Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Egg-cellent!

How to make hard-boiled eggs:


Egg Nutrients
Eggs are a naturally nutrient-dense food, which means they have a high proportion of nutrients to calories. One large egg has 70 calories and provides 13 essential nutrients in varying amounts. Eggs are an excellent source of choline and a good source of the highest quality protein and riboflavin. Many of the egg’s incredible nutrients are found in the egg yolk, including choline, folate, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin D. The yolk also includes healthy monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats and almost half of the high-quality protein found in eggs.

Protein/Weight Management
One egg provides 6 grams of protein, or 12% of the Recommended Daily Value. Eggs provide the highest quality protein found in any food because they provide all of the essential amino acids our bodies need in a near-perfect pattern. While many people think the egg white has all the protein, the yolk actually provides nearly half of it.

The high-quality protein in eggs helps you to feel full longer and stay energized, which contributes to maintaining a healthy weight. In fact, research* shows that eggs eaten at the start of the day can reduce daily calorie intake, prevent snacking between meals and keep you satisfied on those busy days when mealtime is delayed.

Muscle Strength, Repair & Preservation
Research indicates that high-quality protein may help active adults build muscle strength and middle-aged and aging adults prevent muscle loss. Consuming eggs following exercise is a great way to get the most benefits from exercise by encouraging muscle tissue repair and growth.

An Egg a Day? Yes – in fact, studies demonstrate that healthy adults can enjoy one or two eggs a day without increasing their risk for heart disease:
· A 2007 study of 9,500 people reported in Medical Science Monitor showed that eating one or two eggs a day did not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke among healthy adults. The study noted that eating eggs may actually be associated with a decrease in blood pressure.2
· A review of more than 25 studies that appeared in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2000 showed that eating an egg a day isn’t associated with increased risk of heart disease in healthy men and women, even after taking into account other aspects of their diet that may increase the risk for heart disease.3
· A six-week study conducted by researchers at the Yale Prevention Research Center in 2005 showed that adding two eggs a day to a healthful diet did not significantly increase blood cholesterol levels in young or middle-aged men and women with normal or even moderately elevated blood cholesterol levels.4
· A 1999 Harvard University study that collected data from more than 100,000 men and women found no significant difference in heart disease risk between healthy adults who ate less than one egg a week and those who ate more than one egg a day, and that eating up to one egg a day is unlikely to have a significant overall impact on the risk of heart disease or stroke.5
· A study presented at the Experimental Biology conference in 2007 showed that egg consumption contributed less than 1 percent of the risk for heart disease when other adjustable risk factors were taken into account. The researchers concluded that wide-sweeping recommendations to limit egg consumption may be misguided, particularly when eggs’ nutritional contributions are considered.6
· In 2006, Nutrition Bulletin published a review of scientific studies from the past 30 years showing that eating eggs daily does not have a significant impact on blood cholesterol or heart disease risk. The authors noted several benefits of egg consumption – including the high-quality protein

The Good Egg
Research Snapshot 2
What the Numbers Reveal:
Studies have looked at the affect of egg consumption on blood cholesterol levels and have found a small impact. This is important because newer research has identified the LDL:HDL ratio (“good” cholesterol to “bad” cholesterol) and the Total:  HDL ratio (the sum of all cholesterol components to “good” cholesterol) to be better indicators of heart disease risk than either indicator alone. eggs provide – and argued that consumption of one to two eggs a day should be actively encouraged as part of a calorie-restricted weight-loss plan.7
· A 2008 study from Surrey University published in the European Journal of Nutrition provides evidence that increasing dietary cholesterol intake by eating two eggs a day does not increase total plasma cholesterol when accompanied by moderate weight loss. The study authors concluded that cholesterol-rich foods should not be excluded from dietary advice for weight loss.8
· A review of over 30 studies published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2008 argues that the LDL:HDL ratio is a much better indicator of heart disease risk than either indicator alone because the ratio reflects the “two-way traffic” of cholesterol entering and leaving the blood system.9
· A research review, published in 2000 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, concluded that healthy adults can enjoy eggs without significantly impacting their heart disease risk. The authors, who reviewed 30 years of cholesterol research, found that dietary cholesterol has a relatively small affect on plasma total cholesterol and that egg consumption, specifically, has little relationship to high blood cholesterol or incidence of heart disease.10
· In 2005 researchers at the University of Connecticut found that healthy elderly adults who ate three eggs a day for one month did not experience an increase to their LDL:HDL ratio or to their Total:HDL ratio, which are two major indicators for heart disease risk.11
· The Journal of Nutrition published a study in 2008 that found that overweight men who eat eggs while on a carbohydrate-restricted diet have a significant increase in their HDL levels (the “good” cholesterol) compared to men who do not eat eggs.12 A 2008 study from the journal Ateriosclerosis, Thrombosis, Vascular Biology found low HDL is associated with poor memory and a decline in memory in middle-aged adults.13
· A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that a diet rich in choline and betaine is associated with lower concentrations of homocysteine, a marker of inflammation. High levels of homocysteine or inflammation have been associated with cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia.14


References:
1 Klein CJ. The scientific evidence and approach taken to establish guidelines for cholesterol intake in Australia, Canada, The United Kingdom, and The United States. LSRO. 2006 www.lsro.org. Accessed November 2006. 2 Qureshi A, et al. Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke or cardiovascular diseases. Medical Science Monitor. 2007; 13(1): CR1-8.
3 Kritchevsky S and Kritchvesky D. Egg consumption and coronary heart disease: an epidemiological overview. J Am Coll Nutr. 2000; 19(5): 549S-555S.
4 Katz DL, et al. Egg consumption and endothelial function: a randomized controlled crossover trial. Int J Cardiol. 2005; 99:65-70.
5 Hu FB, et al. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA. 1999; 281:1387-94.
6 Tran NL, et al. Balancing and communicating risks and benefits associated with egg consumption – a relative risk study. Presented at Experimental Biology 2007, Washington, D.C.
7 Lee A and Griffin B. Dietary cholesterol, eggs and coronary heart disease risk in perspective. Nutrition Bulletin (British Nutrition Foundation). 2006; 31:21-27.
8 Harman Nicola L, Leeds, Anthony R, and Griffin, Bruce A. Increased dietary cholesterol does not increase plasma low density lipoprotein when accompanied by an energy-restricted diet and weight loss. European Journal of Nutrition.2008; 47:287-293
9 Fernandez ML and Webb D. The LDL to HDL Cholesterol Ratio as a Valuable Tool to Evaluate Coronary Heart Disease Risk. JACN (in press).
10 McNamara DJ. The impact of egg limitations on coronary heart disease risk: do the numbers add up? J Am Coll Nutr. 2000;19(5): 540S- 548S.
11 Greene CM, et al. Maintenance of the LDL cholesterol: HDL cholesterol ratio in an elderly population given a dietary cholesterol challenge. J Nutr. 2005; 135:2799-2804.
12 Mutungi G, et al. Dietary cholesterol from eggs increases plasma HDL cholesterol in overweight men consuming a carbohydrate restricted diet. J Nutr. 2008;138:272-276.
13 Sing-Manoux, et al. Low HDL Is a Risk Factor for Deficit and Decline in Memory in Midlife. The Whitehall II Study. Arterioscler, Thromb, Vasc, Biol. 2008; 28:1557-1563.
14 Detopoulou, Paraskevi et al. Dietary choline and betaine intakes in relation to concentrations of inflammatory markers in healthy adults: the ATTICA study. AJCN 2008; 87:424-430.

This information is from: http://www.incredibleegg.org/

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