Egg Myths
Morning friends! <3 Hope you had a lovely weekend.
It was quite a whirlwind over here:
-Winterhaven: Kyle and Meg got engaged (!!!)
–Brunch at Nana’s and the Street Fair
Lots of fun stuff! And now it’s Monday….
Nothing like a kick in the pants to remind yourself of all the things on the to-do list you blew off this weekend. So worth it 🙂
Also, nothing like a glorious breakfast made by someone else, to put a morning smile on my face:
Nana’s egg casserole to my heart + toast and tea
Check out the height on this beauty:
Amazing.
I still can’t believe I only had one yolk a day for so long and started eating two yolks just a few months ago- I was missing out! It’s one of the things that’s brainwashed into you if you’re trying to lose weight (as I was, quite a few years ago), along with the fact that “eggs will raise your cholesterol” and high cholesterol runs in my family. Taste wise, egg yolks taste so much better, and that’s where all of the nutrients are found. You can read more *here*, but eggs also don’t have a huge effect on blood cholesterol- saturated fat in the diet does.
My dad was asking me about ways to lower cholesterol naturally, and it’s not something I’m too familiar with. I was going to send him *this article* but let me know if you have any tips <3
My favorite ways to make an egg:
Egg-stada style
(An omelet, flipped over instead of in half, with toppings of choice)
Steamed (so much easier than boiling)
What’s your fave way to enjoy an egg? Vegan friends: what’s your breakfast protein of choice?
I’m out!
See ya later today <3
xoxo
Gina
Today’s tip: Wintery workouts burn 10-20% more calories to keep your internal body temperature up. If you’re taking your workout outside, be sure to bundle appropriately and fuel for that extra burn <3
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I love my eggs scrambled with as many veggies as possible! My favorites are onion, mushroom, spinach, and tomato… and you can’t forget a little hot sauce! 🙂
I love a nice poached egg, on an english muffin with goat cheese and sauteed kale. Best breakfast sandwich ever. 🙂
Tofu scramble 🙂
I love that Monday picture hehe (:
i thought it was funny, too! i love those 🙂
I make a breakfast hash with sweet potato, goat cheese, onion, turkey sausage, and then top the whole thing with two eggs over medium. Amazing.
and invite me over? yes?
Any time friend 🙂
Oh my gosh. That sounds amazing. I need to make that!
Just sautee onions and already-baked chunks of sweet potato in a little olive oil, then add turkey sausage crumbles, and top with the goat cheese and eggs!
I’ve read your blog for a long time and always thought you were crazy to flock only to the egg whites 🙂
I eat at least 2 egg yolks per day. Real food!!
Have you tried the Food For Life black rice china bread? That’s the latest one I bought and I think i like it even more than the brown rice flour! Love it with eggs and yogurt and avocado.
looking back, it makes me shudder. but then again, so do a lot of the packaged south beach and diet foods i used to eat. in college for dinner, since i didn’t know how to cook real chicken, i ate chicken breast out of a pouch. something isn’t right about shelf-stable chicken
that’s the bread i ate this morning! it might be my new fave 🙂
Hi Gina,
That is a really great article about what you can eat / not eat to decrease your cholesterol. As for the fish oil, I would recommend a supplement (about 3000 mg per day) if he doesn’t want to eat fish for every meal. To prevent a bad aftertaste, keep em in the freezer. 🙂
Also, exercise can help to lower your bad cholesterol (LDL) and really helps to raise your good cholesterol (HDL).
I hope that helps!
thank you, racheal! that’s a great tip about the fish oil pills!
i asked him about cardio, and he hasn’t been playing basketball as much as he usually does, so that could also be affecting it.
I love eggs over easy 🙂
Increasing foods with soluble fiber can lower blood cholesterol. Soluble fiber is found in oats, soybeans, and the insides of fruits and vegetables, to name a few. Also, exercise can lower triglycerides and LDL, while raising HDL (good cholesterol). Maintaining a healthy weight and can help keep cholesterol in check too.
awesome- thank you!
the people in my family that have high cholesterol are all at healthy weights, so it’s interesting that you can be at a good weight and still experience that.
