Let be very clear here! Eggs are good for you! For many years there has been a myth that eggs are high in cholesterol and therefore BAD for you!! It has been found that there is no apparent association between the amount of cholesterol in the diet and level of cholesterol in the blood, no matter how much or how little animal fat is in your diet. Obviously don’t go overboard consuming ‘all the eggs’, moderation is key here, but there is no need to be avoiding the consumption of these animal fats.
Eggs are like nuts – they are natures vitamin pills! Did you know that the protein in an egg is 90% absorbed by the body verses meat which is only 65%? They actually contain essential nutrients which help your liver to regulate blood cholesterol levels, they contain a unique lecithin, which is a fat dissolving agent, protecting the body against fat building up in the arteries. These are just a few reasons why eggs are good for you, I think we can safely say “yep they are!” So much so that in 2006 the Heart Foundation in Australia recognised that eggs were not as bad as they first thought, and have given “the egg” their tick of approval!
Like everything which we consume within our diet, there are good eggs and lesser quality (bad) eggs! Sadly, there are poor unhappy chooks out there, eating pellets, living in cages and being injected with growth hormones, these guys through no fault of their own are producing lesser quality eggs. But there are also happy chooks out there, they happily run around paddocks, looking for food and generally enjoying themselves and guess what? They lay delicious free range, nutrient packed eggs which can commonly be found in health food stores, selected supermarkets and local butchers. Where possible try to choose the free range or even organic free range eggs, I guarantee you can taste the difference.
If you would like to understand more about the ins and outs of what causes Cholesterol, (given we have debunked the Egg myth) feel free to ask any of your ALTA trainers in the gym, or alternatively feel free to borrow the Lab to Table book from the ALTA Library. Cyndi O’Meara discusses all aspects of making better choices for your table, its a great read and will make you think twice when taking shorts cuts with your food choices.