ate eggs for breakfast were able to eat less throughout the rest of the day.^[7]
• Eggs are FULL of nutrients. They’re a rich source of protein, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and selenium^[8] — as well as the nutrients already listed above.  And, with only 75 calories per egg, they are a perfect little package.

Personally, my tastes for eggs have matured over the years.  I’ll have a couple of eggs three or four times a week.

These days, I love to eat a perfectly poached egg topped with a slice of organic Canadian bacon or ham.

Then, I’ll drizzle on a teaspoon of pre-made hollandaise sauce purchased from Whole Foods.  Instead of using an english muffin for the base, I’ll usually smash up some avocado.

Make sure you always get a “pastured” egg and don’t shy away from the yolks either.  The yolk is the best part because it contains most of the choline.  Besides helping your brain, choline also helps protect against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Lastly, make sure you cook your eggs the right way.  When the egg yolks are scrambled and heated at high temperatures, the cholesterol can oxidize and yes become toxic to your coronary arteries.

So, avoid breaking the yolks.  Instead, eat your eggs poached, over easy, medium, or hard-boiled for the best results.

Now that you have my permission, go enjoy some eggs!

Sources:

^[1] Shin JY, Xun P, Nakamura Y, He K. Egg consumption in relation to risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(1):146-59. Review. PMID: 23676423.

^[2] Fuller NR, Sainsbury A, Caterson ID, Markovic TP. Egg consumption and human cardio-metabolic health in people with and without diabetes. Nutrients. 2015;7(9):7399-420. Review. PMID: 26404366.

^[3] Johnson EJ, Vishwanathan R, Johnson MA, et al. Relationship between serum and brain carotenoids, α-tocopherol, and retinol concentrations and cognitive performance in the oldest old from the Georgia Centenarian Study. J Aging Res. 2013;2013:951786. PMID: 23840953.

^[4] Roberts JE, Dennison J. The photobiology of lutein and zeaxanthin in the eye. J Ophthalmol. 2015;2015:687173. Review. PMID: 26798505.

^[5] Wallace TC, Fulgoni VL 3rd. Assessment of total choline intakes in the United States. J Am Coll Nutr. 2016;35(2):108-12. PMID: 26886842.

^[6] Alexander DD, et al. Meta-analysis of Egg Consumption and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke. J Am Coll Nutr. 2016 Nov-Dec;35(8):704-716.

^[7] Vander Wal JS, Marth JM, Khosla P, Jen KL, Dhurandhar NV. Short-term effect of eggs on satiety in overweight and obese subjects. J Am Coll Nutr. 2005;24(6):510-5. PMID: 16373948.

^[8] Ruxton, C.H.S., Derbyshire, E. and Gibson, S. (2010), “The nutritional properties and health benefits of eggs”, Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 263-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/00346651011043961