Love this post! I love eggs but have only been eating the whites for months now because high cholesterol runs in my family too. Good to know I can throw an egg yolk in there once in a while guilt free!
As a kid I loved (and still love) poached eggs mashed up on buttered toast. Especially when the yolk is a little runny. I totally agree with you – I was on the egg whites only bandwagon for years, but then I realized that they have no taste and two whole eggs kept me full longer than several whites.
I wish the wintery-workout calorie burn thing applied in Florida. It’s supposed to hit 78 in Tampa today. Blahhhh – too hot for December!
whoa! it’s been warm here too, but not quite that warm. i think it was 68 yesterday?
For cholesterol and other things, I can’t recommend the documentary FatHead enough. It’s life-changing(and freaking hilarious too). It’s much more important to pay attention to your triglycerides and your cholesterol ratio(good vs. bad) than the overall number. My dad had gotten a cholesterol screening that was on the high side, but the more concerning factors were his triglycerides were very high and his HDL was low. He watched the documentary, started eating less carbs, more real fats(egg yolks, butter, whole milk) and at his last checkup…his cholesterol is ideal, his triglycerides dropped from super scary to ideal and his HDL went up into the desirable range.
wow, good to know! thank you!
I’m vegan so thanks for asking what my breakfast choice of protein is, it makes me feel a little less left out 😉
I don’t actually believe that protein should be a concern (I’m 19 weeks pregnant by the way). Protein is in virtually plant-based food (except from fruit) so I’d have to literally starve myself to find myself in a situation of protein deficiency.
That being said, I like making myself a liter of hemp milk in the morning so I can drink it throughout the morning. Not only the hemp is a fabulous source of protein, but I also add soy lecithin which is great for fat absorption and skin elasticity, and coconut oil (skin elasticity again, I am doing all I can to avoid those stretch marks).
From what I gather the cholesterol contained in eggs is still in the heart of debates and subject of contradicting studies. From a health point of view, there are no good reason to eat eggs (nothing good there that I couldn’t find in plants), but that of course is my vegan point of view 🙂
I would not argue that eggs are delicious though, I used to really enjoy them before I became vegan. But now the idea of what they actually are really grosses me out…
different strokes for different folks 🙂
and i totally agree that plants have amazing nutritional value and are a great source of protein
Eggs are delicious and wonderful, but my dad’s heart disease and my mom’s high cholesterol (even though they are both fit and lean) brought our whole family to try out a 100% whole food plant-based diet (the one from The China Study and showcased in the documentary Forks Over Knives).
I kid you not – 5 weeks eating only 100% whole plant foods knocked my mom’s cholesterol down 35 points and took my dad’s blood pressure down to completely healthy. As an added bonus, my mom’s osteoporosis disappeared as well – and all of this without one single pill or supplement, and they are both over 60. It revolutionized everything for our family.
I used to worry a lot about protein being a vegan, but as long as the foods stay WHOLE, plants seem to give us all we need. More power to you if your health is strong eating some animal products, but for your Dad I think this would be the best choice for his cholesterol.
The Engine 2 Diet is a great book for manly dudes wanting to lower their cholesterol naturally with whole foods: http://engine2diet.com/
I usually avoid egg yolks! I think I have been doing the packaged and shelfed foods things as well since I’m about to go to college! I think it is a majaa convenience kind of thing! But I really want to switch to mostly natural foods and egg yolks again. I’m feeling a bit yolk deprived!
Yesterday, I made some scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and green onions. They were divine! It made me think about when you mentioned the other day that the green onions made those potatoes amazing. I think I might start adding green onions to everything! P.S. I wll be emailing you a question about Dr. Flynn 🙂
Eggs are my fave as well. Especially poached! I need to learn to poach them myself one of these days…
It’s so weird the things that can get stuck in your head when you’re trying to lose weight! Glad to see you’ve moved past that one. I lost 60 lbs and find myself doing weird diet-type things every once and awhile too.
