The Humble Egg

Make this wonder food a regular part of your diet!!

The egg presents us a whole lot in a little package, making this power food a staple that should be eaten often, even daily. 

One large egg contains:

71 calories (44 from fat--that's about 5 g, with 2 g being saturated)
211 g of brain-loving cholesterol!! Yes, that's right, our brain needs plenty of cholesterol for fabulous function all our life. (The full scoop is a post for another day, but read here for some advice on eggs and brain health.) The marvelous egg also provides 6 g protein,  0 carbs, and 0 sugars. 

But that's not all . . .

Eggs are a wonderful source of folic acid (23.5 mcg), which is necessary for cell development (take note mothers-to-be, you have some huge cell development going on in there:)). Choline is one of the newest nutrients to be added to the list of required nutrients by the National Academy of Sciences (in 1998) and one egg has 35% of our established daily need. Each of our cells needs choline to keep its proper shape and permeability so that nutrients pass in while toxins and wastes pass out. 

All eggs are not "created" equal (Notwithstanding the whole "What came first?" question:))

Farm-fresh eggs from free-foraging pastured hens---no supplemental feeding at all--are optimal. A study published by Mother Earth News found that compared to commercially-produced eggs, pastured eggs:
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

Source: Cascade Creek Farm

How to prepare your eggs for an optimal balance of nutrients

Rocky Balboa may not have been the first . . .

 

But he certainly helped launch a fad that many gym rats still adhere to today. The only problem is many raw egg devotees discard many or all of the yolks thinking they are avoiding the "dangerous" cholesterol. But are eating only whites the best way to maximize eggs' nutritional benefits? It turns out the answer is NO! 

The raw yolk contains biotin, a very important co-enzyme and B vitamin. Discarding the yolk will not only deprive you of some egg-cellent brain power but could lead to biotin deficiency. Symptoms include hair loss, rash around the eyes, nose, mouth, and genital area and even depression, lethargy, and numbness and tingling of the extremities. 

While it's true that the egg white contains a protein that bonds with biotin and renders it essentially unabsorbable, gently cooking the white deactivates this protein while persevering as much of the other valuable proteins in the egg whites as possible. Some advocates of eating (safely-raised, organic) raw eggs maintain that the biotin content in the yolk is plenty high to make up for the binding of some of it when whites are left raw. One thing's for sure eating only raw whites and discarding the yolk will most certainly help lead to a biotin deficiency if you aren't careful to supplement. 

Visit Simply Recipes for step-by-step instructions for the perfect poached egg!

If you can't get eggs from a local source (free-foraging chickens) or you just can't stomach the idea of raw in any case, your best bet is to cook your eggs over light or medium. Poaching is also ideal. 

A beautiful poached egg presentation from Sprouted Kitchen

A wonderful breakfast bowl from Sweet Olive Bakery and Cafe