Eggs have gotten a bad rap, especially the egg yolk. Somewhere along the line someone decided that egg whites were all right but that yolks were bad for you. As a result, many are missing out on the major nutrients of this healthy food. I want to dispel the myths and show you why it's important to keep the yolk in your diet.
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Doctors like to tell you that egg yolks are full of cholesterol. That's true, they are. But eating this cholesterol is not bad for your heart as some have claimed. Heart problems come from deficient diets and toxins that destroy the LDL. Studies have shown that those who eat three or four eggs a day had no negative results regarding their cholesterol. Some even improved their healthy cholesterol levels.
But along with cholesterol they also contain a host of nutrients including essential fatty acids and vitamins. These nutrients include vitamins A, E, D, B6, B12 and K, essential fatty acids including DHA and arachidonic acid, copper, sodium, folate, calcium, iron, carotenoids
And those are just a few. Here's the important thing to remember: The majority of these nutrients are in the yolk and NOT in the white of the egg. Most Americans are deficient in many of these nutrients. The truth is, there would be little reason to even eat an egg white if it weren't packaged with the yolk.
Some people claim that the best way to enjoy all the nutrients within an egg is to eat them raw. Though they may lose some of their nutritional value through cooking, they still maintain most of their healthy components after being cooked. It's important to remember there are health risks involved with eating raw eggs. Plus, some studies show that cooked eggs make the nutrients easier for the body to absorb because of the digestive inhibitor called trypsin. This is destroyed by the heat of cooking but remains in raw eggs.
If you can find them, organic eggs that come from range free chickens are always best. They are able to roam free and forage for both grass and insects. You may be able to track these down at a health food store or a farmers market. If not, do an online search. For too long we haven't worried about what the food we eat ate, but it does add or take away from the nutritional value. Eggs that come from chickens that were raised in small confined areas are not going to produce the healthiest eggs.
Finally, let's talk about taste. Egg whites have virtually no taste. The enjoyment of eating an egg comes almost exclusively from the yolk. Why even bother to eat something with little nutritional value and no taste?
So enjoy your entire egg, not only guilt free, but happy that you're pumping your body full of so many good things with such a little package. Eggs are still a good way to start your day with protein and other important vitamins, fats, and nutrients.
This post was originally published on January 30, 2014.
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