I, too, used to think that eating only egg whites was a great way to spare some calories but now I can’t imagine life without yolks! Long gone are the days that I buy the cheapest eggs in the largest carton to make my egg white omlets. Now I am happy to pay nearly $4 a dozen for pastured local eggs. I don’t buy all-organic or anything but quality eggs are something I feel very strongly about; pastured eggs have 1/3rd less cholesterol, 2x more omega-3’s, 3x more vitamin E, and 7x more beta-carotene than conventional eggs*.
As far as cholesterol, I firmly believe that much of the problems in this country stem from the imbalance of omega fatty acids in our diet. A huge reason for this is that conventional dairy, meat, and egg production and farmed fish have a unnatural and unhealthy ratio of Omega-6’s to Omega-3’s. Grass fed dairy and meat, pastured eggs, and wild caught fish, on the other hand, have a good balance of 6’s to 3’s and thus are anti-inflammatory and all around super-healthy.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx
My favorite vegan protein would probably be besan (chic pea flour) omlettes. I often use red onions, green peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and a dash of smoked paprika. It’s so good!!!
Oh I’ve never heard of besan omelettes! Any good recipe you could point to?
Recipe please!
this is obviously very late, but this is what i do, and they are an indian savory pancake
about 1/4c besan (chickpea flour)
(spices are guestimates!)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (toasted if you have it)
1/4 tsp each tumeric & red chili
cook in a skillet, top with fresh cilantro.
also can pour the mixture over slightly sauteed tomatoes, peppers & onion, or any veg really, such as eggplant or zucchini
Hard boiled. Either in my salads or with toast. I love eggs, especially right now I am eating at least one a day!
That egg casserole is SO thick! It looks delicious! High cholesterol runs in my family, but I’ve heard that eggs aren’t actually as “bad” as they were once thought to be.
My favorite way to enjoy eggs is sandwich style!!! Swirl some chopped spinach in with an egg or 2, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook it up and slap it on 2 pieces of toast! Sometimes it’s good with ketchup, other times with jam 🙂 It’s my favorite way!
Actually, the notion that there’s connection between saturated fat and cholesterol in the body is repeatedly debunked. Just from a purely logical point of view, people have been eating the “whole animal”–including LARGE amounts of saturated fats + cholesterol– for out entire existence, yet only now do we have staggering rates of heart disease. It has more to do with eating large amounts of processed foods, denatured, hydrogenated, and transfats, and refined carbohydrates like sugar. These are all things that prompt an inflammatory response by the body, which is what high cholesterol is. Ancel Key’s lipid hypothesis has been repeatedly shown to be just plain bad science.
Here’s a blog written by a neurobiologist that I have met, a very level headed scientist looking at facts alone: http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/01/does-dietary-saturated-fat-increase.html
If it is a bit too complicated, scroll down to the bottom where he gives his conclusions. Here’s another look at saturated fat:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/saturated-fat-healthy/
I love the Whole Health Source blog so much! Even if does make my head hurt.
I am a foods and nutrition student and a great way for your Daddy to lower his cholesterol is getting plenty of fibre in his diet 🙂 A diet in fibre consisting of 38 g/d is recommended for males 🙂 Soluble fibre is also the best type of fibre (actually – the only type of fibre) that specifically lowers cholesterol levels 🙂
I love egg casserole too. 🙂 It’s probably my fave way to eat eggs (besides runny yolk!). My mom makes a fantastic sausage/bread/egg/cheese casserole every Christmas morning! I can’t wait. 😉
Eating the whole egg, egg plus yolk, is one of those things I didn’t learn until I was pregnant. Like you, I thought yolks were ‘bad’ but I realized it’s worse to start fragmenting off food and cherry picking it.
Many people use the same analogy with milk, that it’s better to drink whole milk b/c it’s full of everything rather than having many of the ‘important’ parts taken off…
Everyone is different whether they drink milk or eat eggs but I like thinking about the science and rationale behind the decisions and pondering. Great eggy post 🙂
You mention in this post that you were trying to lose weight quite a while back – Did you blog during this time?
