Ha! That title so corny, but it cracked me up [pun intended] 😂 Seriously, I’m about to discuss eggs… just in case my corny introduction has failed. 😏
I remember back when the poor little egg got a very bad rap for the cholesterol it contains. Everyone treated the egg like it suddenly got “cooties” and I’m sure ‘somebody’ made a whole lot of money ….. but it wasn’t egg farmers. Thousands of yolks went down the drain and the world of bland egg white omelets was born. *blech*.
I wasn’t a huge egg eater anyway, and my cholesterol levels were toward the low end at the time anyway so I paid little attention to how many eggs I had in my diet.
Fast forward years later, I run across an article from a doctor who was touting eating up to 12 eggs a day for health.😳🤔 Then I started seeing more and more egg promos. So, why the gradual fading of the Scarlet ‘E’? I don’t know.
Anyway, a year ago when I started focusing on my health, I needed a good protein sources that didn’t involve a lot of beef and chicken. Eggs seemed to be the way to go, but I wondered about their benefits or risks.
I found a newsletter on healthline.com (Top 10 Health Benefits of Eating Eggs) that pretty much sums up what a lot of other articles stated. You can read it here. The following is an excerpt from the newsletter.
********************************************
1. Eggs Are Incredibly Nutritious
Eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. A single large boiled egg contains :
Vitamin A: 6% of the RDA.
Folate: 5% of the RDA.
Vitamin B5: 7% of the RDA.
Vitamin B12: 9% of the RDA.
Vitamin B2: 15% of the RDA.
Phosphorus: 9% of the RDA.
Selenium: 22% of the RDA.
Eggs also contain decent amounts of Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Calcium and Zinc.
This is coming with 77 calories, 6 grams of protein and 5 grams of healthy fats. Eggs also contain various other trace nutrients that are important for health.
2. Eggs Are High in Cholesterol, But They Don’t Adversely Affect Blood Cholesterol
It is true that eggs are high in cholesterol. In fact, a single egg contains 212 mg, which is over half of the recommended daily intake of 300 mg. However… it’s important to keep in mind that cholesterol in the diet doesn’t necessarily raise cholesterol in the blood (4, 5).
3. Eggs Raise HDL (The “Good”) Cholesterol
HDL stands for High Density Lipoprotein. It is often known as the “good” cholesterol (9). People who have higher levels of HDL usually have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and various health problems (10, 11, 12, 13).
4. Eggs Contain Choline – an Important Nutrient That Most People Don’t Get Enough of
Choline is a nutrient that most people don’t even know exists. Yet, it is an incredibly important substance and is often grouped with the B vitamins.
5. Eggs Turn LDL Cholesterol From Small, Dense to Large, Linked to a Reduced Risk of Heart Disease
LDL cholesterol is generally known as the “bad” cholesterol. It is well known that having high levels of LDL is linked to an increased risk of heart disease (19, 20). But what many people don’t realize is that there are subtypes of LDL that have to do with the size of the particles.
6. Eggs Contain Lutein and Zeaxanthin, Antioxidants That Have Major Benefits For Eye Health
7. In the Case of Omega-3 or Pastured Eggs, They Lower Triglycerides as Well
8. Eggs Are High in Quality Protein, With All The Essential Amino Acids in The Right Ratios
Proteins are the main building blocks of the human body. They’re used to make all sorts of tissues and molecules that serve both structural and functional purposes. Getting enough protein in the diet is very important and studies show that currently recommended amounts may be too low.
Well… eggs are an excellent source of protein, with a single large egg containing 6 grams.
9. Eggs do NOT Raise Your Risk of Heart Disease and May Reduce The Risk of Stroke
For many decades, eggs have been unfairly demonized.
It has been claimed that because of the cholesterol in them, they must be bad for the heart. Many studies published in recent years have examined the relationship between egg consumption and the risk of heart disease.
10. Eggs Are Highly Fulfilling and Tend to Make You Eat Fewer Calories, Helping You to Lose Weight
Eggs are incredibly fulfilling. They are a high protein food… but protein is by far the most fulfilling macronutrient (47).
Eggs score high on a scale called the Satiety Index, which measures the ability of foods to induce feelings of fullness and reduce subsequent calorie intake (48).
[Above excerpt from Top 10 Benefits of Eating Eggs]
********************************************
For most of my adult life, my cholesterol was in the range of 170 – 200, even when I had put on excess weight. I was good with that. So when I lost 57 lbs over the year, I was excited to see how my cholesterol changed.Yes, I ate a lot more eggs. Each Sunday I boiled 6 eggs and ate them over the week. I didn’t think that was so many. I usually have one in the morning for breakfast with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. It satiated me and kept the hunger away for a while.
Last week I had my cholesterol checked; one year ago it was 201. This week it was ….. 230!!!!! …. even after losing weight! I told the nurse my weight loss journey. She looked over my numbers and explained that even though my number was high, a doctor would not likely put me on any meds because my HDL (good cholesterol) was 71!!!! about double what they like to see, and my LDL (bad cholesterol) was low. Most important she said was that my overall ration was 3.2, which is lower than the <4.7 ratio they like to see. 🙂
So, even though it was high, it was high because of the elevation of all the good cholesterol I now have. Interesting huh?
I’m no doctor so I don’t know how to explain this any better than I have already. I’m NOT advocating that YOU go out and eat a dozen eggs per week. I’m just sharing what happened to me….and passing along some info.
Anyway…. Happy crackin’!
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Vessels and Vittles 