The low carb, high fat diet is a really good way to lower cholesterol levels, believe it or not. I’ve been eating like this for a year and it’s done wonder for my entire body. No more IBS (miracle of miracles!!!), my skin is clear and when in ‘losing weight’ mode I lose at least 2 pounds a week. And I’m never hungry. My bloodsugars don’t go up and down, I don’t get cravings for sugars and for some reason my finger nails grow like weeds now.
Great topic Gina! Lots of info out there and people should decide what is best for them. But I agree it is all hype with the whole yolk being so called “bad for you…” no not the case. I unfortunatley just do not LOVE eggs, I only “like” them. 🙂 they sure make life easy and baking too though.
Last week I was all about the tofu scramble. This week I’m doing breakfast smoothies with nut butter for my protein. Before going vegan, I ate eggs all the time!
i love that you brought up the myths that often come with eating eggs. i LOVE the egg yolk – it adds so much more flavor! i think it’s easy to fall into the trap of only allowing yourself egg whites or limiting the intake of yolk, so i’m glad you addressed this. great stuff!
I’m so glad you’re busting the egg myth! I am so tired of hearing everyone say how bad they are for you. They’re awesome! I avoid most dairy but I’m not vegan as I do eat eggs – organic, free run, well-treated eggs :).
I used to fear yolks as well. What a big mistake. Yolks are amazing!
I used to only eat the whites until recently- I’ve been making an egg sandwich [whites and yolk] for breakfast! I like how fluffy the eggs get when they’re cooked in the microwave but I also like the little, crispy, brown spots when they’re cooked in a pan 🙂
‘fried’ w cooking spray+topped w nutritional yeast= YUM!!! vegan options:tofu scramble,nuts/seeds/nut butter 😀 or tofu bacon 😀
That egg casserole looks incredible! How does she get it so thick?? Milk?
i have no idea. heavy cream, sour cream, cheese? it’s super rich… and i love it so much 🙂
I went through a serious egg phase way back when and would fry them almost every day…. I was obsessed with the “breakfast jack” from jack in the box was my farorite thing ever…. Shudder…. Haha since then I have changed my ways and love to eat the eggs from my parents chickens because i know exactly what they are fed!
If I have a side of eggs at a restaurant it is always scrambled. At home I make small omelets, nothing fancy. Or frittatas with a lot of vegetables. I often have long stretches of time in which I get incredibly nauseous at the thought of eggs….and dairy. Also, I normally just use whites. Not that I fear the fat or cholesterol, I just don’t like them. I can only stomach them if the white and yolk are mixed together, hence the always scrambled.
My mom has high cholesterol and has yet to find an effective method for lowering it. Her weight is very healthy, she walks to work every day, walks to go shopping. She follows doctors’ directions in regards to diet. She avoids anything with a bit of cholesterol. And everytime she gets a blood test her cholesterol never lowers.
I’ve been hearing a lot more about how high-glycemic carbs combined with saturated fat in the diet may contribute to high cholesterol levels, rather than just fat intake. High glycemic carbs lead to insulin spikes, which leads to more visceral abdominal fat, which leads to higher cholesterol levels and poor heart health.
Maybe the kick in the butt I need to stop eating so much sugary junk and refined grains 😉
Many, many studies now say that the problem of atherosclerosis is not due so much to cholesterol, but to thick, sticky blood, and the damage that is caused to arteries that are damaged from being to stiff. The best thing that you can do for your health if you are having issues with your cardiovascular system to to eliminate saturated fats from your diet (ie, you must remove meat and dairy) and to increase the alkalinity of your system, mainly be eating fresh fruits and veggies. Cholesterol is a slippery substance, which is the VERY LAST component of plaque that covers artery walls. The real danger is all the proteins, fibrins and other connective tissues that go there to fix the damages to the arteries.
Omelets…all day. With lots of veggies and the cheese has to be nearly burnt on the outside edges of the omelet. I don’t like my eggs to be too ‘eggy.’ I also like cracking an egg into my stovetop oats and mixing it in for a lil’ extra protein and fat. Gives the oatmeal an interesting texture too!
Posting here also! An amazing miracle story!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/38988444/ns/today-parenting_and_family/t/moms-hug-revives-baby-was-pronounced-dead/#.TuVNDmC9Yq
i am crying so hard. amazing.
i LOVE eggs..i eat them almost every day so I’m glad the whole cholesterol debacle has simmered down a bit. love them!
I occasionally eat eggs scrambled with mushrooms, spinach, sunflower seeds and feta- all topped with a side of salsa! But my house is trying to go vegan so it’s brown rice powder now- which is really good with a banana, cinnamon, and almond milk!
Great post-!
Also I ate so much junk in college, pouch chicken, tony’s microwave pizzas-the works. 🙂
I absolutely LOVE poached eggs!! YUM!
The only way I really like eggs is scrambled or else I enjoy stirring and egg white into my oats in the morning!
i still haven’t tried that- it freaks me out for some reason!
Hey! I am not a frequent commenter unless I feel like I really have something to contribute, but I’m a registered dietitian at a large hospital and one of my floors happens to a cardiovascular unit. Anyways, here in the medical world we use the American Dietetic Association’s Nutrition Care Manual as our “standards of practice” when treating patients. Here’s what it had to say about hypercholesterolemia (sorry it’s going to be long but I have to copy and paste the info because you have to pay and log on to access the manual):
Nutrition Prescription
For patients with a low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level above the goal recommended by the Adult Treatment Panel III, the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes program provides a cardioprotective dietary pattern that includes the following (ATP III, 2001;ADA Evidence Analysis Library):
<7% of total energy from saturated fat per day with little or no trans fatty acids
<200 mg cholesterol per day
25% to 35% of total daily energy from fat, with unsaturated (including omega-3 fatty acids) in place of saturated fat
50% to 60% of total daily energy from carbohydrate and approximately 15% of total daily energy from protein
In addition, the following should be included:
Fiber intake of 25 g to 30 g per day, with at least half from soluble fiber
Plant stanols/sterols (2 g per day) as an option
Energy intake to maintain desirable body weight or prevent weight gain
Moderate exercise to expend at least 200 kcal per day
Because hypertension is another major risk factor for coronary heart disease, patients attempting to lower their LDL cholesterol level are well advised to limit sodium. The level of sodium recommended by the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure is 2,400 mg (JNC 7, 2003). The phrase "healthy heart nutrition intervention" may be used to describe a plan that incorporates nutritional strategies to lower LDL and limit sodium.
In addition to these established nutritional parameters, patients interested in using additional nutritional strategies may include nuts, and sources of omega-3 fatty acids in their eating plan (Szapary, 2004; ADA Evidence Analysis Library). For patients interested in eating fish, two 4 oz servings per week are recommended for those without coronary heart disease and two or more servings for patients with coronary heart disease. For nuts, unsalted peanuts and tree nuts lower in saturated fat (almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts) can be included when isocalorically substituted rather than added to the diet (ADA EAL, 2010).
AMAZING. thank you!
I read a great article on a blog about cholesterol you might find it interesting too. http://www.motherfitness.com/what-dietary-fat-did-for-my-cholesterol-my-lipid-panel-results/#more
reading it now- thank you!
I’m not a big egg person, the only way to get me to eat them is scrambled with tons of ketchup or hard boiled. I do love some egg salad and deviled eggs!
sooo many ways. But I LOVE a dippy egg with toast or a frittata with every veggie known to man and feta cheese.
Again, that little girl is going to come out spouting shakespeare and pumping iron from the way you eat. WTG, Momma.
haha thank you! i just want her to be healthy <3
If he is overweight, then loosing weight does lower cholesterol. Try incorporating more monounsaturated fats into his diet, like a serving of nuts or oatmeal, every day. Eat fruits and veggies and whole grains! Exercise.
I’m a senior in nutrition and have counseled clients before on heart health!
Oatmeal lowers cholesterol but it does not contain monounsaturated fats. I meant it for another sentence!
he’s not overweight- very lean and tall.
those are all excellent tips- thank you!